by ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Jennies dropped a 92-85 decision in overtime against host Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon at Hyland Arena.
Senior Jasmine Thompson led the Jennies in scoring with 25 points, while senior Revonnia Howard collected her seventh double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior Justina Prairie Chief (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes) added 18 and junior Shelby Winkelmann deposited 13 points.
The first half of the game was highlighted with offensive runs and streaky shooting by both teams.
The Jennies scored the game’s first eight points in just under 1 ½ minutes of action. Howard connected on a turnaround hook shot, while Thompson drained back-to-back three-pointers.
Lindenwood closed UCM’s lead to 10-6, but Prairie Chief hit a three-pointer, giving the Jens a seven-point lead.
The teams traded buckets over the next four possessions. UCM’s lead expanded to 10 points at 20-10, capped off with a steal by Howard who found Thompson for a layup.
After a three-pointer by Lindenwood closed the gap to seven points, the Jennies received a three-pointer from junior Tayler Weiks and a layup from Howard to go back up by 10, 25-15 with 10:47 on the clock.
The Lady Lions went on a 13-0 offensive spurt over the next 3:27, taking a 28-25 lead with 6:43 remaining in the half.
Winkelmann ended the Jennies’ scoring drought, dropping in a layup with 6:24 left in the half, making it a 28-27 game in favor of Lindenwood.
Thompson gave the Jennies a 29-28 lead, but Lindenwood’s Kassidy Gengenbacher drained a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to put the Lady Lions back up, 31-29 with 5:32 in the first half.
Thompson answered with a trey of her own to put the Jens back in front, 32-31.
The Jennies ended the half on an 8-6 run to take a 40-37 lead into the locker room. Thompson led all players with 15 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Prairie Chief scored five quick points to start the second half for the Jennies, who built a 47-42 lead in less than three minutes.
The teams exchanged buckets on the next two possessions, but a defensive stop and a three-point play by Winkelmann gave the Jennies a 52-44 lead with 16:13 left to play.
The Jennies’ lead grew to 12 points at 61-49 with 13:36 left in the game, which was capped by a steal and a layup by senior Breonna Embray.
A 7-0 run by Lindenwood sliced the lead to five, but Prairie Chief came through with a three-pointer to bump UCM ahead, 64-56 with 11:10 left.
After seeing their eight point lead dwindle down to four with just under nine minutes to play, the two teams combined for just eight points over the next three minutes. Lindenwood’s Vanessa Zollo scored on a layup and was fouled but could not finish the three-point play, leaving the score at 71-69.
The Lady Lions made it a one-point game at 72-71 following a pair of free throw tosses by Jenny Rocha, but Winkelmann answered with a jumper to bump the lead back to three points.
Rocha responded with a jumper on the ensuing Lady Lions’ possession to close the gap to 74-73 with 4:31 to play. She then put Lindenwood in front, 75-74 on a layup with 3:20 on the clock.
UCM quickly came back on the ensuing possession to re-gain the lead after Embray knocked down a three-pointer.
Zallo hit a jumper to knot the game at 77-77 with 2:12 to play in the game.
Neither team scored for the remainder of regulation, forcing the game into overtime.
Lindenwood grabbed the first lead of the overtime period. Prairie Chief drew a foul and split a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession to make it a 79-78 tally.
The Lady Lions scored five straight points to bump their lead to 84-78 with 3:21 left in the extra session.
Thompson deposited a pair of free throws to close to within 84-80, but the Lady Lions scored four straight points to go up 88-80 with 53 seconds left. The Jennies closed the gap to five with nine seconds left after Prairie Chief hit a three, but were unable to draw any closer.
The loss was the first for the Jennies in St. Charles in five tries (4-1). UCM fell to 1-2 in overtime games this season.
The Jennies will look to rebound at Missouri Southern next Saturday, January 31 for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.
