ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Citlali Lopez scored 17 points and Bre Coleman grabbed 11 rebounds as the Lincoln women's basketball team dropped a 66-54 decision to Arkansas-Monticello in the season opener for both teams on Friday (Nov. 10).

Lopez opened the game by draining a three, and a trey by Karissa Black later in the period gave the Blue Tigers an early 8-0 advantage. Faith Brintle put LU up 10-3 with a layup with just under four minutes to play, but UAM used a 9-1 run to take the lead. A Lopez layup tied the score at 12, and the Blue Tigers finished the opening quarter with a 15-13 lead.

Lajanea Kimbrough made it a 20-15 lead early in the second on a layup, but the Blossoms answered with a 16-7 run that gave Arkansas-Monticello a 31-27 halftime lead. A layup by Coleman gave Lincoln its final lead, 32-31, with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter, but 10 of the next 11 points were scored by UAM as the Blossoms took control of the game.

Lopez also led Lincoln with four assists and two steals while Brintle added nine points and Black, Robin Butler and Davenport Brantley each scored six. Coleman tallied two points and a block, and Kimbrough and Kailey Foster each provided a pair of assists, with Kimbrough recording four points and four boards. Naomi Bryant and Tyler Brown-Henderson closed out the scoring with two points apiece.

The Blue Tigers will remain in St. Charles on Saturday (Nov. 11) to take on Southern Arkansas at 10:00 a.m. CST.