JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln women's basketball team led for much of the contest, but Washburn pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat LU, 66-58, on Monday evening (Dec. 18).

Citlali Lopez led the Blue Tigers with 22 points and dished three assists while Faith Brintle added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Tyler Brown-Henderson secured a team-high eight rebounds and scored four points to go with a pair of assists.

Lincoln (3-8, 0-4 MIAA) used an 8-0 run midway through the first quarter to take a six-point advantage, and ended the opening stanza with a 19-14 lead. The second quarter belonged to Washburn (10-1, 4-0 MIAA), as the Ichabods scored the first six points of the period and ultimately took a 31-28 lead into halftime.

A trey from Lopez knotted the score at 33 early in the third quarter, and Tempary Gunter hit a jumper to swing the lead back to the Blue Tigers. Gunter also recorded four rebounds and tied Robin Butler for the team lead with two steals. Butler had six points in the contest.

A pair of free throws by Brown-Henderson later extended the Blue Tiger lead to four, but with just under three minutes to play the Ichabods hit a trey to take a 45-43 lead. Lopez later hit another trey to pull the Blue Tigers back within one, but a layup at the buzzer sent the ballgame into the fourth quarter with Washburn ahead, 49-46.

Brintle hit a jumper early in the final period to cut the WU lead back down to one, but the Ichabods responded with a 10-run to take control of the contest. The Blue Tigers would get within four on a Lopez layup with about 30 seconds remaining, but Lincoln's comeback against the MIAA-leading Ichabods ended eight points short.

Kailey Foster scored four points on fast breaks and Karissa Black came off the bench to chip in five points. Naomi Bryant and Bre Coleman rounded out the scoring with two points apiece.

Lincoln will close out 2017 on the road, as LU travels to Russellville, Ark. to play Arkansas Tech on Dec. 30 at 2:00 p.m. CST.