Complete Game Notes
Game #13: Missouri Southern (9-4, 1-2 MIAA) at Lincoln (9-3, 1-2 MIAA)
Date: Thursday, January 5, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Site: Jason Gym (1,538) in Jefferson City, Mo.
Tickets: Adults - $5.00 | LU Faculty & Staff/Non-LU Students - $3.00 | LU Students & Kids 5 and Under – Free
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/wbball/

THE TIP OFF:  The Lincoln women's basketball team plays a home game for the third time in seven days on Saturday (Jan. 5) when the Blue Tigers host Missouri Southern at 1:00 p.m. CST. Lincoln, which beat the St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Sunday (Dec. 30), 71-42, and fell to Pittsburg State, 98-68, on Thursday (Jan. 3), enters the weekend 9-3 overall and 1-2 in MIAA play. This will be the eighth home game of the season for the Blue Tigers, but the final one until Jan. 24, as Lincoln's next three contests are all on the road. Missouri Southern is also 1-2 in conference play and 9-4 overall after falling to Lindenwood on the road, 79-71, on Thursday to snap a four-game winning streak.

FAST BREAKS
- Lincoln and Missouri Southern meet for the 33rd time on Saturday, with the Lions owning a 29-3 advantage in the overall series.

- Lincoln's last victory in this series came in the 2011-12 season, when the Blue Tigers defeated Missouri Southern 66-61 in Jefferson City.

- After finishing with just four wins in 2017-18, Lincoln already has nine victories this year.

- The Blue Tigers are 5-2 at home in 2018-19.

- LU is 0-1 at home this year vs. MIAA opponents.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Zhanesha Dickerson is nearly averaging a double-double with 16.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, and Bre Coleman (15.3 ppg.), Zoi Thompson (16.6) and Tempary Gunter (8.8) are among Lincoln's other scoring leaders. Thompson averages team-highs in assists (5.3) and steals (1.9), while Alecia Gulledge (7.5 rpg.) and Alecia Kaelke (5.5 rpg.) are having strong seasons on the glass.

HEAD COACH AYANA McWILLIAMS:  A five-year veteran of the Division I ranks, McWilliams is in her third season as the head coach at Lincoln. In the past two years, the Blue Tigers have improved defensively in nearly every category. McWilliams previously worked as an assistant at South Carolina Upstate, a Division I program, and also was an assistant at Elizabeth City.

LAST TIME OUT:  Pittsburg State led 30-10 after the first quarter and shot .486 from the floor to beat the Blue Tigers, 98-68, on Thursday night (Jan. 3). Bre Coleman and Zoi Thompson combined for 29 points and 16 rebounds, and Zhanesha Dickerson scored 12 points while grabbing seven boards. Also finishing in double figures was Kaloni Pryear with 14 points, while Kiara Shoulders had eight points.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:  Chasidee Owens has started every game for MSSU and averages 10.9 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds. Chelsey Henry, who has started each of the 10 games she has played, averages a team-best 16.8 points while Krista Clark averages 9.1 points. The Lions out-rebound opponents, 43.9-33.5, and averages 68.8 points per contest.

MSSU HEAD COACH RONNIE RESSEL:  An alum of MSSU, Ressel was promoted to head coach in 2016 after spending the previous three years as an assistant with the program. Ressel helped the Lions average 19 victories as an assistant and has won 32 games as the head coach, including nine this year as MSSU boasts a 9-4 record overall.

SEVEN DAYS A WEEK:  With Lincoln's 72-41 win over the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, the Blue Tigers have now won a game on all seven days of the week. LU has posted multiple wins on both Tuesdays and Saturdays, with a victory on each of the other five weekdays. Lincoln has yet to lose on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday or a Sunday in 2018-19.

DOUBLE UP:  In seven of the past 10 games, Zhanesha Dickerson has posted a double-double and leads the MIAA while ranking 11th in DII in double-doubles with seven on the season. Dickerson, who is nearly averaging a double-double for the season, is fifth in the league in scoring (16.0 ppg.) and is second in rebounding (9.3 rpg.) and is 45th in Division II in rebounding average as well as 93rd in points per game.

GULL ON THE GLASS:  Alecia Gulledge has emerged as one of Lincoln's leaders on the glass, grabbing 7.5 boards per game, the sixth-most in the MIAA. Gulledge tallied a season-high 18 rebounds against Blackburn and posted her first double-double against Robert Morris-Springfield with 17 points and 12 boards.

NATIONALLY RANKED:  Lincoln has been a tough team to score against, as LU is sixth in the country in scoring defense (52.2) while rating 28th nationally in field goal defense (.351). The Blue Tigers are 22nd in Division II in three-point defense, allowing teams to shoot just .257 from beyond the arc, and have the country's seventh-best rebound margin (+12.2). Lincoln is also 12th in DII in scoring margin (+20.8) and 23rd nationally in field goal percentage (.457).

LEAGUE LEADER:  Zoi Thompson led the Blue Tigers in November, earning MIAA Player of the Week accolades after nearly recording a triple double in a win over Stephens. Thompson leads the MIAA in assists with 5.3 per game, and ranks third in the league in scoring (16.6 ppg.) and fourth in field goal percentage (.435).

TEMPARY SUCCESS:  Tempary Gunter has made her senior season a memorable one. In addition to starting all nine of LU's wins, Gunter hit the game-winning shot vs. McKendree before scoring a career-high 20 points against Blackburn. For the season, Gunter is averaging 8.8 points on .423 shooting, and also has 10 steals on the year.

BRE IS BACK:  Bre Coleman, Lincoln's leader in scoring and rebounding in 2017-18, has made a big impact on both sides of the ball since returning to the lineup in mid-December. Coleman is averaging 15.3 ppg. and 6.3 rpg., and has seven steals while averaging just 21.5 minutes per contest.

REBOUNDING:  A big factor in Lincoln's improvement to 9-3 after a four-win campaign in 2017-18 has been on the glass, as Lincoln has out-rebounded opponents in nine of its 12 contests. LU owns a rebound margin of +10.6, the second-best in the MIAA. Zhanesha Dickerson is second in the MIAA with 9.3 rebounds per game while Alecia Gulledge is sixth at 7.5 rebounds per game.

SOPHOMORE ASCENT:  Alecia Kaelke has improved in nearly every facet of the game from her freshman season, as the second-year Blue Tiger is averaging 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds after averaging 1.7 and 2.0 in 2017-18. Kaelke is shooting .667 from the floor and .833 at the line, and is 20th in the conference in rebounding.

SHOULDERING THE DEFENSE:  Another key part of Lincoln's hot start to the season has been Kiara Shoulders, who has provided a spark on both sides of the ball. Shoulders, who averages 4.8 points, has grabbed 56 rebounds, tallied 20 steals and dished 21 assists.

RESERVATIONS:  You can reserve your seats for all of Lincoln's home games today! Reserved seats cost $100 and include admission to all of LU's regular season home games. To purchase your seats, visit https://14186.thankyou4caring.org/2017-18-sports-passes.

GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  Get your Blue Tiger jerseys, apparel, accessories, office supplies and much, much more at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store of LU athletics. You can get everything you will need for basketball season, with a portion of all sales going directly to support all 12 LU athletic programs.

NEXT UP:  The Blue Tigers open a three-game road stretch in St. Charles, Mo. on Saturday, Jan. 12, with a 1:30 p.m. CST game vs. Lindenwood.