Complete Game Notes
Game #11: Eureka (6-3) at Lincoln (2-8)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 19, 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 closes both its non-conference slate and the calendar year on Thursday afternoon (Dec. 19) when the Blue Tigers host Eureka for a 1:00 p.m. CST contest. It's the fourth-straight home game for Lincoln, which will attempt to win a second-straight game after an 84-45 victory over Hannibal-LaGrange last Saturday (Dec. 14). This will be the final game before a 16-day holiday break, as Lincoln's next game is on Jan. 4 when the Blue Tigers resume MIAA play at Newman. Eureka is 6-3 overall entering a game at Anderson on Wednesday night (Dec. 18) and has won three of its past four contests.
FAST BREAKS
- This will be the first-ever meeting between Lincoln and Eureka.
- Eureka is the first of two opponents that Lincoln will play for the first time in 2019-20. The other is Rogers State, which is in its first year as an associate member of the MIAA, who Lincoln will play in a league game on Jan. 25.
- Lincoln has won each of its last three series openers vs. first-time opponents and four of its past five.
- This will be the fourth-straight home game for the Blue Tigers, who have played every game in December inside Jason Gym.
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS: Lincoln's top rebounder is Vivian Chigbu, who is averaging close to a double-double with 11.6 points and 9.4 boards. Kaloni Pryear leads Lincoln with 16.2 points per game, and Alecia Gulledge is averaging 7.6 points while Kiara Shoulders' 5.8 boards per game are the second-most on the team.
HEAD COACH AYANA McWILLIAMS: A five-year veteran of the Division I ranks, McWilliams is in her fourth year as the head coach at Lincoln. Last season, McWilliams led the Blue Tigers to a 7-0 start, the best in program history. 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: Virja Lewis led four players in double figures with 14 points and Kiara Shoulders had 10 points and seven boards as Lincoln beat Hannibal-LaGrange, 84-45, on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 14). Kaloni Pryear and Vivian Chigbu each scored 12 points as Lincoln shot .544 from the field and out-rebounded the Trojans, 46-24. Kyessence Collins, in her LU debut, scored nine points and dished five assists.
SCOUTING THE RED DEVILS: Eureka uses a steady rotation of seven players, with Olivia Falls (15.8 ppg., 11.1 rpg.) and Ashley Harfst (15.0 ppg., 12.3 rpg.) each averaging double-doubles. Jadyn Mitchell is next on the scoring chart at 13.9 ppg., and Kennedy Dura, who averages 8.9 points and 4.7 rebounds, is leading the team with 4.2 assists per game. Whitney Bozarth (9.9 ppg.), Ja'Keesha Hawkins (9.7 ppg.) and Marissa Murphy (7.6 ppg.) are EC's other contributors.
EC HEAD COACH AMOS ARBOGAST: In his three seasons as the head coach, Arbogast has had tremendous success, compiling a 38-22 overall record. In his first year, Arbogast guided the Red Devils to 18 victories, the most for a first-year head coach since 1991-92. Arbogast previously was an assistant with EC's men's program for six years.
TO THE TENS: Kaloni Pryear is off to a fantastic start offensively, averaging 16.2 points per game to lead Lincoln and rank fourth in the MIAA. In all nine games in which she's played, Pryear has scored at least 10 points, including reaching a new career-high with 26 points against Maryville. For the season, Pryear has made 58 field goals, the second-most by an MIAA player, and ranks 87th in NCAA Division II in that stat.
DOUBLE THE FUN: Vivian Chigbu has reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding in three games in 2019-20 and averages 11.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Chigbu scored 26 and grabbed 15 boards against St. Louis Pharm., tallied 26 points and 10 rebounds vs. MacMurray and had 14 points and 11 boards at UMSL.
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: Lincoln has four games in the month of December, and all four will be played inside Jason Gym. In fact, Lincoln is in the middle of a stretch where seven of nine contests will be at home, with the Blue Tigers hosting both Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western on Dec. 5 and Dec. 7 before hosting Hannibal-LaGrange (12/14) and Eureka (12/19), and, in a three-game stretch in January, will play host to Central Missouri, Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State.
ON THE REBOUND: The Blue Tigers have established themselves as one of the MIAA's best rebounding teams, as Lincoln leads the league in total rebounds per game (43.9) and in offensive boards (17.2). Lincoln is rising up the ranks in the national levels as well, ranking ninth in Division II in offensive rebounding & 27th in rebounding.
GOOD ON THE GLASS: Vivian Chigbu reached double figures in rebounding in each of the first four games and currently leads the team and is third in the MIAA while rating 49th in the nation in total rebounds per game with 9.4. Chigbu's total of 94 rebounds is the most in the MIAA and the 32nd-most in NCAA Division II.
SHOULDERING THE DEFENSE: In addition to Vivian Chigbu, Lincoln has another player who is off to a hot start in rebounding in Kiara Shoulders, who averages 5.8 boards per contest. Shoulders, who also averages 7.0 points, is 11th in the league in defensive rebounding with 4.7 per night as well as 15th in the conference in total rebounding. Shoulders' play has helped Lincoln post the second-best rebounding margin in the MIAA (+6.2).
PRYEAR SUCCESS: Kaloni Pryear, who started 14 games and made 19 total appearances a year ago, is Lincoln's early scoring leader in 2019-20. Pryear opened the year with 18 points against Southern Arkansas. Pryear scored 21 points against William Jewell, and her 16.2 average has her ranked fourth in the MIAA.
BOTH SIDES OF THE GLASS: Whether she's on offense or defense, very few players rebound as well as Vivian Chigbu. Her 4.0 offensive rebounds per game lead the MIAA and are 22nd nationally while her 5.4 defensive boards per game are seventh in the conference.
A GLOBAL TEAM: The 2019-20 Blue Tigers represent six countries, including Australia (Natasha Elliott and coach Graham McFall); Spain (Anna Munoz Vidueira); Nigeria (Vivian Chigbu); Uruguay (Natasha Dolinsky); Bosnia & Herzegovina (Vedrana Radosavljevic); and, of course, the United States of America.
REAPING REBOUNDS: Lincoln has two of the five best rebounding performances in the MIAA, including grabbing 61 boards in the win over MacMurray, the 16th-most in a single game by a DII team this year. LU also pulled down 54 boards against Missouri Western.
DOLING ASSISTS: Natasha Dolinsky leads the Blue Tigers with 20 assists for an average of 2.0 per game that is tied for 25th in the MIAA. She also has 18 steals and three blocks on the year, ranking her second among Lincoln's players in both categories.
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 2020 on the road, traveling to Wichita, Kan. on Jan. 4 to play Newman at 1:00 p.m. CST.
