Complete Game Notes
Game #27: Southwest Baptist (9-17, 5-12 MIAA) at Lincoln (10-16, 2-15 MIAA)
Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Time: 5:30 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 final week of the 2018-19 season has arrived for the Lincoln women's basketball team, which hosts Southwest Baptist on Wednesday night (Feb. 27) at 5:30 p.m. CST. Revenge will be on the mind of the Blue Tigers after Lincoln dropped a 68-67 decision in Bolivar, Mo. to Southwest Baptist back on Jan. 19. Lincoln led for nearly that entire game, including holding a nine-point advantage with just over three minutes remaining before the Bearcats used a 12-2 run to stun the Blue Tigers on a late layup to escape with the win. Lincoln enters this week with a 10-16 record while the Bearcats are 9-17, and both teams will try to conclude the regular season with a little bit of momentum.

FAST BREAKS
- This will be the 41st meeting between the Blue Tigers and the Bearcats, with Southwest Baptist leading the all-time series, 30-10.

- The Bearcats have won each of the past two games in the series, including edging the Blue Tigers, 68-67. in Bolivar, Mo. on Jan. 19. Lincoln, however, won the last time the teams met in Jefferson City, as LU beat SBU, 72-70, in 2016-17.

- After finishing with just four wins in 2017-18, Lincoln already has 10 victories this year. The Blue Tigers have their first 10-win season since going 12-14 during the 2014-15 campaign.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Zhanesha Dickerson is nearly averaging a double-double with 17.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, and Bre Coleman (14.3 ppg.), Zoi Thompson (12.9) and Kaloni Pryear (9.6) are among Lincoln's other scoring leaders. Thompson averages team-highs in assists (4.2) and steals (1.4), while Alecia Gulledge (7.0 rpg.) and Kiara Shoulders (4.9 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:  Zhanesha Dickerson (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Bre Coleman (21 points, 13 boards) each doubled up while Kaloni Pryear had 15 points and Zoi Thompson scored 11. Washburn shot .435 from three-point range, however, and forced LU into 15 turnovers en route to an 80-70 victory against the Blue Tigers in Jason Gym last Saturday (Feb. 23).

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:  Despite having just nine wins on the year, Southwest Baptist averages 74.5 points and allows 73.5, and has four players scoring in double figures. Caylee Richardson has a team-leading 15.3 points per game, followed by Morgan Henderson (10.4), Laura Vierkant (10.4) and Bailey Rezabek (10.2). Richardson leads the team in rebounding with 8.4 per night.

SBU HEAD COACH KELSEY KEIZER:  Keizer is in her fifth season at Southwest Baptist. She led the Bearcats to their first winning season in eight years in 2015-16, and Keizer has guided SBU to 65 wins over the past five seasons. Keizer has led the Bearcats to three MIAA tournament appearances, and played professionally in Europe before spending three years as an assistant at SBU.

ATTEMPTS AND MAKES:  Few players in NCAA Division II attempt more shots than LU's Zhanesha Dickerson, who leads the MIAA and is 12th in the country with 429 field goal attempts. Dickerson, who is also 40th in the country in three-point tries, makes 38.7-percent of her total shots and is 51st in the nation in total field goals made with 166.

DOUBLE UP:  Ten times this year Zhanesha Dickerson has posted a double-double and has yet to have a game where she's grabbed fewer than five boards. Dickerson, who is averaging close to a double-double for the season, is third in the league in scoring (17.2 ppg.) and is third in rebounding (8.3 rpg.), and her 10 total double-doubles rank her second in the MIAA and 44th in NCAA Division II.

CLOSE CALLS:  Lincoln has played some very close games this season, with nine of LU's games being decided by six points or less. Those have been a mixed bag for the Blue Tigers, who are 2-7 in such contests, including a pair of one-point losses to Missouri Western & Southwest Baptist on the road, and an overtime loss to Missouri Southern at home.

SHOULDERING THE DEFENSE:  Freshman Kiara Shoulders has been a huge asset for LU on the defensive side of the ball, as she is averaging 4.9 rebounds with 104 coming on the defensive glass. Shoulders, who also has 34 steals and five blocks on the season, has started 21 games, the third-most of any Blue Tiger in 2018-19. She's had at least five boards in seven of the past nine games with a 12-rebound performance at Emporia State.

GULL ON THE GLASS:  Alecia Gulledge has emerged as one of Lincoln's leaders on the glass, grabbing 7.0 boards per game, the 10th-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.

TEMPARY SUCCESS:  Tempary Gunter has made her senior season a memorable one. In addition to playing in all 10 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 7.5 points on .417 shooting, and also has 12 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 14.3 ppg. and 7.7 rpg., and has posted five double-doubles on the season to go with 21 steals and 13 blocks.

NATIONALLY RANKED:  Several Blue Tigers rate among the best in the country in certain statistics, including Zoi Thompson, who is 62nd nationally in assists per game (4.2) and 65th in total assists (105). Zhanesha Dickerson is 66th in points per game (17.2) and 41st in minutes played (916:09) while Alecia Gulledge is 138th in minutes played (856:04).

HOME, SWEET HOME:  For the first time since 2010-11, when the Blue Tigers had 15 home games and 11 road tilts, Lincoln will play more contests at home than it will true road games. The Blue Tigers play 12 games in Jason Gym, including five of their final seven contests of the year, with just nine true road games on the schedule.

LEAGUE LEADER:  Zoi Thompson led the Blue Tigers in November, earning MIAA Player of the Week accolades after nearly posting a triple double against Stephens. Thompson ranks third in the MIAA in assists with 4.2 per game, and rates 14th in the league in scoring (12.9 ppg.).

SECOND CHANCES:  Lincoln has found ways to extend its possessions, rating second in the MIAA and ranking 56th in Division II with 14.0 offensive rebounds per game. The Blue Tigers, who have 357 offensive boards on the year, have scored 327 second chance points in 2018-19.

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:  Lincoln wraps up the regular season at home on Saturday (March 2) when LU hosts Central Missouri at 12:00 p.m. CST.