Complete Game Notes
Game #15: Missouri Southern (4-10, 1-5 MIAA) at Lincoln (3-11, 0-5 MIAA)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 16, 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 Lincoln women's basketball team is back in Jason Gym on Thursday evening (Jan. 16) as the Blue Tigers host Missouri Southern at 5:30 p.m. CST. It's the second of three-straight home games for LU, which will try to rebound from an 82-60 home loss to Central Missouri last Saturday (Jan. 11). The Blue Tigers are now 2-1 in their last three home games, and will attempt to get back in the win column against a Missouri Southern team that is 1-6 away from home in 2019-20. MSSU is coming off a home win over Newman that snapped a three-game skid and improved the Lions to 4-10 overall and 1-5 against MIAA opponents.

FAST BREAKS
- Saturday marks the 34th meeting all-time between the Blue Tigers and the Lions, with MSSU leading the series, 33-0.

- The Lions have won the last 11 games in this series. LU's last victories over MSSU came in 2011-12, when the Blue Tigers swept Missouri Southern with a 67-66 win in Joplin, Mo. and a 66-61 victory in Jefferson City.

- Lincoln is 3-4 at home in 2019-20, but 0-3 against MIAA opponents.

- The Blue Tigers will attempt to end a three-game losing streak, as Lincoln's last victory was on Dec. 19, when LU beat Eureka, 84-75.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  With 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per night, Vivian Chigbu is averaging close to a double-double and leads LU on the glass. Kaloni Pryear is scoring a team-high 16.3 points per game, and Alecia Gulledge is next on the scoring chart at 7.0 ppg. Kiara Shoulders averages 4.9 boards while Kyessence Collins, with 3.2 per game, is LU's leader in assists.

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:  Lincoln held Central Missouri to .300 shooting from beyond the arc, but UCM shot .484 overall to claim an 82-60 victory over the Blue Tigers on Saturday (Jan. 11). Kaloni Pryear came off the bench to lead LU with 19 points and Virja Lewis nearly tallied a double-double with 10 points and eight boards. Vivian Chigbu added 13 points while Kiara Shoulders dished three assists.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:  Zoe Campbell leads the MIAA with 42 blocks, 18 more than the next-best shot rejector, and her 7.6 rebounding average also leads Missouri Southern. Chasidee Owens, who is next on the rebounding chart with 6.8 per night, is the team's leading scorer (15.3 ppg.), followed by Destiny Cozart (14.9) and Campbell (11.3). Amber Buch leads MSSU in assists (3.4 apg.), and Cozart has a team-high 14 steals.

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 41 games as the head coach. Before he began his tenure with the women's team, Ressel served as an assistant with the MSSU men's team.

HOME STRETCH:  Lincoln is in the midst of a stretch in which it plays seven of nine games in Jason Gym. The Blue Tigers were home for all four of their games in the month of December, and, after playing a pair of road games to begin 2020, are now in the middle of a three-game homestand. The circumstances will be different after this weekend, however, as Lincoln ends the regular season with eight of its final 12 games on the road.

KY'S THE KEY:  Kyessence Collins has given LU an immediate impact since joining the lineup on Dec. 14, including dishing 16 assists for a 3.2 apg. average that leads the team. Collins had nine points, five assists and five rebounds in her debut performance against Hannibal-LaGrange, and is averaging 4.8 points & 3.2 boards for the season.

TO THE TENS:  Kaloni Pryear is off to a fantastic start offensively, averaging 16.3 points per game to lead Lincoln and rank fifth in the MIAA. In all 13 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, who has reached the 20-point plateau three times, has made 85 field goals, the seventh-most in the MIAA, while her .506 field goal percentage is sixth in the league.

DOUBLE THE FUN:  Vivian Chigbu has reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding in four games in 2019-20 and averages 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Chigbu, who twice has eclipsed 20 points in a game, trails only Chris Wilson (MWSU) & Maya Williams (PSU), who each have five, for the most in the MIAA.

ON THE REBOUND:  The Blue Tigers have established themselves as one of the MIAA's best rebounding teams, as Lincoln is second in the league in total rebounds per game (41.8) and leads the conference in offensive boards (16.4). Nationally, Lincoln ranks 18th in DII in offensive rebounding & 53rd in total 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 the MIAA while rating 87th in the nation in rebounds per game with 8.5. Her total of 119 rebounds is the fifth-most in the MIAA and the 94th-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 4.9 boards per contest. Shoulders, who also averages 5.8 points, is 15th in the league in defensive rebounding with 3.9 per night as well as 23rd in the conference in total rebounding. Shoulders' play has helped Lincoln post the sixth-best rebounding margin in the MIAA (+3.3).

PRYEAR SUCCESS:  Kaloni Pryear, who started 14 games and made 19 total appearances a year ago, is Lincoln's scoring leader in 2019-20. Pryear opened the year with 18 points against Southern Arkansas and has reached double digits in all 13 games in which she's played, with three 20-point performances.

BOTH SIDES OF THE GLASS:  Whether she's on offense or defense, very few players rebound as well as Vivian Chigbu. Her 3.9 offensive rebounds per game are second in the MIAA and 16th nationally while her 4.6 defensive boards per game are 11th in the conference.

THE ROTATION KEEPS SPINNING:  Lincoln has changed up its lineup in nearly every game, using 12 different starting fives in 14 games in 2019-20. Ten Blue Tigers have made at least three starts, with only Vivian Chigbu having made as many as 13.

DOLING SOME HELP:  Natasha Dolinsky leads the Blue Tigers with 29 total assists for an average of 2.1 per game. She also has 24 steals, tied for the 13th-most in the MIAA, and three blocks on the year, and Dolinsky is scoring 5.8 points per night while averaging 3.8 rebounds.

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:  LU closes a three-game homestand by hosting Pittsburg State on Saturday (Jan. 18) at 1:00 p.m. CST.