JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln women's basketball team played Pittsburg State tough in the first half, but the Gorillas pulled away over the final 20 minutes to hand the Blue Tigers an 84-63 loss on Saturday (Jan. 18).

Kaloni Pryear eclipsed the 20-point mark for the fourth time in 2019-20, scoring 24 points while grabbing eight rebounds, dishing two assists and tallying a steal. Vivian Chigbu, meanwhile, recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points, 10 boards, a block, a steal and an assist.

Pittsburg State (9-7, 5-3 MIAA) led by eight with 4:51 to play in the opening quarter, but Alecia Gulledge hit a layup to spring the Blue Tigers onto a 10-0 run, capped off by a bucket from Natasha Dolinsky to give LU a 16-13 lead. Gulledge also had eight rebounds and scored eight points to go with a team-high three blocks. Dolinsky, meanwhile, finished with nine points and a pair of steals.

The Gorillas came back to make it a 20-20 game after the first quarter, and prevented Lincoln (3-13, 0-7 MIAA) from coming any closer than two during the second period, ultimately taking a 40-36 lead into the half. Pittsburg State went on to out-score Lincoln, 19-12, in the third quarter, and added 25 points in the fourth to seal the victory.

Kyessence Collins came off the bench to provide seven points, four boards, a block and an assist, and Virja Lewis closed the scoring with two points, six rebounds and a block. Nia McCaskill had a rebound for LU, and Natasha Elliott had a rebound and an assist.

Lincoln will head to Oklahoma for its next two games, starting on Thursday (Jan. 23) when the Blue Tigers visit Tahlequah to take on Northeastern State in a 5:30 p.m. CST contest.