Complete Game Notes
Game #17: Lincoln (3-13, 0-7 MIAA) at Northeastern State (4-12, 2-7 MIAA)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020
Time: 5:30 p.m. CST
Site: Tahlequah, Okla.
Live Stats: https://goriverhawksgo.com/sidearmstats/wbball
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/

Game #18: Lincoln at Rogers State (2-16, 0-9 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020
Time: 2:00 p.m. CST
Site: Claremore, Okla.
Live Stats: https://rsuhillcats.com/sidearmstats/wbball
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/

THE TIP OFF:  Oklahoma is the place for the Lincoln women's basketball team this week, as the Blue Tigers play a pair of conference games in the Sooner State. LU first visits Tahlequah, Okla. on Thursday evening (Jan. 23) as the Blue Tigers play Northeastern State at 5:30 p.m. CST. Lincoln then heads to Claremore, Okla. on Saturday (Jan. 25) to take on Rogers State at 2:00 p.m. CST. LU will try to claim its first MIAA victory of the year this week, as Lincoln is 0-7 in MIAA play after falling to Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State at home last week. Rogers State, in its first season as an associate member of the MIAA, is also seeking its first league win after opening conference play 0-9. Northeastern State, meanwhile, is 2-7 in the MIAA and 4-12 overall.

FAST BREAKS
- On Thursday, Northeastern State and Lincoln will meet for the ninth time. The all-time series is tied, 4-4.

- The RiverHawks have won the last two meetings to snap a three-game winning streak by the Blue Tigers. LU's last win over NSU was a 66-62 victory in Jefferson City in 2016-17.

- Lincoln's win in Tahlequah came in 2015-16, as the Blue Tigers beat Northeastern State, 59-57.

- On Saturday, Lincoln and Rogers State will play each other for the first time ever.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  With 11.9 points and 8.6 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 17.0 points per game, and Alecia Gulledge is next on the scoring chart at 6.9 ppg. Kyessence Collins, with 2.8 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
Missouri Southern 74, Lincoln 65
A trey by Natasha Dolinsky, who led Lincoln with 20 points, cut the Missouri Southern lead to three early in the third quarter, but the Lions pulled away in the second half to beat the Blue Tigers in Jason Gym on Thursday (Jan. 16). LU held MSSU to just .143 shooting from beyond the arc, but the Lions shot .520 overall, out-scoring Lincoln inside the paint, 46-20.

Pittsburg State 84, Lincoln 63
It was tied after the first quarter and a six-point game at halftime, but Pittsburg State pulled away in the second half to defeat Lincoln in Jefferson City on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 18). Kaloni Pryear led Lincoln with 24 points and Vivian Chigbu had 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Alecia Gulledge and Pryear each had eight boards, with Gulledge also recording three blocks.

SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS:  Cenia Hayes (14.6 ppg.) and Shae Sanchez (13.8 ppg.) are each averaging over 10 points per game, but the next-leading scorer is Cielo McClain with 5.4 per game. Hayes additionally leads NSU in rebounding (5.9) and steals (27), while Sanchez had dished a team-high 30 assists.

NSU HEAD COACH FALA BULLOCK:  An NSU alumna, Bullock took over as the head coach of the RiverHawks in 2017 after serving as the head coach at Armstrong State, where she won 60 games. Bullock began her coaching career as an assistant at Northeastern State, and spent two seasons as the head coach of Central Georgia.

SCOUTING THE HILLCATS:  Rogers State has a balanced scoring attack, as Vanessa Gajdosova leads the team with 9.2 points per night. Darian Jackson, who averages 8.4 points, leads RSU with 5.8 rebounds per game, and Bailey Kliewer has a team-high 15 blocks. As a team, RSU averages 61.4 points and 34.4 rebounds per game.

RSU HEAD COACH KYLE BENT:  In his first year leading the Hillcats, Bent coached the team to a 14-14 overall record and the No. 4 seed in the Heartland Conference tournament. Bent spent the previous four seasons as the head coach at Martin Methodist, directing the RedHawks to 95 wins and four berths in the NAIA tournament.

DOUBLE THE FUN:  Vivian Chigbu has reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding in five games in 2019-20 and averages 11.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Chigbu, who twice has eclipsed 20 points in a game, trails only Fort Hays State's Belle Barbieri, who has six, for the most double-doubles 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 (41.2) and leads the conference in offensive boards (16.5). Nationally, LU is 18th in DII in offensive boards.

GOOD ON THE GLASS:  Vivian Chigbu reached double figures in rebounding in each of the first four games and currently is second in the MIAA while rating 77th in the nation in rebounds per game with 8.6. Her total of 137 rebounds is the third-most in the MIAA.

TO THE TENS:  Kaloni Pryear is off to a fantastic start offensively, averaging 17.0 points per game to lead LU and rank fourth in the MIAA. In all 15 games in which she's played, Pryear has scored at least 10 points, and she has reached the 20-point plateau four times. Pryear has made 100 field goals, the fourth-most in the MIAA, while her .481 field goal percentage is seventh in the league.

KY'S THE KEY:  Kyessence Collins has given Lincoln an immediate impact since joining the lineup on Dec. 14, including dishing 17 assists for a 2.8 average that leads the team. Collins had nine points, five assists and five boards in her debut performance vs. Hannibal-LaGrange, and is averaging 5.2 points & 3.3 rebounds for the season.

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 15 games in which she's played, with four 20-point performances, including scoring a career-high 26 vs. Maryville.

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 18th nationally while her 4.6 defensive boards per game are 10th in the conference.

THE ROTATION KEEPS SPINNING:  Lincoln has changed up its lineup in nearly every game, using 12 different starting fives in 16 games in 2019-20. Ten Blue Tigers have made at least three starts, with only Vivian Chigbu having made as many as 15.

DOLING SOME HELP:  Natasha Dolinsky leads the Blue Tigers with 30 total assists for 1.9 per game. She also has 27 steals, tied for the 14th-most in the MIAA, and four blocks on the year, and Dolinsky is scoring 6.9 points per night while averaging 3.4 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:  Lincoln returns to Jason Gym next week, hosting Washburn on Thursday (Jan. 29) at 5:30 p.m. CST.