ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Lincoln women's basketball team led by five at the half, but Missouri Western used a strong second half to get by the Blue Tigers, 62-55, on Thursday (Dec. 3).

Deija Jackson paced the Blue Tigers with 16 points, and Niyah Jackson added 12 points, a pair of steals and seven rebounds. Joseline Ramos, making her first appearance of 2020-21, gave LU a spark with six points, and Vivian Chigbu finished with six points, five boards and two steals.

After Lincoln (0-2, 0-2 MIAA) went ahead 7-2 on a layup from Aliyah Bello, Missouri Western (2-1, 2-1 MIAA) scored nine unanswered to take a three-point advantage with three minutes to play in the opening quarter. LU fought back to tie the game several times, and Ramos hit a free throw to give Lincoln a 15-14 lead through the first 10 minutes.

Ramos opened the second quarter with a trey, and the Blue Tigers led by as many as seven late in the period. Lincoln shot .437 from the field in the second quarter and ended up taking a 31-26 advantage into the break. The third quarter was a tightly contested affair, with the teams exchanging the lead six times before the Griffons took a 47-43 advantage into the final period.

The final 10 minutes belonged to the Griffons, however, as MWSU shot .500 from the floor while holding LU to .200 shooting. For the game, Lincoln shot .313 overall and .111 from three-point range, but forced Missouri Western into 23 turnovers while tallying 12 steals. Three of those takeaways belonged to Haylie Holloway, who ended the night with three rebounds and a made free throw.

Bello collected six rebounds to go with four points and a pair of steals, and AJ Bradley tallied three points, three steals and six boards. Virja Lewis added four points and four rebounds to the Blue Tiger effort, and Kiara Cadore closed the scoring with three points and an assist. Ashtin Ingram blocked two shots, and Mya Milligan also represented Lincoln on the court.

Up next for the Blue Tigers is Northwest Missouri, who LU will face in Maryville, Mo. on Saturday (Dec. 5) at 1:30 p.m. CST.