Complete Game Notes
Game # 23: No. 25 Nebraska Kearney (22-2, 11-2 MIAA) at Lincoln (3-19, 0-13 MIAA)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020
Time: 5:30 p.m. CST
Site: Jefferson City, Mo.
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/wbball/
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/

Game #24: Fort Hays State (17-5, 8-5 MIAA) at Lincoln
Date: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020
Time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Site: Jefferson City, Mo.
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/wbball/
Live Video: http://www.themiaanetwork.com/

THE TIP OFF:  The final two home games of the 2019-20 season for the Lincoln women's basketball team will take place this week, as the Blue Tigers welcome a pair of MIAA rivals to Jason Gym. On Thursday (Feb. 13), the Blue Tigers host Nebraska Kearney at 5:30 p.m. CST. On Saturday (Feb. 15), the Blue Tigers take on the defending MIAA champions, Fort Hays State, at 1:00 p.m. CST. LU will have its annual Senior Day ceremony following the game on Saturday, as Kaloni Pryear, Kyessence Collins and Alecia Gulledge will be recognized for their time as Blue Tigers. These will be the only meetings of the year against these teams for Lincoln, which is coming off a 59-45 road loss to Northwest Missouri last Saturday (Feb. 8).

FAST BREAKS
- Lincoln and Nebraska Kearney meet for the ninth time on Thursday night, with the Lopers leading the series, 7-1.

- LU's lone win against UNK came in Jason Gym, as the Blue Tigers topped the Lopers, 90-68, during the 2014-15 season. Since then, UNK has won five straight over LU.

- On Saturday, Lincoln and Fort Hays State will play one another for the 14th time, with FHSU leading the series, 12-1.

- Lincoln's win over Fort Hays State came in 2011-12, as LU beat FHSU in overtime on the road, 76-75.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  With 11.0 points and 8.0 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 16.0 points per game, and Kyessence Collins leads Lincoln with 2.9 assists per contest and averages 6.9 points. Alecia Gulledge, meanwhile, has been an all-around asset to the Blue Tigers with 6.2 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 32 steals and 10 blocks.

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:  The Blue Tigers tried to rally after being held to six points in the first quarter, but Northwest Missouri held off Lincoln, 59-45, in Maryville, Mo. on Saturday (Feb. 8). LU limited NWMSU to just .377 shooting overall and .320 from beyond the arc, but the Bearcats got 26 points from its reserves while holding Lincoln to .326 shooting from the field. Vivian Chigbu matched Natasha Dolinsky with a team-high 12 points.

SCOUTING THE LOPERS:  Nebraska Kearney is averaging nearly 10 more points per game (78.1) than its opponents (68.8), and has 196 steals and 71 blocks on the season. Elisa Backes, who averages 8.3 points, leads the Lopers with 29 blocks, while Klaire Kirsch has a team-high 41 steals. Three UNK players are scoring in double figures, led by Haley Simental with 12.1 ppg. Brooke Carlson (11.4 ppg.) is next on the scoring list.

UNK HEAD COACH CARRIE EIGHMEY:  In her fifth season at Nebraska Kearney, Eighmey has led the Lopers to 86 wins, including 22 this season. Before she joined the Lopers, she coached her alma mater, Hastings, to two trips to the NAIA Division II tournament.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS:  Belle Barbieri, with 10.8 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game, is averaging close to a double-double while Kacey Kennett leads the team with 12.3 ppg. Jaden Hobbs (11.6 ppg.) and Taylor Rolfs (11.0) are the team's other scoring leaders, and three other FHSU players average more than eight points per night.

FHSU HEAD COACH TONY HOBSON:  One of the most successful coaches in the nation, Hobson has a career winning percentage of .765, that ranks him among the top-12 of all active coaches in NCAA Division II. FHSU has appeared in the Top-25 in seven of the past eight years and has made each of the past 10 MIAA tournaments, highlighted by a tourney championship in 2019.

DOUBLE THE FUN:  Vivian Chigbu has reached double figures in both scoring and rebounding in six games in 2019-20 and averages 11.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Chigbu, who twice has eclipsed 20 points in a game, grabbed at least 10 rebounds in six of the first eight games and has pulled down at least five boards in 14 games.

...AND ONE:  Virja Lewis also has recorded a double-double this season, as she grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 24 points against Rogers State. Lewis, who also had a 10-rebound night vs. Washburn, had 10 points and eight boards against Central Missouri.

ON THE REBOUND:  The Blue Tigers have established themselves as one of the MIAA's best rebounding teams, as Lincoln is fourth in the league in total rebounds per game (39.2) and leads the conference in offensive boards (14.9). Nationally, LU is 30th 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 sixth in the MIAA in rebounds per game with 8.0. Her total of 176 rebounds is the fifth-most in the MIAA.

A GLOBAL TEAM:  The 2019-20 Blue Tigers are representing six countries: Australia (Natasha Elliott and assistant coach Graham McFall); Spain (Anna Munoz Vidueira); Nigeria (Vivian Chigbu); Uruguay (Natasha Dolinsky); Bosnia & Herzegovina (Vedrana Radosavljevic); and, of course, the United States of America.

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 17 times this year. Pryear has notched five 20-point performances, including a career-high 26 vs. Maryville.

TO THE TENS:  Kaloni Pryear is having an outstanding season offensively, averaging 16.0 points per game to lead LU and rank fifth in the MIAA. In 19 of the 21 games she's played, Pryear has scored at least 10 points, and she has reached the 20-point plateau five times. Pryear has made 131 field goals, the fourth-most in the MIAA, while her .455 field goal percentage is eighth in the league.

STEAL-GULL:  Alecia Gulledge leads Lincoln with 32 steals, with her 1.6 takeaways per game ranking 15th in the MIAA. Gulledge, who joins Natasha Dolinsky and Vivian Chigbu in the top-20 of the MIAA rankings for steals per game, has helped Lincoln post the conference's seventh-best team average of 8.6 takeaways per contest.

BOTH SIDES OF THE GLASS:  Whether she's on offense or defense, very few players rebound as well as Vivian Chigbu. Her 3.5 offensive boards per game are second in the MIAA and rank 35th nationally while her 4.5 defensive boards per game are 12th in the conference.

THE ROTATION KEEPS SPINNING:  Lincoln has changed up its lineup in nearly every game, using 15 different starting fives in 22 games in 2019-20. Ten Blue Tigers have made at least three starts, with only Vivian Chigbu having made as many as 20.

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:  The Blue Tigers begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday (Feb. 18) with a 5:30 p.m. CST game at Central Missouri.