Complete Game Notes
Game #4: Lincoln (2-1) at Illinois-Springfield (3-0)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021
Time: 5:30 p.m. CST
Site: Springfield, Ill.
Live Stats: https://uisprairiestars.com/sidearmstats/wbball/
Live Video: http://www.glvcsn.com/

Game #5: Lincoln at William Jewell (0-2)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021
Time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Site: Liberty, Mo.
Live Stats: https://jewellcardinals.com/sidearmstats/wbball/
Live Video: http://www.glvcsn.com/

THE TIP OFF:  The Lincoln women's basketball team continues its 2021-22 season this week with games on Thursday (Nov. 18) and Saturday (Nov. 20) against a pair of GLVC opponents. These will be the first road games of 2021-22 for the Blue Tigers, who play Illinois-Springfield in Springfield, Ill. on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CST before traveling to Liberty, Mo. on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. CST game against William Jewell. It's part of a busy week for the Blue Tigers, who opened the week with a 97-20 win over Blackburn at home on Tuesday (Nov. 16).

FAST BREAKS
- Lincoln and Illinois-Springfield meet for the fifth time on Thursday evening, with the all-time series tied at 2-2. The teams last played in 2015-16, with UIS winning, 80-69, in Springfield.

- The Blue Tigers will play William Jewell for the fourth time in program history on Saturday. The Cardinals have won each of the past three meetings, including beating LU, 87-72, in 2019-20.

- A win in either game would be the first road victory for Lincoln since beating Upper Iowa, 73-48, in Fayette, Iowa on Dec. 18, 2018.

- Lincoln's 2-1 start is its best since 2018-19 (7-0).

- This week, LU will play three games in five days.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Through the first three games of 2021-22, Lincoln's scoring has been balanced, with Kelsey Mitchell leading the team with 11.7 ppg. Hya Haywood (11.3 ppg., 4.5 spg.) and Imani Jones (10.7 ppg., 6.7 rpg.) join Le'Yanna McGinnis (10.3 ppg.) in scoring double digits. The Blue Tigers have 54 steals and 12 blocks on the season.

HEAD COACH ANDREA MIZE:  Andrea Mize is in her second year as the head coach at Lincoln after a successful two-year run at Central Florida College. In 2019-20, Mize led CFC to a 19-win season that included a victory in the first round of the FCSAA playoffs. Mize previously was an assistant at Martin Methodist, helping the program reach the NAIA national tournament three times.

LAST TIME OUT
Southern Arkansas 96, Lincoln 63
The Muleriders scored 45 points off LU turnovers en route to a 96-63 win in Jason Gym in the 2021-22 season opener for both teams. Imani Jones led the Blue Tigers with 14 points and eight boards, and Hya Haywood chipped in 10 points.

Lincoln 90, Arkansas-Monticello 67
The Blue Tigers scored 32 first quarter points and never looked back, rolling to a 90-67 win against Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday (Nov. 13). LU was led by Le'Yanna McGinnis with 20 points, and Imani Jones finished with nine points and seven boards while Kelsey Mitchell (12 points) and Kylie Bernskoetter (11) scored in double figures.

Lincoln 97, Blackburn 20
Lincoln allowed Blackburn to complete only seven field goals, forced the Beavers to go 0-17 from long distance, and led by 46 at half time en route to a 97-20 win on Tuesday night (Nov. 16). Both Hya Haywood and Kelsey Mitchell scored 16 points, AJ Bradley provided eight steals and 10 rebounds, and Kylie Bernskoetter and Imani Jones each had nine points on the evening. Deija Jackson recorded seven points and seven rebounds.

SCOUTING THE PRAIRIE STARS:  UIS has a dominant scorer in Lauren Ladowski, who has a pair of 20-point performances and averages 19.0 points per contest. Ellie Mitchell is next with 9.7 ppg. while Jalyn Harris, who leads the program with 10.7 rebounds, and Ally Gietzel each score 7.7 points per game. UIS has outscored teams by an average of 62-55 through three games.

UIS HEAD COACH CASEY THOUSAND:  Last season, the third-year coach of the Prairie Stars led UIS to a program-record 10 GLVC wins. In 10 seasons as a head coach, including seven years at Edgewood, Thousand has compiled over 100 wins.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS:  William Jewell is averaging 45.0 points per contest, led by Libby Arnold's 13.0 points per game. Kate Hillyer leads WJC with 6.5 rebounds and averages 6.0 points, and Rachel Senn averages 7.5 points.

WJC HEAD COACH JILL SLOMINSKI:  In 26 years at William Jewell, Slominski has more than 450 victories. Nine WJC teams under Slominski's watch have won at least 20 games, and she took the program to the NAIA Sweet 16 three times. Slominski has coached 67 all-league athletes.

TAKE IT AWAY:  The Blue Tigers have stolen the ball 54 times in 2021-22, and currently are third in NCAA Division II in total steals and seventh in steals per game (18.0). Lincoln leads the MIAA in both of those categories, as well as in turnovers forced, as LU has created 27.8 takeaways per game, the 17th-most in the country.

BAND OF THIEVES:  Four of the MIAA's top-10 thieves play for Lincoln, including AJ Bradley, who leads the conference with 10 steals, and Hya Haywood, who is second in the league with nine. Nationally, Bradley is 11th in Division II in steals while Haywood is 17th. Haylie Holloway ranks sixth in the MIAA with seven takeaways, and Kylie Bernskoetter is 10th with five.

OFF THE GLASS:  Lincoln once again has excelled on the offensive glass, as the Blue Tigers have secured 63 boards to lead the MIAA and rank seventh in NCAA Division II in offensive rebounding. The Blue Tigers led the MIAA in offensive rebounding last year, and this year average 21.0 offensive boards per contest. Individually, Imani Jones is sixth in the conference with a 3.3 average.

...AND DEFENSIVELY, TOO:  LU's rebounding prowess is also something to behold, as the Blue Tigers rank 13th in NCAA Division II, and second in the MIAA, in with 142 total rebounds. Lincoln's rebounding average of 47.3 ranks 22nd nationally, and Lincoln has a +10.7 margin of rebounding that leads the MIAA and rates 34th in DII.

DENIED:  Lincoln has blocked 12 shots during its first three games, an average of 4.0 blocks per game that rates fourth in the MIAA. On a national level, Lincoln is 18th in total blocks, with Ashtin Ingram leading the Blue Tigers with three rejections on the year. Ingram is seventh in the league in blocks, while Le'Yanna McGinnis, AJ Bradley, Deija Jackson and Imani Jones are tied for 11th with two blocks apiece.

GET YOUR TICKETS:  Lincoln is partnering with Hometown Ticketing once again to sell tickets to all of LU's basketball games online in 2021-22. For more information, visit www.LUBlueTigers.com/Tickets.

JOIN THE CLUB:  The Blue Tiger Athletics Club is a great way to engage with other LU fans while supporting Lincoln student-athletes. Every dollar raised by the club goes towards scholarships, improving facilities and purchasing equipment. To join the BTAC, or to learn more, please visit www.LUBlueTigers.com/BTAC.

WATCH LIVE:  Fans who are unable to attend a game in person will still be able to cheer on the Blue Tigers to victory via The MIAA Network. All 14 Lincoln home games will be broadcast through a new multi-camera system and can be seen at www.TheMIAANetwork.com/LUBlueTigers.

GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  Lincoln fans can get everything they need for the game at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store for LU athletics. Everything from jerseys to office supplies can be found on the site, with a portion of all sales going to benefit Lincoln athletics.

NEXT UP:  Lincoln remains on the road to play Westminster on Tuesday (Nov. 23) in Fulton, Mo. at 5:30 p.m. CST.