FAYETTE, Iowa - The Lincoln women's basketball team connected on 48-percent of its shot attempts and opened the game with a 30-point first quarter, but Southern Arkansas stormed back in the second half to win the high-scoring contest, 100-89, on Saturday evening (Nov. 12). The game was played as part of the Central Region Challenge, hosted by Upper Iowa University.

Le'Yanna McGinnis led all scorers with 25 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds while three other LU players scored in double figures. AJ Bradley ended the day with 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and had a steal to go with three assists and a trio of rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell supplied 15 points, four boards and a pair of steals, and Ayreona Carter added 12 points and five rebounds.

Lincoln (1-1) led by seven early in the second quarter, but Southern Arkansas (1-1) hit back-to-back triples to start a 13-0 run. The Muleriders ended up leading by as many as 15 before taking a 53-43 advantage into halftime. Undeterred, the Blue Tigers came out hot in the third quarter, scoring 28 total points and finishing the period on a 12-1 run to make it a 72-71 affair entering the final 10 minutes.

That one point was as close as LU would get to completing the comeback, though the Blue Tigers did make it a one-point contest several times in the fourth quarter. With 3:43 to play the score was 85-81 in favor of SAU, but the Muleriders managed to make eight free throws down the stretch to prevent LU from finishing its rally.

Saniya Simmons dished a team-high six assists and tallied two steals to go with four points and four rebounds. Niyah Jackson dropped four dimes and collected three rebounds to go with six points, and Mercy Gonzalez finished the night with four points, six boards, two assists and a steal. Aysia Arrowood chipped in three points while Miriam Bazylewicz rounded out the scoring with two points and four rebounds.

The Blue Tigers will travel to Florida for its next two games, with Lincoln playing Lynn in Boca Raton, Fla. on Nov. 21 at 2:00 p.m. CST before taking on Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla. on Nov. 22 at 5:30 p.m. CST.