JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Lincoln women's basketball team gave the No. 9 team in the nation all it could handle on Thursday (Feb. 17), but Fort Hays State escaped with a 76-65 win.

Fort Hays State (22-3, 16-3 MIAA) entered the night ranked in the top-10 of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Division II poll, but Lincoln (5-20, 1-18 MIAA) played FHSU tough all night long, particularly in a second half in which the Blue Tigers scored 36 points. Mercy Gonzalez and Imani Jones each had a team-high six rebounds, with Gonzalez blocking two shots, recording an assist and a steal, and scoring 12 points. Jones poured in 15 points and had a steal.

After trailing by 13 at halftime, the Blue Tigers outscored FHSU 19-14 in the third quarter to cut the deficit down to eight. Niyah Jackson hit a jumper early in the fourth to pull the Blue Tigers to within 56-50, but FHSU answered with a three followed by a quick layup to regain an 11-point advantage. Fort Hays State shot .409 from three-point range for the game as well as .519 overall. Jackson, meanwhile, scored four points and dished a team-high six assists to go with a steal.

FHSU later took a 16-point lead, but Jones converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and Gonzalez hit layups on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit down to 68-59. Lincoln shot .458 for the contest, but could not get closer than within nine points over the final minute of the ballgame. 

Kelsey Mitchell led LU with 20 points and grabbed three rebounds to go with an assist and a steal. Ashtin Ingram blocked a shot, dished an assist and pulled down three rebounds, and Haylie Holloway had an assist while AJ Bradley finished with four points, three steals and a rebounds. Hya Haywood also had three takeaways as well as two assists and thre points, and Kylie Bernskoetter closed out LU with seven points, an assist and a steal.

Lincoln remains at home on Saturday (Feb. 19) to host Nebraska Kearney at 1:00 p.m. CST.