JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Ashlyn Alloway scored 33 points as the Lincoln women's basketball team nearly rallied back from a 15-point halftime deficit, but Emporia State held off LU's comeback bid to win 68-62 on Thursday (Jan. 11).

Alloway, who also finished with seven rebounds and three blocks, scored 28 of her points in the second half. The Blue Tigers were down 33-18 at halftime and the Lady Hornets led by as many as 19 in the third quarter, but a three by Saniya Simmons helped key Lincoln (5-9, 1-7 MIAA) onto an 8-0 run to get back in the game. Emporia State (8-6, 5-3 MIAA) briefly halted that run by hitting a three, and built its lead back up to 17, but Alloway made a layup and Steph Torres and Simmons made back-to-back three-pointers to cut LU's deficit to 47-38 by the end of the third.

Lincoln's first eight points of the fourth quarter were scored by Alloway, and the Blue Tigers were within 56-50 of the Lady Hornets with 4:35 remaining. The Blue Tigers kept the score within single digits the rest of the way, and consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays by Alloway and AJ Bradley made the score 60-58 with 1:41 left on the clock.

That was as close as the Blue Tigers would come to finishing the comeback, however, as the Lady Hornets made five-straight free throws before Alloway connected on a layup to end the run. The Blue Tigers shot .550 in the second half and .842 at the line for the game, but the Lady Hornets finished with a 37-27 advantage in rebounding. Lincoln forced 20 turnovers, resulting in 27 points for the Blue Tigers.

Simmons had eight points, three assists and four rebounds, and Beaumont finished with five points, two assist, three rebounds and a steal while Torres added six points and a team-high four assists. Imani Jones tallied two points, three boards, a steal and a block. Bradley, meanwhile, ended the night with six points, five steals, three rebounds and three assists.

Biance Stocks and Alyssa McCarty each grabbed a rebound, with Stocks also providing a steal. Heaven Shockley closed the scoring with two points, a rebound and a steal. Hanne Nybo also represented the Blue Tigers on the court on Thursday.

Lincoln remains at home to host Washburn on Saturday (Jan. 13) at 1:00 p.m. CST.