Complete Game Notes
Game #1: Lincoln (5-22 in 2025-26) at Northwest Missouri (18-12 in 2025-26)
Date: Monday, Nov. 9, 2026
Time: 5:30 p.m. CST
Site: Maryville, Mo.
Live Stats: https://bearcatsports.com/sidearmstats/wbball
Live Video: https://www.themiaanetwork.com/nwmsubearcats/
 
Game #2: Lincoln vs. Chadron State (1-24 in 2025-26)
Date: Friday, Nov. 13, 2026
Time: 12:00 p.m. CST
Site: Rolla, Mo.
Live Stats: https://minerathletics.com/sidearmstats/wbball
Live Video: https://glvcsn.com/mst/
 
Game #3: Lincoln vs. Thomas More (22-7 in 2025-26)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026
Time: 12:00 p.m. CST
Site: Rolla, Mo.
Live Stats: https://minerathletics.com/sidearmstats/wbball
Live Video: https://glvcsn.com/mst
 
THE TIP OFF:  The Lincoln women's basketball team opens the 2026-27 season next week with three games in a six-day span. The Blue Tigers play their first game of the year on the road on Monday (Nov. 9), as Lincoln faces Northwest Missouri in Maryville, Mo. at 5:30 p.m. CST. The Blue Tigers then head down to Rolla, Mo. to play in the Midwest Women's Basketball Crossover, which will be hosted by Missouri S&T University. LU plays Chadron State on Friday (Nov. 13) before taking on Thomas More on Saturday (Nov. 14), with both games scheduled to tip off at 12:00 p.m. CST. Lincoln has played a pair of preseason games, falling to Missouri on the road on Oct. 29 and defeating William Woods at home on Nov. 5. Next weekend's contests are the only neutal site games on the regular season schedule for Lincoln, which went 5-22 a year ago. Northwest Missouri was an 18-12 team in 2025-26 and Chadron State finished last season with a 1-24 record. Thomas More, meanwhile, was 22-7 in 2025-26.
 
FAST BREAKS
- Lincoln and Northwest Missouri will meet for the 56th time on Monday. NWMSU leads the series, 44-11, with most of those games occurring when LU was a member of the MIAA.
 
- Northwest Missouri and Lincoln met in Maryville last season, with the Bearcats winning, 61-50.
 
- On Friday, Lincoln and Chadron State will play each other for the first time in history.
 
- Lincoln and Thomas More have only met once before this weekend.
 
- That game took place last season, with Thomas More winning in Owensboro, Ky., 62-43.
 
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Lincoln's top-returning scorer is Bella Borgos, who tallied 9.1 points during her freshman season. Also back is Hallie Williamson, who finished third on the squad with 8.8 points per contest. Aaliyah Smith pulled down 5.1 rebounds per game last season while Taelyn Smith averaged 5.6 points and 4.5 boards. Other key returners include Kiara Cabrera (5.3 ppg.) and Chase Giddings (4.4 ppg.).
 
HEAD COACH ADDAE HOUSTON:  A 17-year coaching veteran with strong ties to Missouri, Houston is in his third season as the head coach of the Blue Tigers. Houston helped lead Division I Northwestern State record a .714 home winning percentage in 2023-24. He was the head coach at Southwestern Community College from 2013-18, leading the team to its first postseason win in over a decade.
 
LAST TIME OUT:  Chase Giddings (10 points and eight rebounds) and Aaliyah Smith (11 rebounds and nine points) both nearly had double-doubles as the Blue Tigers beat William Woods, 70-62, in an exhibition in Jason Gym on Thursday night (Nov. 5). Whitney Smith led LU with 16 points and Bella Borgos scored 11.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:  Bailey Birmingham led NWMSU with 12.2 points per game last year and joins Andrea Lopreato (10.4 ppg.) as players who averaged double digit points who return for 2026-27. Sadie Maas is back after leading the team with 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per contest, and Kirsten Hauck returns after averaging 8.9 ppg.
 
NWMSU HEAD COACH AUSTIN MEYER:  In nine seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, Meyer has won over 100 games to rank third on the all-time win list. Meyer led NWMSU to the NCAA tournament in 2023-24 after setting a new program record with 16 MIAA victories. Before becoming the head coach of the women's program, Meyer spent 10 years as an assistant coach of the men's team at NWMSU.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES:  Audrey Quintana is Chadron State's top-returning scorer, as she had 9.8 points, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per contest in 2025-26. Dreanna Jackson is back after averaging 5.0 points while Camren Morris is next among the returners with 2.7 points per contest in 2025-26. With 2.7 boards per game, Keziah Toran is the top-returning rebounder.
 
CSU HEAD COACH JALEN LITTLE:  The second year head coach of the Eagles has spent a decade in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as an assistant coach. Little was the lead assistant at CSU-Pueblo for five seasons, helping the team reach the postseason in four-consecutive years. He played at Alaska-Anchorage and Otero before finishing at Division I Abilene-Christian.
 
SCOUTING THE SAINTS:  Izzy Rotert (9.8 ppg., 6.9 rpg.) and Rylee Leonard (9.6 ppg.) are the top returners from a Thomas More squad that won 22 games in 2025-26. Morgan Hunt averaged 8.4 points, Desiree Tandy averaged 6.9 and Amara Jackson averaged 4.0. Last season, Thomas More averaged 68 points per game while allowing 58.6 and shot .423 from the field, but just .256 from three-point range.
 
TMU HEAD COACH BRIAN NEAL:  A former head coach at NCAA Division I programs Xavier and assistant at DI programs Eastern Illinois and Butler, Neal is in his third season in his second stint at Thomas More. Neal won 171 games from 2004-11, and has also served as the head coach at Southeastern University for a season, posting a 22-8 record. Neal has led the Saints to over 200 wins in his two stints as head coach.
 
HOME FOR DECEMBER:  The Blue Tigers won't have to travel very far during the 12th month of the year, as LU plays four times in December, with each game taking place in Jason Gym. LU hosts GLVC rivals Missouri-St. Louis (Dec. 2) and McKendree (Dec. 5) before playing non-league games vs. Haskell (Dec. 14) and Westminster.
 
TO WHIT:  In each of Lincoln's two preseason games, the leading scorer was freshman Whitney Smith, who scored a game-high 16 points in LU's win over William Woods. Against Missouri, Smith scored 14 points, and she is the only Blue Tiger who reached double figures in both of the exhibition contests. Smith also had five assists and a pair of steals in the win over the Owls.
 
MAINTAINING NEUTRALITY:  There are only two games that will be played at a neutral site on Lincoln's 2026-27 regular season schedule, and both will be played over the weekend. LU takes on Chadron State on Friday and Thomas More on Saturday, with both contests taking place inside Gibson Arena on the campus of Missouri S&T. After that, Lincoln will play either true home or road games.
 
KIDS DAY:  Bring the kids to Jason Gym on the morning of Monday, Dec. 14 as Lincoln hosts Kids Day at its game against Haskell! The Blue Tigers tip off at 11:30 a.m. CST that morning and are expecting a loud and proud group of young LU fans to cheer them on.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS:  Lincoln is partnering up with Hometown Ticketing once again to sell tickets to all of LU's basketball games online in 2026-27. For more info, or to purchase single game or regular season tickets, 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 GLVC Network. Every LU home game will be broadcast through a dynamic multi-camera system and can be seen at https://www.glvcsn.com/lincolnbluetigers.
 
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 travels to Warrensburg, Mo. to play Central Missouri on Thursday, Nov. 19 in an 11:30 a.m. CST contest.