Bolivar, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University women's basketball took care of business on Thursday evening in a 67-44 victory over Lincoln. With the win, SBU improves to 8-7 (3-6 MIAA) on the season.
After Lincoln hit the opening bucket, the Bearcats responded with a pair of free throws by Caylee Richardson followed by a three from Dilonna Johnson to grab the early 5-2 lead. The Blue Tigers responded with a three with 5:14 left in the first quarter, tying the game at 7-7, but a Sarah Magana layup with 4:56 left in the first quarter gave SBU the lead for good in their blowout victory. Johnson connected on two more three's, extending their lead to 15-9, and a Morgan Henderson free throw capped off a 10-0 SBU run to lead 22-9 with 16 seconds left in the first quarter. LU hit a three, followed by a Henderson jumper, as SBU lead 24-12 after one quarter of play.
Johnson continued her strong shooting by opening the second quarter with a three to extend SBU's lead to 27-12. The Bearcats continued to push, extending their lead to 21 (37-16) off of a Sarah Magana layup, and a Megan Rosenbohm jumper with 5:23 left in the half gave SBU a 25 point lead (41-16). The defense buckled down for the remainder of the first half, as SBU took a 42-22 lead into the break.
Opening up the third quarter the Bearcats used a steal and layup from Magana to go up 44-22 with 9:24 left in the third. The Bearcats and Blue Tigers exchanged baskets for a majority of the quarter, and a Taylor Jackson three gave SBU a 57-31 lead with 1:42 left in the third, as SBU led 57-35 after three quarters of play.
SBU opened up the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, extending their lead to a game high 28 (65-37) with 4:24 left in the game. For the next three and a half minutes, the defense buckled down, as neither team was able to get on the scoreboard. In the end, the Bearcats would cruise to a 67-44 victory.
The Bearcats were led in scoring by Dilonna Johnson who had 14 points, connecting on four three's, while Megan Rosenbohm had 10 and Sarah Magana tied her career high with 10 points. As a team SBU shot 44.8% from the field, 22.7% from beyond the arc, and 76.9% from the free throw line.
SBU will return to action on Saturday, January 16 when they host Lindenwood. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. from the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar.
