Lindenwood Women's Basketball Team Feel Pressure From Evangel

ST. CHARLES - The women's basketball team has made some great strides this season.   

But apparently, the Lions still aren't quite ready for Prime Time.   

Lindenwood, looking for its first win over a nationally ranked team in more than a decade, wasted a late five-point lead in dropping a heart-breaking 69-66 decision to Evangel College on Thursday night in a Heart of America Athletic Conference game at Robert F. Hyland Arena.   

Lindenwood fell to 13-8 overall and 9-4 league play. Evangel, ranked 25th in the latest NAIA poll, improved to 13-7 overall and 11-1 in the HAAC. The Crusaders have won nine games in a row.   

The Lions, under first-year coach Tony Francis, have already surpassed last year's win total of nine. They are well on their way to their first winning season in nine years. Plus, they sit in second place in the 11-team league, trailing only Evangel.    Yet they were unable to take the next step when they had the league-leaders on the ropes at home.   

"It hurts so bad," said Lindenwood sophomore Sarah Schnieders, a St. Peters resident and graduate of St. Dominic High. "I guess if it didn't hurt, we're not playing the game right."   

Lindenwood missed a chance to knock off one of the country's top teams in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd.   

Evangel, which reached the NAIA national tournament last season, showed the poise of a veteran squad down the stretch. The Crusaders hit 11 successive foul shots in the final 3:14.   

Lindenwood, facing its biggest pressure test of the season, came up empty during crunch time.   

Francis was somewhat disappointed in his team's execution over the final minutes. But he liked the fact that his players were upset after the contest.   

"It shows how badly they wanted it," he said. "I told them to use this for motivation."   

Schnieders hit on seven of 10 shots from the floor and grabbed four rebounds in addition to her team-high 19 points. Morgan Harrington added 15 points and Kelly Albers had 14 points.    

"We gave our best effort," said Lindenwood senior guard Abby Schultenhenrich, a St. Charles High grad.  "We were playing with confidence. We just didn't do the right things near the end."    

Lindenwood, which has won eight of its last 10, appeared on the verge of a monumental upset when Schultenhenrich scored on a drive along the baseline to give her team a 61-56 lead with 4:38 remaining.    

But the Lions stalled offensively and committed several unnecessary fouls on defense to allow the Crusaders to reel off seven of the next eight points and steal the lead.    

Still, Schnieders hit a short jumper to give the Lions a 64-63 advantage with 1:19 remaining. Evangel charged right back. Ashlee Luko and Caitlin Russell hit two free throws each in a 33-second span to put the Crusaders up 67-64. Schnieders answered for Lindenwood to cut the deficit to 67-66.    

But Luko, who finished with a game-high 25 points, sank two more fouls shots with 14 seconds left.   

The Lions were unable to get a quality 3-pointer off as time ran out.    

"That's a veteran ballclub, they know what it takes," Francis said of Evangel. "They earned it. We didn't give it to them."    

The Lions' improvement has been sure and steady over the past two months. They lost to Evangel 80-54 on Dec. 9, 2010 but looked like a totally different team during Thursday's rematch.   

"They've done a real good job, they looked a lot better," said Evangel coach Leon Neal. "Right now, along with us, they are playing some of the best ball in conference."   

The Lions are hoping to get another shot at Evangel in the conference tournament at the end of the regular season. That meeting would likely take place in the championship game with a post-season berth on the line.   

"We're already looking forward to it," said Schultenhenrich.