Matt Barker, Sports Information Director

BELLEVILLE, Ill. - The lights out shooting from the Lynx was too much for the Freed-Hardeman Lady Lion basketball team to overcome Saturday, as they suffered their first loss of the season on the road at Lindenwood-Belleville.

The tight match-up with Lindenwood-Belleville came as no surprise to FHU (4-1, 1-1 AMC), as the prior two meetings between the two schools went to overtime before things were decided. This time; however, the No. 24 ranked Lynx had just enough left in the tank to take down the Lady Lions by a final score of 83-79.

Despite the loss, the Lady Lions had four players reach double figures, led by Sandrea Sylman who ended the day with 24 points. Morgan Warren followed close behind with a career-high 20 points after going 8-for-14 from the field and 2-for-4 from behind the arc. Kim Mallory and Haylee Croom rounded out the scoring for the Lady Lions, as Mallory put up 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds while Croom chipped in 10 points and pounded the glass with eight rebounds.

The Lynx also had four players reach double digits on the attack, led by Torre Kohrmann, who ended the day with 25 points after shooting an impressive 3-for-5 from behind the arc. Heather Waldemar and Brianna Mueller followed close behind, each with 18 points while Allison Webb rounded out the Belleville scoring with 14 points.

Lindenwood-Belleville (3-2, 2-0 AMC) came out of the gate hot, as they used a 47 percent shooting performance in the first half to jump out to an early 22-10 lead following the first quarter of play. The Lady Lions led just one time in the entire game, as Tiffany Pate put FHU up 2-0 following a jump shot from the free throw line in the opening minute of play.

However, from there, the Lady Lions struggled to get anything to fall, as they shot just 32 percent in the half and had to chase the Lynx for the remainder of the game. The Lady Lions were able to close the gap to three points with 5:08 remaining in the half, but would not be able to regain the lead, as the Lynx out-shot FHU 13-5 to close the half and enter the break up 39-28.

The second half would be much of the same for Lindenwood-Belleville, as they held a double digit lead for a majority of the frame. The Lynx reached their largest lead of the game at the 56-40 mark with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter on their way to a 62-52 lead entering the final quarter of play.

The Lady Lions attempted a late comeback entering the final stanza, as they out-shot the Lynx 22-14 to pull within two points at the 76-74 mark with 1:30 remaining in regulation. However, from there, the Lynx went on a 7-5 run of their own to close the game. Morgan Warren capped off the game in style with a half court shot to pull FHU within four, but it would not be enough, as the Lady Lions fell 83-79.

With the loss, the Lady Lions fall to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. Lindenwood-Belleville improves to 3-2 on the season and 2-0 in AMC play with the win.

UP NEXT: The Lady Lions are back in action this weekend for the Jackson Rotary Classic at the Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. The first match-up in the Classic comes on Friday, November 24th at 12:00 PM, as the Lady Lions take on University of Providence (Mont.). The weekend continues on Saturday, November 25th, as the Lady Lions look for a payback win over Campbellsville University at 4:00 PM.