This afternoon Katrina Merriweather and the Bearcats picked up their first victory of the season (1-1) after defeating Lindenwood 81-62 behind double-doubles from Destiny Thomas (13 points, 12 rebounds, on 6-6 shooting) and Jillian Hayes (13 points, 14 rebounds). Merriweather has now recorded her first win as head coach of her Alma Mater in just her second season as head coach of the Bearcats.
The Bearcats would take the lead in the opening minutes and never looked back as they led for nearly 37 minutes of this one with just two lead changes early in the first quarter. A dominating performance all the way around for Katrina Merriweather and the Bearcats in just their second game of the season.
The Bearcats saw four players score in double-digits which is a new season high as Malea Williams (11) and A’riel Jackson (10) also had huge roles in the Bearcats win this afternoon. The Bearcats front court was just too much to handle for the Lions as they dominated the glass out-rebounding the Lions 48-29 as they set the tone early after grabbing 16 rebounds in the first quarter compared to the Lions three.
How it Happened
The Bearcats would strike first following a made layup by Malea Williams to take an early 2-0 lead. However, Lindenwood would find some early momentum following triples from Regan Rapert and Ellie Brueggemann to give them an early 6-4 lead over the Bearcats. Destiny Thomas would make an immediate impact inside for the Bearcats after four quick points gave the Bearcats an early 9-6 lead with six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Bearcats would take a commanding 21-12 lead following a huge 10-0 run to spark some big momentum in the opening minutes. Lindenwood would then respond with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the Bearcats lead to three, but Braylyn Milton would then knock down the midrange jumper to extend their lead to 23-18 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bearcats were simply dominating the glass this morning as they out-rebounded the Lions 16-3 in the first quarter. Destiny Thomas was just an overall mismatch for the Lions early as she had 8 points and five rebounds in the first quarter for the Bearcats. Ellie Brueggemann was doing everything she could to keep the Lions in striking range in the first quarter as she had a game high nine points.
The Bearcats wouldn’t look back from their as they would extend their lead to double digits leading the Lions 39-24 following a huge three-point play from A’riel Jackson. The Bearcats would keep pounding the ball inside after a 9-0 run forced the Lions to put some pressure on the Bearcats defense late in the first half. Braylyn Milton would get the runner to go right before the break to give the Bearcats a commanding 47-31 lead at the half.
The story to the first half was the Bearcats dominating the glass as they out-rebounded the Lions. 25-13. Katrina Merriweather mentioned they would be known as a team that could really rebound the ball at Big 12 media days in Kansas City last month and we saw that this morning. Destiny Thomas led the Bearcats with 10 points, eight rebounds on a perfect 5-5 shooting in the first half as the sophomore was causing all kinds of problems for the Lions inside.
The Bearcats would never look back after setting the tone early in this one as they took a 55-39 lead over the Lions with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter after Destiny Thomas secured her first double-double of her career.
The Lions would try to come back despite trailing by as much as 16 but the Bearcats were just too strong for the Lions this afternoon. The Bearcats would extend their lead following a three-point play from Malea Williams that would make this a 70-54 game with just under seven minutes left to play in the fourth quarter. The Lions would cut the deficit to 10 with 5:00 remaining in the fourth quarter before Jillian Hayes would go coast to coast and finish through contact to secure her first double-double of the season. The Bearcats would quickly extend their lead to 16 after Jillian Hayes continued to dominant the paint as the Bearcats would look to slam the door on the Lions here this afternoon. Katrina Merriweather and the Bearcats would end the game on a 9-0 run to secure their first victory off the season.
Up Next
The Bearcats will travel to Toledo on Sunday, November 19th to take on the Rockets at 2 pm at Savage Arena as the Bearcats look to build off this performance today vs a really good Toledo team that has a lot of success over the recent years.
