Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist started back after the Christmas break with a close loss to Lindenwood 73-79. This loss is the sixth loss for the Bearcats on the season.

Southwest Baptist got the scoring started when Regan Tibbits was fouled on a drive and went 1-2 at the line. Lindenwood would extend their lead to 9 with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter. The Bearcats would trade buckets with the Lions and eventually cut it to 6 on a Sydney Bandy three pointer. Kyleigh Vaught would lead the Bearcats in scoring in the second quarter with 8 points. Lindenwood would have their biggest lead of the game at 14 points with 3:47 remaining, but the Bearcats finished the third quarter strong on a 11-2 run to trail by just 5 entering the final quarter. The comeback came up just short in the fourth for the Bearcats, falling 73-79 at the final whistle. 

SBU finished with four players in double digits with Kyleigh Vaught leading the Bearcats with 24 points including a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe. Regan Tibbits contributed 17 to the cause on 7-10 shooting and finishing perfect from beyond the arc. Sydney Bandy (14) and Nyah Pettus (10) were the final two Bearcats to finish the game with double digits. Both Regan Tibbits and Rachel Tippens grabbed 6 rebounds apiece along with Tippens leading the Bearcats in assists with 4. As a team the Bearcats went 18-20 from the free throw line  while only committing 7 turnovers as well.

Southwest Baptist will have their next game at home against Indianapolis on January 6th at 5:00 PM. This game will once again be taking place with no fans due to COVID-19 and can be streamed live on the GLVC sports network.