ST. LOUIS, MO. – Visiting Lindewood hit the second of two free throws with 3.7 seconds on the clock, lifting the Lions to a 68-67 win over the University of Missouri-St. Louis women's basketball team on Tuesday night.
 
The Tritons nearly won it at the buzzer, but senior Kelly Kunkel's three-pointer bounced off the side of the rim.
 
UMSL falls to 1-1 on the season, while Lindenwood, which also beat the Tritons with a free throw in the closing seconds last year, improves to 2-1.
 
Kunkel scored 17 of her game-high 20 points in the second half and also added seven assists and four steals, while junior Sydney Bloch followed with a career-high 18 points, 12 of which came in the first half.
 
UMSL used a 10-5 run to open the fourth quarter, going ahead 58-53 on Kunkel's jumper with 5:58 to play and led 63-58 with 3:51 to play before Lindenwood tied it up at 63-63 1:20 later. From there, the Lions had an answer each time UMSL took the lead. Bloch's layup with 33 seconds to play put the Tritons on top 67-65, but Lindenwood drove to the basket to get to the free throw line, netting two shots with 23 seconds to play before forcing a turnover on the ensuing UMSL possession that helped set up Charisse Williams' game-winner.
 
Sophomore Jordan Fletcher also got in double figures with 10 points, connecting on all five field goal attempts, while adding three blocked shots.
 
The Tritons shot 47.3 percent, including 62.5 percent in the second half, while Lindenwood connected at a 46.3 percent clip and held a slim 31-28 rebounding advantage. Junior Simone Gillum pulled down six boards.
 
Lindenwood took a 33-30 lead into halftime, outscoring UMSL 19-16 in the second quarter after both teams put up 14 points in the first quarter.
 
The Tritons jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead with four of those points scored by sophomore Jordan Fletcher. The Lions later used an 8-1 run to take their first lead of the game at the 2:09 mark before Bloch's first three-pointer knotted it at 14-14 with 25 seconds on the clock.
 
Lindenwood shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the second quarter and opened the frame on a 12-5 run, taking a 26-19 lead at the 5:58 mark. Bloch then scored nine of her points the remainder of the half, including a pair of free throws with 1:25 to play to pulled UMSL within 31-30.
 
After Lindenwood opened the third quarter on an 11-4 run to take a 44-34 lead at the 5:44 mark, UMSL closed the frame on a 14-4 run to knot the score at 48-48. Kunkel scored seven straight points for UMSL during that stretch.
 
UMSL will play its next three games on the road, beginning Friday at Upper Iowa.