Photos: Jackie Finlan
Lindenwood had a good couple of days in Las Vegas, defeating BYU 39-5 and Misfits 45-12 in 15s on Friday and Saturday.
RELATED: BYU v Lindenwood Preview (Rosters) • BYU v Lindenwood Photos • BYU v Lindenwood: Highlight Reel
“Going into our first game of the season in the spring, we had some questions about how our system was going to go and how our new defense was going to look,” Lindenwood coach Billy Nicholas said after the BYU match. “I don’t think [the result] was unexpected for us. We knew we could put in a good showing…it was just about going out there playing it since we haven’t played since November.”
After trading tries in the first quarter, the Lions pulled away for a more comfortable victory.
“We knew that BYU was a really strong team and we knew they had some strength in the forward pack and they were going to be really physical,” Nicholas said. “They definitely challenged us at the breakdown today. But after the first 20 minutes, the players did a really good job of adjusting to our opponent and the official and making the most of the match.”
Nicholas indicated that the starting lineup against BYU was very close to the top 15, and the Lions flexed their roster strength today against the Misfits, a senior touring side that featured well knowns like Tina Nesburg, Jeanna Beard and Kristen Shalosky, among others. Lindenwood posted another big win and take some confidence into the rest of the spring season.
“It was more about getting out there and executing and getting it done,” Nicholas said of the wins. “We’re really excited to take our tour to Ireland. That will be good a challenge for us. A couple of the sides we’re playing have a couple of capped Ireland women – that will be a really exciting challenge.”
BYU followed its game against Lindenwood with a win against the senior SoCal all-stars. The Cougars are young, but looked dangerous, and will definitely be a team to consider come DI playoff time.