Kearney, Neb. - For the second time in three games, the Nebraska-Kearney women's basketball team was strong at the free throw line down the stretch, and got a key block from sophomore Lea Ann Jameson, to edge Chadron State, 73-70, Tuesday night at the Health & Sports Center.

Winners of five straight, this victory by the Lopers (8-13, 7-7 RMAC) puts them in sole possession of 4th place in the East Division. The Eagles (6-16, 6-8 RMAC), which haven't won in Kearney since 1988, are now in 5th place.

Moment of the Game
In a game that featured 14 lead changes and eight ties, UNK ended the night on an 11-5 run that featured a 9 of 12 effort at the line.

In last Friday's win over Metro, the Lopers didn't make a field goal over the last 7:38 but made 8 of 10 free throws to win by four. UNK came into the night as the RMAC's top free throw shooting team (78 pct.).

After building an eight point 2nd half lead, UNK was down 65-62 at the 3:45 mark. Six straight made free shots by junior post Megan Becker gave the lead back to the Lopers, 70-67, with just 55 seconds remaining.

Chadron tried to close the gap to one but Jameson blocked a Sam Arkulari baseline shot at the 33 second mark. That was the Eagles fourth straight scoreless possession and led to one made free throw by Jameson.

UNK wouldn't secure the win until the final second, which took forever, ticked off. That final second featured a three by Chadron (at the 0.7 mark), two made free throws by the Lopers and a slew of timeouts.

For the game, Kearney had its second best shooting night of the year (52.0 pct.; 26 of 50). That helped overcome the Eagles advantages on the glass, 36-33, and in FT pct. (83.3 to 70.4).

And after shooting 48.4 pct. in the 1st half, the Eagles slipped to 39.1 pct. (10 of 33) after the break.

Lopers of the Game
Becker (Jr., F, Beaver City) - 18 points (16 in the 2nd half) on 5 of 8 FG shooting & 7 of 8 FT shooting; 24 minutes off the bench
Kelsey Lane (Fr., F, Omaha) - 14 points on 6 of 7 FG shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 assists; 19 minutes off the bench
Vanessa Leeper (So., F, Colorado Springs) - 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Debi Johnson (So., G, Elsie) - 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Opponent Notes
Arkulari had a team-high 21 points on 7 of 19 FG shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Junior wing Kaitlin Petri had 16 points and team-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (6)

Up Next
UNK begins a three game road swing Friday at UCCS