Kearney, Neb. – Senior guard Michaela Barry scored 33 points and assisted on the game winning bucket with 2.8 seconds left as Nebraska-Kearney rallied past Lindenwood, 80-78, Thursday night in St. Charles, Mo.

The Lopers (15-3, 7-3) continue a magical season, improving to 9-0 in games decided by 10 points or less and posting its eighth fourth quarter rally among 11 Division II wins. UNK has also won seven of eight to be tied with two others for third place in the MIAA standings.

Barry (Battle Creek), the current MIAA Player of the Week, notched her third 30-point game of the season by going 12 of 17 (2 of 5 threes) from the field and 7 of 8 at the line. But it was her fourth assist of the night that proved to be the crucial play.

Ahead 78-75 with just under a minute to play, UNK ran the shot clock down and not surprisingly gave the ball to Barry. Her shot in the lane was blocked out of bounds and the Lopers called a timeout. After the break, Lindenwood forced a five second call to get the ball back. Thirteen seconds later, reserve Kylie Ferguson capped a great night by hitting a 26-footer to tie things. Averaging just 4.6 points per game on the season, she tallied 15 thanks to three triples

UNK called another time out and again gave the ball to Barry. She worked from the top of the key, drew the defense toward her and found an open fKelsey Sanger (Crofton) on the right wing. The freshman drove baseline for the game winner, beating a couple of Lindenwood players to the bucket. The Lions (10-10, 2-9), calling a timeout to move the ball down the court, had a chance to win or tie but couldn't get a shot off.

"Our team just continues to fight; Lindenwood would go up, we would come back. They would go up, we would come back again," said Loper assistant coach Brandon Rohr. "Michaela and Kelsey have won their whole lives so it's not surprising what happened at the end. Michaela might've been feeling it but she's unselfish and smart enough to make a great pass."

Sanger, replacing an injured Jenna Gillespie (Holdrege) in the starting lineup, had one of her finest games of the season. Over 25 minutes, she had nine points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Five of her points came in the fourth quarter, helping UNK erase two different four-point deficits.

Now 6-1 all-time against Lindenwood, the Lopers led 17-9 after the first quarter and tallied the first two points of the second quarter. However, the Lions went on a 30-11 over the next 11 minutes to lead by nine. That was Lindenwood's biggest lead of the game. 

UNK didn't grab the lead back until Alyssa Frauendorfer (Humphrey) made a layup with 6:11 to go. That made the score 63-62 and capped an 8-1 Kearney run. The two teams then went back and forth until the final seconds.

Frauendorfer joined Barry and Sanger as Lopers to have big efforts as she made a season-best four threes to tally 16 points. She also had seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Off the bench, UNK got six points apiece from forward Kennedy Sander (Lincoln Pius X) and Adreon Bell (Independence, Mo.).

Four Lions were in double figures, led by 6-3 sophomore post Kallie Bildner. The 2017 MIAA Freshman of the Year went for 23 points and nine rebounds with starter Charisse Williams and reserve Gaby Walker each scoring 10.

UNK is among the best teams in D2 in not sending teams to the free throw line but the Lions went 16 of 21 tonight. The 16 makes are a season-high for a Loper opponent with Bildner doing most of the damage (9 of 9). Finally, UNK shot 64 percent (9 of 14) in the four quarter, getting 13 points from Barry. In its previous seven "rally" wins, Kearney made 59 percent of its fourth quarter shots.

On Saturday, the Lopers head to Lincoln University. The Blue Tigers (3-16, 0-11) fell tonight to Fort Hays State, 65-55.