ST. CHARLES, Mo.—The Lindenwood Lions beat up the Wildcats on Saturday, 36-7, in Central Washington's final match of the fall.

The Wildcats started off in the hole after CWU tried to play the ball out of their own end rather than kicking to relieve pressure inside their 22. The Lions made them pay and started the scoring in the 2^nd minute going up 0-5. Following the score, senior loosehead prop Haley Abeyta went down with an injury causing reserve prop, Olivia Anderson, to step up in her first real action for CWU.
 
In the 18^th minute, Lindenwood dove over for another score and the conversion made it 0-12 for the Lions. Then Central stepped up in its set-piece and went to work in the scrums. The momentum shifted to other parts of the game for the Wildcats and after some great defense from CWU, Sammy Stern stepped in a passing lane and picked off a Lindenwood pass and headed straight down the middle of the field to score after a 50m scamper. Kai Brandt-Templeton made the conversion to bring the score 7-12 which it stayed until halftime.
 
After Lindenwood made some key impact substitutions in the second half it was over for CWU. Lindenwood was able to run around, and through, tackle attempts and ran up the score to 7-36 as the final whistle blew. The Wildcats will have a long break before they return to action in late February.
 
"When Lindenwood put in the finishers, we were no match for their physicality," CWU head coach Matt Ramirez said. "It's unfortunate because we have been known as the physical team in D1 Elite, but that wasn't the case today. The dips we have seen with intent and effort in training transferred over to the game. I can only hope it's a wake up call. Technique can only get you so far, it's the mindset and attitude to be great that will make teams successful. And we lacked that today.
 
"We need to focus on nailing the details on attack as we continued to play out of structure and in the wrong parts of the field. We got away from the game plan early and it cost us. It's still early and we are still young, but we have to advance quickly and that's on me. Luckily the one thing we have now is a bit of time to peel it all back and start from the foundation again.
 
"I was pleased by some performances though, especially that of Olivia Anderson who came on as an injury substitute for Haley Abeyta. Haley leaves some big shoes to fill in set-piece and physicality, but Olivia was up to the task and her teammates saw that. Sammy Stern had a great game as well and showed how much she wanted it which transferred into her defense. You love to see that. Keia Mae Sagapolu continues to be the student-athlete that drives this team forward. To see her turn in yet another gutsy performance is just outstanding. The future continues to be bright for that one."