Feb. 28, 2004

Box Score

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.--The Lewis University women's basketball team capped a tremendous regular season by beating SIU Edwardsville 68-45 to finish in fourth place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Lewis (16-11, 13-7 GLVC) jumped out to a 38-19 lead at the half and extended that margin by four more points in the second half. A collective defensive effort shut down SIUE (11-16, 6-14 GLVC). The Flyers limited the Cougars to a paltry 30.6 percent (15-of-49) shooting and forced 18 turnovers.

This season the Flyers have made a habit of making extended bursts that have pushed them to sizable leads or helped them overcome deficits. Once again, the team showcased their explosiveness with a 23-7 run over the last 11:19 of the first half helped seal the game.

Playing the final regular season game of their careers, seniors Tracy Buchholz and Bryanne Callahan both came off the bench to lead Lewis. Buchholz scored a game-high 14 points and was 6-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. She also had three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Callahan netted 12 points and a team-best six rebounds in 17 minutes of work.

Freshman Mary Moskal chipped in with 13 points, while fellow freshman Brittney Diener posted a career-high six steals.

The Flyers' victory gives them the No. 4 seed in the GLVC Tournament where the team will face No. 5 seed Southern Indiana.

Lewis finishes the regular season with the program's most GLVC and overall victories since 1999-2000. It is also the team's highest GLVC finish in four years.

Tip off against Southern Indiana is slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, March 4 at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind. For more information visit: http://www.lewisu.edu/athletics/wbasketball/040225glvctourneyinfo.htm