March 4, 2004

Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Southern Indiana's offensive rebounding total in Thursday night's Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament first-round game at Roberts Stadium was just that to Lewis head coach Lynn Plett and the rest of the Flyer contingent.

Offensive. Very offensive.

The Screaming Eagles collected 24 offensive boards, part of a 53-28 overall rebounding advantage, and turned them into 28 second-chance points in a 90-73 victory that kept the Lewis program winless (0-5) in the GLVC Tournament's seven-year history.

Lewis was making its first tournament appearance since the 2000-01 season.

"Give them credit for just killing us on the boards," Plett said. "They worked harder and wanted it more, and that's what offensive rebounding is."

Despite the loss, the Flyers have no reason to hang their heads. Picked to finish ninth in the GLVC, Lewis placed fourth and produced records of 16-12 overall and 13-7 in the GLVC. The league finish and victory totals are the Flyers' best since the 1999-2000 campaign.

"At the beginning of the season you always hope to surpass what everyone expects of you," said Plett, who concluded his second season at the Lewis controls.

"We did that, and we feel very good about winning 16 games and finishing fourth in the league."

The Flyers also felt very good about their performance in the opening minutes. Lewis made seven of its first 12 shots and held USI (20-8) to a 6-of-16 performance in building a 20-13 lead with 12:21 remaining.

The tide began to turn Southern Indiana's way courtesy of Shannon Wells, who tallied 14 of her 16 points in the first half.

Wells scored the first eight points of a 16-0 USI run that gave the Screaming Eagles a 29-20 advantage at the 6:39 mark. Lewis missed seven shots during the six-minute USI spurt.

"We didn't respond well once they got the momentum going," Plett said. "We didn't shoot well enough to regain control of the game."

Shante Glenn ended the Flyer drought with a basket, and a 3-pointer by Erin Cox brought Lewis back to within four at 29-25.

That was as close as Lewis would get, however. Southern Indiana scored the next nine points and took a 44-34 cushion into the locker room.

The Screaming Eagle lead remained in double digits the rest of way, although the scrappy play of Lewis senior Bryanne Callahan and the Flyers' outstanding foul shooting kept the outcome in doubt for much of the second half.

Callahan was all over the floor in her final collegiate game and finished with team highs of 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals. She scored 13 points and grabbed four of her five offensive rebounds in the final 20 minutes.

"Bryanne played her heart out," Plett said.

The Flyers were 15 of 18 at the foul line in the second half and finished 21 of 24 (.875). Unfortunately, that bright spot was offset by a .369 effort from the field that included a dismal 4 of 24 (.167) from 3-point distance.

Freshmen Darcee Schmidt and Mary Moskal scored 14 points apiece and Glenn added 13 points. Schmidt had seven rebounds, and Brittney Diener had five assists and three steals.

Wells earned a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds. Shajuan Lindsey topped the USI scoring chart with 18 points, with Megan Nelson and Jamie Truitt contributing 15 and 12, respectively. Lindsey and Ashley Green had eight rebounds apiece, and Kennitra Johnson had six assists.