Feb. 17, 2005

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Sophomore Mary Moskal led four players who scored at least 10 points in the Lewis University women's basketball team's victory over Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Bellarmine.

The Flyers (15-9, 12-5 GLVC) posted an 85-73 win over the Knights (17-7, 11-6 GLVC). The teams entered the game tied for third in the conference and Bellarmine was ranked No. 6 in the February 16 NCAA Great Lakes Region poll while Lewis was No. 10.

"This was a great win," said Lewis head coach Lynn Plett. "When you sweep the season series from a team in the conference who's been ranked in the top 25 almost all season long, that's a feather in the cap for our players."

Lewis was able to create mismatches and take advantage of those matchups as it built large leads in the first and second half. The Flyers led by as many as 16 points in the first half, leading 24-8 before Bellarmine trimmed the margin to 44-42 at halftime.

Apart from scoring the first basket of the game, Bellarmine claimed its only lead of the game following a 3-pointer to open the second half. However, a 15-1 Lewis run over the next four minutes handed the Flyers a 59-46 lead with 14:33 to play.

The play of junior guard Tameka Harris was critical during the run. She tallied three steals and four points and constantly harassed Knight point guard Princess Wimsatt. Wimsatt, who entered the game eighth in the nation in assists per game and second in the GLVC in assist-to-turnover ratio, was pestered by Harris into six turnovers.

"When Tameka focuses in on guarding an opposing guard, she can be extremely tough on that player," said Plett. "She is very quick and sly, and times when she's going to try and pick her player very well. She energizes our entire team when she does it well."

Harris finished the game with 14 points, five steals and five rebounds. She was part of a well-rounded Lewis attack that saw Moskal lead all scorers with 21 points.

Moskal was 7 of 10 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. She added a team-high seven rebounds and had four assists.

Sophomore Darcee Schmidt chipped in with 19 points and six rebounds. Senior Chelsea Francik came off the bench to register 10 points and play solid post defense.

Bellarmine entered the game ranked first in the GLVC in field goal percentage (50.2 percent) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Flyers forced 25 Knight turnovers, held them to 38.5 percent shooting in the second half and 43.4 percent shooting for the game.

Lynne Johnson paced Bellarmine with 20 points and eight rebounds. Angela Smith added 17 points and made three 3-pointers.

The win coupled with a Northern Kentucky loss breaks a three-way tied for third place in the GLVC. The Flyers are alone in third one-half game behind Wisconsin-Parkside (19-9, 13-5 GLVC).

Lewis will host its final home game of the season Saturday, February 19 at 1 p.m. The Flyers will face Northern Kentucky (14-10, 11-6 GLVC) in a battle that, like tonight's game, will be crucial for conference tournament seeding and a potential NCAA regional berth.