March 4, 2005

Box Score

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Seven years of frustration in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament were erased in a decisive way by the Lewis University women's basketball team Friday night.

The Flyers, seeded No. 2 in the eight-team tournament, crushed No. 7 Southern Indiana 64-32 at Roberts Municipal Stadium to advance to Saturday's 8:30 p.m. semifinal against No. 6 Indianapolis, an 85-70 winner over No. 3 Wisconsin-Parkside. Indianapolis swept the season series, winning 60-52 in Indianapolis and 65-58 in Romeoville.

If Lewis (19-9) hadn't already assured itself of a bid to the NCAA Division II Championship prior to the start of the GLVC Tournament, Friday's laugher certainly punched the Flyers' ticket to the national tournament.

Lewis is No. 5 in this week's Great Lakes Region rankings, and the top eight teams in each region advance to NCAA play. The 64-team bracket will be announced Sunday night.

The victory is the first GLVC Tournament triumph for the Flyer program in six tries, and ironically, it came against a USI program responsible for three of Lewis' five first-round losses. Southern Indiana defeated Lewis in 1999, 2001 and last season, while Saint Joseph's (1998) and Indianapolis (2000) were responsible for the Flyers' other two early exits.

And if you're going to do something for the first time, why not do it in a no-doubt-about-it record-setting fashion. Lewis held Southern Indiana to the lowest point total in a GLVC Tournament women's game, easily breaking the record of 45 points tallied by Indianapolis in a 57-45 loss to Quincy in last year's championship game.

"We had a great defensive effort, especially in the first half when Southern Indiana shot just 22 percent," said Lewis head coach Lynn Plett, whose team won for a ninth consecutive time and 12th time in 13 outings. "The defense led to some transition baskets and good execution of our half-court offense."

USI (14-14) finished the game at 26 percent (13-of-51), including a 0-of-13 effort from 3-point distance.

After Southern Indiana scored the first basket, it was all Lewis. A layup by Mary Moskal, who led all players with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, tied the game, and Chelsea Francik (Rockton, Ill./Hononegah)'s layup seconds later gave the Flyers the lead for good.

Those buckets ignited a 10-0 run that finally was halted by a USI free throw. But Darcee Schmidt (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem)'s second 3-pointer gave the Flyers a 13-3 lead, and the Lewis cushion remained in double digits the rest of the way.

Lewis built its lead to 27 points before settling for a comfortable 39-14 advantage at intermission, and Southern Indiana never threatened in the second half.

The easy victory helped Plett keep playing times relatively low. Shante Glenn (32 minutes), Brittney Diener (31) and Francik (30) were the only Flyers reaching the 30-minute mark. Moskal played 26 minutes and Schmidt played just 18.

That's important, because for the first time, the women's tournament is being played on three successive days. The men's quarterfinals traditionally have been played on day two of the tournament, giving the women's semifinalists a day off.

Plus, Lewis already is depleted by the recent loss of starting forward Erin Cox to injury, not to mention season-ending injuries to three other players earlier this year.

"Hopefully a game like this will help keep us fresh," Plett said. "Should we reach the championship game, playing three days in a row will be a test."

Schmidt scored 13 points, all in the first half, Francik scored 10 and Glenn netted nine. Glenn added nine rebounds and five assists.

"Shante didn't have a good shooting night, but her defense and passing were very good," Plett said.

Diener tallied seven assists for the Flyers, who had a helper on 19 of their 23 baskets. Tenesha McDaniel collected six rebounds, including four on the offensive end, and Francik grabbed five boards as Lewis won the rebounding battle 42-38. The Flyers also forced 26 USI turnovers.