Feb. 7, 2008

Box Score

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Success from long range helped Lewis defeat Southern Illinois Edwardsville 80-71 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game on Thursday evening.

The Flyers connected on 6-of-10 from 3-point range in the first half to keep pace with the Cougars. Junior Lauren Martens had eight points in the first. Lewis saw a number of their reserve players step up when junior Kelly Dianis was called for two quick fouls and played only four minutes in the first. Freshman Christine Karl came off the bench to knock down two treys and a free throw in just six minutes of action, all in the first. She hit a big 3-pointer with 4:34 left to give the Flyers a 31-28 lead after the Cougars controlled most of the half. Senior Jennifer Green had five points and five assists in the opening half but the Cougars would take a 38-35 advantage into halftime.

The Cougars extended their lead in the second half to as many as eight points but two free throws by junior Jenna Mooberry with 8:53 gave the Flyers their first lead of the second half. SIUE would never lead again as the Flyers scored went on an 11-3 run and grabbed a 67-58 lead with 5:24 remaining. After the Cougars cut it to five Kelly Dianis hit a big 3-pointer from the corner to get the lead back to eight. Sophomore Kaci Baird delivered the dagger on a trey with 1:58 left. Her 3-pointer extended a six-point Lewis lead to nine-point advantage and ended any hopes the Cougars had of rallying. Six different Flyers hit 3-pointers. Lewis finished a blistering 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from long range and 24-of-48 (50 percent) overall.

Lewis had four players finish in double-figures. Mooberry led the Flyers with a season-high 17. Dianis scored 15, including ten in the second half. Martens finished with 13 and five rebounds. Freshman Jenny Turpel added 10. Green had eight assists.

For SIUE, Amber Shelton had 31 points. SIUE falls to 14-6 (7-5 GLVC). Lewis improves to 10-9 (6-6 GLVC).

Lewis hosts Quincy on Saturday.