Feb. 19, 2009

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the second time this season Bellarmine and Lewis were in the final minutes of the close game with the outcome in doubt. Also for the second time this season, the Flyers were the ones to pull out the victory. Thanks to baskets by freshman Devon Carbaugh (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) and sophomore Kelly Monaco (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) in the final two minutes, the Flyers defeated the Knights 61-57 in a road Great Lakes Valley Conference game on Thursday evening.

"Neither team will say it was a pretty game, but I thought we had the guts to win tonight," head coach Lisa Carlsen said. "We fought for forty minutes and good things will happen if you do that."

Bellarmine used an 8-0 run to turn a 10-point Lewis lead into 37-35 game early in the second half. Monaco came back with trey at the 14 minute mark to extend the Lewis lead back to five. Back-to-back layups by the Knights' Dana Beaven knotted the game at 43 with 10:16 left. Following a steal by senior Jenna Mooberry (Byron, Ill./Byron), sophomore Jenny Turpel (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) converted a 3-point play to put the Flyers back up. Freshman Sierra West (Hartford, Wis./Slinger) made her only basket of the game a big one, converting on a trey with 7:46 left to put the Flyers up by four.

However the Knights wouldn't go away, and held a 55-53 lead when sophomore Kady Currin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) made a crucial 3-pointer to give Lewis a one-point lead with under two minutes remaining. Back came Bellarmine's Allison Hughes, hitting a jumper in the paint to give the Knights a 57-56 lead. Bellarmine's advantage would be short lived, as on the ensuing possession Currin found Carbaugh underneath the basket for a layup and a one-point Lewis lead. Following a defensive stop Monaco came back and hit a big jumper to give the Flyers a 60-57 advantage with under a minute to play. Down the stretch Turpel converted one of two free throws and took a charge to ensure the Lewis victory.

Turpel finished with 19 points, a career-high 15 boards, three blocks, two steals and two assists. She was 7-of-9 from the free throw line.

"Jenny played with a lot of guts tonight," Carlsen said. "She will tell you that she had shots she would have would love to have back so she can stick them in, but she kept fighting and played her tail off."

Monaco added 15 points. Currin finished with nine points. Mooberry added seven points, four boards, two assists, two steals and a block. In 12 minutes off the bench, junior Amy Smith (Southgate, Mich./Anderson) had five rebounds. Carbaugh added a career-high 13 rebounds, four points and three assists.

Taylor Kopple had 22 points and eight boards for Bellarmine. Lewis held a dominating 51-35 rebounding edge. Defensively the Flyers limited Bellarmine to 23 points under their season average.

Bellarmine falls to 15-10 (7-9 GLVC). Lewis improves to 14-10 (10-5 GLVC), besting last season's overall and conference win total with three games remaining. The Flyers host senior day on Saturday at 1 p.m. when Kentucky Wesleyan comes to Neil Carey Arena.