Jan. 2, 2011

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Senior Jenny Turpel (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) recorded 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and six blocks on Sunday evening at Neil Carey Arena. However the Lewis women's basketball team dropped their Great Lakes Valley Conference home opener to Bellarmine 82-76. Turpel finished 15-of-36 from the floor. Her 36 attempts set a new GLVC record for attempts in a game.

The previous record was 34 attempts, held by three players, including former Flyer Chris Toscas who took 34 attempts against Southern Indiana on Dec. 17, 1988.

"JT's teammates knew she was our best option at times tonight," head coach Lisa Carlsen said. "But we don't want JT taking 36 shots. There have to be others to step up at times and we have players who can do that."

The Flyers struggled out of the gate, falling behind 7-0 and trailing by 15 points at halftime. Turpel took 18 of her 36 shots in the opening half. Lewis shot just 25.6 percent in the first half compared to Bellarmine's 58.6 percent shooting.

"When you put yourself in that type of hole it's tough to fight back and get where you need to be," Carlsen said.

The Flyers did rally in the second, advancing within five on several occasions and within four points with 9:32 remaining on a 3-pointer by freshman Alexus Grayer (Washington, Ill./Washington) to make the score 58-54. Bellarmine iced the game by going on a 13-4 run over the next five minutes. All four of Lewis' points during the stretch came on free throws by senior Carol Kruckman (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville).

The teams combined to take just three free throws in the first half. However in the second half the teams combined to attempt 41 free throws. Bellarmine made 23-of-28 from the charity stripe in the second half to prevent Lewis from getting any closer down the stretch.

Kruckman was Lewis' second leading scorer, finishing with 12 points. Lauren Jones had 23 points for Bellarmine.

Bellarmine improves to 7-4 (2-1 GLVC). Lewis falls to 6-5 (2-1 GLVC). The Flyers are back in action on Tuesday against Northern Kentucky. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena.