TAKE OFF: Lewis women's basketball (14-15) plays Indianapolis (17-12) on Sunday afternoon in the 2011 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Championship. Tip-off is 3:30 p.m. in St. Louis, Mo. in Maryville University's Moloney Arena. Lewis is the ninth seed (reseeded to sixth after the first round). Indianapolis is eighth (reseeded to fifth).
The contest will be broadcast live on WJOL (1340 AM) and www.LewisFlyers.com with Mark Vasko providing the play-by-play on the Lewis Sports Network. The game can also be heard on WLRA (88.1 FM) with Brett Lyons on the call. Links to live stats and video can be found on LewisFlyers.com.
TICKET INFO: Tickets are available at the door only, and all seating is general admission. Tickets are $12 per and $5 for students and include the men's championship also.
A WIN EQUALS LEWIS': Fourth GLVC Championship ... first GLVC Championship since 2006-07 ... seventh NCAA berth ... first NCAA berth since 2006-07.
FIRST FOR EVERYTHING: Since adopting the 12-team tournament last season Lewis is the first nine seed in either the men's or women's tournaments to advance to the GLVC Championship. In previous years of the eight team field Lewis would not have qualified for the tournament.
4, 3, 2 AND ... 8: Lewis defeated fourth seed Missouri S&T, third seed Drury and second seed UW-Parkside to advance to the GLVC Championship. However No. 1 seed Quincy fell to Indianapolis meaning Lewis will now face the No. 8/5 seed Greyhounds.
DEFENSE!: Lewis' run has been built on defense, allowing almost five fewer points in the postseason. In Lewis' three GLVC Tournament wins the Flyers are limiting opponents to 61.7 points per game. Lewis finished the regular season allowing 66.0 points per game.
WALK THE LINE: Lewis is 26-of-32 (81.3 percent) from the free throw line in the final three minutes of Lewis' three tournament wins. The total includes overtime against Missouri S&T in the opening round. Lewis' opponents made only 9-of-18 free throw attempts in this same span.
YOU CAN REST AFTER YOU GRADUATE: Senior Kady Currin has played all 125 minutes (including five overtime minutes against Missouri S&T) of the GLVC Tournament.
SHOW ME WINS: Lewis is 5-0 in the state of Missouri this season. The Flyers won at Rockhurst, UMSL and Maryville during the regular season in addition to Lewis' wins the last two days of victories on the neutral court of Moloney Arena.
STREAKING: Lewis' three GLVC Tournament wins match their longest winning streak of the season. It comes on the heels of their longest losing streak of the season after the Flyers dropped the final three games of the regular season.
FROM LONG RANGE: In Lewis' three GLVC Tournament victories, the Flyers are 22-of-41 (53.7 percent) from long range.
LAST TIME OUT: Lewis defeated UW-Parkside 64-56 on Saturday in the GLVC Tournament Semifinals.
LAST TIME WE MET: Indianapolis defeated Lewis 68-60 at Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Ill. on Jan. 15. Indianapolis took early control in the second half with a 7-2 run out of the break. The Greyhounds held an advantage for the majority of the half until Kelly Monaco capped a 10-0 Lewis run with a 3-pointer at 7:09 to give Lewis a 52-50 lead. On the ensuing possession Lewis played solid defense for 29 seconds before Cayla Keegan nailed a baseline jumper at the shot clock buzzer. The Greyhounds' Heather Gonser followed with a trey to give Indianapolis a three-point lead with less than five minutes remaining. Lewis cut the Greyhounds advantage to one with 2:51 remaining on a layup by Devon Carbaugh at 57-56. However the Greyhounds pulled away down the stretch by scoring the next seven points, all by way of free throws.
SERIES HISTORY: Indianapolis leads the all-time series with Lewis 31-26,
CARLSEN IN THE GLVC TOURNAMENT: Lewis head coach Lisa Carlsen is 6-2 all-time in the GLVC Tournament.
TURPEL ALL-GLVC: Jenny Turpel was named to the All-GLVC Second Team last week. It is her third career All-GLVC nod. As a sophomore she made the second team while last year she was a first team selection.
IT'S SHAW GOOD: Since returning to the starting lineup on Feb. 17 at Quincy after an injury sidelined her 12 games, junior Lory Shaw has put up impressive numbers. In the last five games, all starts for Shaw, she's averaging 10.8 points per game and 8.8 rebounds.
MURDOCK'S EFFICIENCY IS A KEY: In wins this season, Labrenthia Murdock is shooting 53.8 percent (56-of-104). In losses she is shooting 33.8 percent (51-of-151).
TRACKING TURPEL'S DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Jenny Turpel led the GLVC with eight double-doubles during the regular season. She has 17 in her career.
TURPEL'S BIG GAMES: Jenny Turpel has 33 20-point games, including eight this season.
WINNING BIG: The Flyers' average margin of victory is 17.6 points.
CURRIN ALL-TIME: Kady Currin is eighth all-time in Lewis history in assists with 394. Julie Giles (1990-94) ranks seventh with 395.
CURRIN FROM THE LINE: Kady Currin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton)'s career 80.8 free throw percentage is fourth in Lewis history. This year she is 55-of-61 from the free throw line for a career-best 90.2 percent.
CURRIN FROM LONG RANGE: Kady Currin ranks seventh all-time in 3-pointers at Lewis with 109. Her career 38.9 percent total from 3-point range ranks fourth all-time at Lewis.
TURPEL IN THE GLVC: Jenny Turpel (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg)'s ranks in the GLVC: rebounding (2nd, 7.9), blocks (3rd, 1.10) and scoring (12th, 14.4).
CURRIN IN THE GLVC: Kady Currin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton)'s ranks in the GLVC: assists (3rd, 4.66) and assist/turnover ratio (3rd, 1.96).
FROM LONG RANGE: Only forwards Lory Shaw and Carol Kruckman have not made a 3-pointer this season. Both have never attempted a 3-pointer in their career. All 10 other players have made at least one 3-pointer.
CAUGHT STEALING: Lewis has 12 games this season with 10 or more steals.
CAREER YEAR: Senior Carol Kruckman entered the season with 59 points and 36 rebounds in two seasons. This year Kruckman has 176 points and 77 rebounds while making five starts. She has seven games of double-digit points this year.
THEY CALL HER MONEY: Kelly Monaco, known as Money to her teammates, ranks third all-time in career 3-pointers with 196. Former teammate Kelly Dianis (2005-10) is second with 214.
JT's CAREER POINTS: Jenny Turpel (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg)'s 1,777 points ranks fifth all-time at Lewis. Mary Moskal (2003-07) is fourth with 1,782 points.
JT's CAREER BLOCKS: Jenny Turpel (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg)'s 121 blocks ranks second all-time at Lewis. Julie Fruendt (1981-85) ranks first with 215. For her career, Turpel is averaging 1.1 blocks per game.
JT's CAREER REBOUNDS: Jenny Turpel has 797 career rebounds, fourth all-time at Lewis. Brenda Wegrzyn (1991-95) is third with 802.
TOP FIVE: Jenny Turpel is the only Flyer in school history to rank in the top five in scoring, rebounding and blocks.
ON THE RADAR: A win for the Flyers would advance Lewis to the NCAA Midwest Regional. Michigan Tech entered the week No. 1 in the region. They play Ashland on Sunday for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship. It means Michigan Tech is likely to host the Midwest Regional, however nothing is official until Sunday evening when the official brackets are introduced.
