Box Score  / Box Score

Evansville, Ind. – Southern Indiana snapped the No. 24 Lewis University women's basketball team's five-game winning streak on Thursday (Feb. 7), defeating the Flyers 68-55 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action at the Physical Activities Center.
 
The Flyers fall to 16-4 on the year and 9-3 in GLVC play while the Eagles improve to 16-4 and 8-4 in the league.
 
“We really struggled offensively in the second half,” Lewis head women's basketball coach Lisa Carlsen said. “We were not able match their toughness at times.”
 
The squads battled for the upper hand in a fast-paced first half. The biggest lead that either team could put together was four points until USI built a seven-point cushion, 28-21, when Taylor Stevenson hit a jumper at 5:29.
 
The Flyers then went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 30-28. Senior Labrenthia Murdock (Round Lake, Ill./Round Lake) (Round Lake, Ill./Round Lake) scored five points, including a three pointer, while sophomores Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) and Kristin Itschner (Metamora, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) (Metamora, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) each added a layup during the run.
 
The teams exchanged seven lead changes in the first half, but went into the locker room tied 34-all.
 
After shooting 38.5% (15-for-39) from the field and 3-for-12 from the three point line in the first half, the Flyers were held to 25.7% (9-for-35) in the second half and went 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.
 
The Eagles' got hot in the second half and their lead ballooned to 18 points at 62-44 with 3:12 left in the game. The Flyers chipped at the Eagles' lead but were unable to get within single-digits before the final horn sounded.
 
Freshman forward Mariyah Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) put together her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Murdock led the Flyers with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots in the contest.
 
Southern Indiana's Mary O'Keefe led all scorers with 26 points, while Ariel Barnes chipped in 13 points. Anna Hackert pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
“We have to regroup and prepare for a really good Kentucky Wesleyan team on Saturday,” Carlsen said.
 
Lewis stays on the road to take on Kentucky Wesleyan in a battle for first-place in the GLVC East Division on Saturday (Feb. 9) in Owensboro, Ky., with a 1 PM tip-off at the Sportscenter.