SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Lewis women's basketball team dropped a hard fought contest at Drury 69-66 on Saturday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Events Center in Springfield, Mo. The Panthers (15-0, 5-0 GLVC) entered the contest ranked third in the WBCA Coaches Poll and sixth in the D2SIDA Media Poll while the Flyers (13-2, 4-1 GLVC) were ranked fourth in the D2SIDA poll and 17th in the WBCA poll.
Lewis opened the game scoring six of the first eight points to take an early four point lead. Drury countered with an 11-2 one of its own to grab a 13-8 lead on a jumper from Hailey Diestelkamp.
Jessica Kelliher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) brought the Flyers back to within three with a layup but the Panthers closed the quarter on a 15-5 run to take a 13-point advantage into the second quarter. Paige Robinson keyed that Drury run scoring 11 points and hit three three's.
The Panthers shot 67 percent (12-for-18) from the floor in the quarter and was 4-of-7 from three.
Lewis opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run behind five points from Kelliher, four from
Tierney Lockett (Richton Park, Ill./Rich South) and three from
Gabby Green (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) to cut the Drury lead to 30-27 four minutes into the frame.
The Flyers had their chances to get even closer but turned the ball over on three straight possessions. Azia Lynch gave the Panthers a five-point lead with a layup with 2:39 left in the half. Kelliher brought Lewis back to within four hitting 1-of-2 at the foul line but Diestelkamp gave Drury a six point lead at the break hitting a pair of free throws.
The Panthers extended their halftime lead to 10 less than two minutes into the third quarter by scoring eight of the first 12 points. The Flyers answered with a 16-4 run over the next six minutes to take its first lead since early in the contest on a layup from Lockett.
Robinson hit made 1-of-2 at the foul line to cut the lead to one before Green hit a driving layup to give Lewis a 52-49 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
In the final frame the lead changed hands five times in the first two minutes. Diestelkamp put the Panthers back in front for good with a pair of free throws with 8:16 to play. Lewis struggled to handle Drury's pressure turning the ball over on six straight possessions which allowed the Panthers to extend their lead to six after Robinson's fourth trey of the contest.
The lead grew to 10 after two free throws from Robinson nearly midway through the final quarter. The Flyers wouldn't go away quietly as they used a 10-2 run over the next 3:30 minutes to cut the lead to two on a jumper from Green.
On the ensuing possession, Diestelkamp was fouled and made 1-of-2 at the line to extend the lead to three. Green tried to make it a one-point game but missed a 12-foot jumper with less than a minute to play. Lewis initially got a stop as Payton Richards missed a layup but Brooke Stanfield got the rebound and was fouled with 0:20 left. She missed both free throws but Diestelkamp got the rebound and missed a layup which would have sealed it.
Kaitlyn Williams (Homer Glen, Ill./Joliet Catholic) got the rebound and the Flyers had a chance to tie the game. Green missed a three right of the top of the key with 0:09 and
Rachel Hinders (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) was fouled on the rebound. The inbounds pass was stolen and Drury was able to dribble out the clock.
Lewis shot 57 percent (25-for-44) from the floor but was 3-of-10 from three and shot 72 percent (13-for-18) at the foul line. It outrebounded the Panthers 31-to-26 but turned the ball over 27 times resulting in 21 points for the Panthers.
Gabby Green (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) led the Flyers with 22 points while Kelliher added 19. Lockett finished with 15 points and Hinders had 10.
Drury shot 44 percent (27-of-62) from the field, was 5-for-18 from three and shot 71 percent at the foul line. Diestelkamp led all scorers with 28 points and had 15 rebounds. Robinson added 19 points off the bench.
Lewis returns to action next Saturday as they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Greyhounds at 12 p.m. (CST).
