ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's women's basketball begins Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play this Thursday (Dec. 2) as it hosts Indianapolis at 5:30 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers (1-5, 0-0 GLVC) are coming off an 80-79 loss to Parkside last Saturday while the Greyhounds (1-5, 0-1 GLVC) opened conference play with a 79-62 setback at Southern Indiana on Monday evening.
Last Time Out – Lewis battled back from a 17-point deficit against the Rangers but ultimately came up a point short.
Kathryn Schmidt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) scored a career-high 26 points in the contest and was joined in double figures by
Lily Courier (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) with 18 points while
Grace Hilber (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) added 13 points. The Flyers shot 38.1 percent from the field in the contest but struggled from downtown making just 4-of-17 attempts.
Balanced Scoring Attack – Lewis has four players averaging double figures in scoring this season led by Courier at 19 points per game while Schmidt is averaging 15.8 points per outing, Hilber is dropping in 14.7 points per contest and
Jenna Badali (Oak Lawn, Ill./Mother McAuley) is contributing 11.3 ppg.
Taylor Gugliuzza (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) is just shy of double figures at 9.8 points per game.
GLVC League Leaders – The Flyers rank second in the GLVC in scoring behind only Drury with 73.3 points per contest. Lewis has scored more than 70 points in five of its six games this season and are averaging 78.3 points in its last four contests. Schmidt, Hilber and Badali are ranked in the top 25 in the conference in scoring with Schmidt at eight, Hilber is ranked 13th and Badali checks in at 23. Schmidt would be tied for third but is not eligible yet as she has not appeared in 75 percent of the team's games.
About UIndy – The Greyhounds dropped their conference opener at Southern Indiana on Monday evening despite getting 16 points from Elana Wells and 14 points from Taylor Drury. Scoring has been an issue at times for the Hounds as they're averaging just 63.3 points per game this season. They're shooting the ball at a 45.3 percent clip from the field but have made just 31 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc. They're outrebounding opponents by three rebounds per game but have turned the ball over an average of 20.5 times per outing.
Sadie Hill leads the team in scoring with 15.5 points per contest while Wells and Drury are averaging 13 and 12 points per game respectively. Mickey Sasson is the the team's leader in rebounding at 6.0 per contest and has dished out a team-high 22 assists.
About McKendree – The Bearcats enter Thursday's contest at Maryville also with a 1-5 record after dropping its conference opener at Illinois Springfield 81-52 on Monday evening. Christy Fortune leads the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game and is one of four players averaging double figures in scoring. Clare Breden, Sydney Diekhoff and Erin Golden are contributing 10.8, 10.5 and 10.3 points per game respectively. Fortune is the team's leading rebounder at 7.6 rebounds per game while Golden leads the squad with 17 assists.
Series Stuff – Thursday's game marks the 81st meeting all-time between Lewis and UIndy with the Flyers holding a 45-35 advantage. Lewis has won three straight and nine of the last 10 in the series. The Flyers swept the two meetings last season defeating the Hounds 80-74 in Indianapolis and 73-64 at Neil Carey Arena.
Lewis has won 12 of the 14 meetings all-time against McKendree. The two teams split the season series last year with the Bearcats winning 67-54 at Neil Carey Arena while the Flyers picked up a 77-65 victory in Lebanon.
Up Next – The Flyers take a break from GLVC play as they'll take on crosstown rival St. Francis at 7 p.m. at the Sullivan Center in Joliet, Ill.
