ROMEOVILLE, Ill. -- Lewis University's women's basketball team turned in its most impressive home performance of the season defeating Missouri S&T 93-71 on Thursday evening at Neil Carey Arena.
 
The Flyers (12-8, 12-8 GLVC) were on the board first with back-to-back layups by Lindsay Harrison (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) and Kathryn Schmidt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) to take the early lead and never trailed in the contest. The Miners (3-17, 3-17 GLVC) answered back from beyond the arc, but the Flyers managed to pull away over the final seven minutes of the quarter outscoring S&T 19-8 to take a 27-14 lead into the second stanza.
 
The Miners started the second quarter with baskets from Kristen Keys and Marta Durk to pull within nine but offensive miscues and lockdown defense by Lewis cut their quick start short. Halfway through the second frame, the Flyers pulled away with a 15-7 run, to head into the locker room with a 46-30 lead at the half.
 
Lewis began the third quarter on a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 23 on layup from Schmidt. The Miners tried to find their rhythm to get back in the game, but the Flyers held strong on the defensive end and entered the final frame up 71-46.
 
Laura Rodriguez, who scored eight points in the final quarter, hit a three-pointer with 6:40 remaining to bring S&T to within 18, but Lewis finished strong down the stretch to secure the victory.
 
Four Flyers scored in double figures, with Schmidt leading the way with 20, followed by Harrison with 11, and Grace Hilber (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) and Lily Courier (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) each had 10 points. Lewis shot 50.7 percent from the field (38-for-75), was 7-of-20 from beyond the arc, and shot 90.9 percent (10 for 11) from the stripe.
 
The Flyer defense forced the Miners to turn the ball over 26 times in the contest and had a 32-7 advantage in points off turnovers and outscored them in the paint 54-28.
 
Rodriguez led S&T with 18 points and Keys and Eryn Puett scored 11 points apiece while Durk finished with 10. The Miners were 24-of-58 (41.4 percent) from the field, shot 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from beyond the arc and were 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) at the free throw line.
 
Lewis closes out the regular season at home against Maryville on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Flyers will honor seniors Kaitlyn Williams (Homer Glen, Ill./Joliet Catholic) and Reilly Olmstead (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) prior to the start of Saturday's game.