ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University's women's basketball team concludes its three-game road trip with a visit to Illinois Springfield this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Flyers have won two of their last three games entering Thursday's contest.
Lewis looks to build momentum after defeating 25th ranked Southern Indiana last Saturday 72-63 in Evansville.
Taylor Gugliuzza (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) led three Flyers in double figures with 20 points while
Grace Hilber (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) and
Tara Gugliuzza (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) chipped in with 19 and 15 points respectively.
Lewis shot 41 percent (25-for-61) from the field in the contest while holding the Screaming Eagles to just 34 percent shooting including 2-of-24 from the three-point line.
Defending The Three – Over their last eight games the Flyers have done a better job guarding the three-point line holding their opponents to an average of five made three's per contest and holding teams to 26 percent (40-for-154) shooting from downtown. Lewis allowed a season-low one three in the win over McKendree back on December 4.
Make Up Announcement – The Flyers will make up their game against Illinois Springfield that was originally scheduled for January 2 on Monday (Feb. 7) at 5:30 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena.
Double Trouble – Over the past five games the Gugliuzza starters have combined to average 23.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Together they're shooting 40.5 percent (30-of-74) from the field including 15-for-41 from downtown. They've also combined for 13 assists and 11 steals.
Taylor has reached double figures in all five games and had a season-high 20 points at Southern Indiana on Saturday while Tara has reached double figures in three of her last five games with a season-high 15 points at Drury on Jan. 8.
Balanced Scoring Attack – Lewis is being led in scoring this season by Hilber at 15.3 points per game while
Kathryn Schmidt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) is adding 14.4 points per contest and Tay. Gugliuzza is dropping in 12.0 points per outing.
Lily Courier (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) is close with 9.9 ppg.
About Illinois Springfield – The Prairie Stars enter Thursday's contest with a record of 9-6, 4-5 GLVC after going 2-1 last week. They opened the week with a 68-58 win over Maryville last Monday, then lost to Southern Indiana on the road 88-80 before wrapping up the week with a 69-57 win over McKendree on Saturday.
Lauren Ladowski leads the Stars with 17.2 points per game and she is joined in double figures by Malea Jackson at 13.8 points per outing while Ellie Mitchell is dropping in 10.1 ppg.
UIS is averaging 69.5 points per game while shooting 40.8 percent from the field including 30.7 percent from three and are shooting nearly 76 percent at the foul line. It is outrebounding its competition by less than a rebound per game.
Series History – Thursday's contest marks the 19th meeting all-time between Lewis and Illinois Springfield with the Flyers holding a 16-2 advantage. The Flyers extended their win streak to 12 in the series last season defeating the Prairie Stars 78-73 in the first matchup but UIS won the second contest 63-62 at Neil Carey Arena.
Up Next – Lewis begins a three-game homestand next Thursday (Feb. 3) hosting Truman State at 5:30 p.m.
