ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The Lewis University women's basketball took down Southwest Baptist, 73-62, Saturday (Dec. 2) at Neil Carey Arena. Grace Hilber (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) led the Flyers with 19 points and shot 5/8 (.625) from three-point range while Taylor Gugliuzza (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) also had a big game all-around, with 15 points, a career-high 9 assists, and seven rebounds.

LEWIS LEADERS
Points: Hilber (19), Gugliuzza (15), Kathryn Schmidt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) (14), Jenna Badali (Oak Lawn, Ill./Mother McAuley) (11)
Rebounds: Lily Courier (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) (8), Gugliuzza (7), Schmidt (6)
Assists: Gugliuzza (9), Badali (3)
Steals: Badali (2)
Blocks: Courier (2)

RECORDS
Lewis 5-2 (4-0 GLVC) | Southwest Baptist 2-5 (0-3 GLVC)

SUMMARY
Southwest Baptist took a 4-0 lead early, but the Flyers charged into the lead with a 16-0 run that featured five points and two assists from Gugliuzza, holding the Bearcats scoreless for over five minutes. After five straight points for SBU, Lewis took off again, ending the quarter on an 8-1 push to finish the first frame with a 24-10 lead.

The Flyers made three of its four three-point attempts in the opening quarter and earned an assist on each of its seven field goals. The Bearcats were just 4/18 (.222) from the field.

Both sides traded baskets early in the second quarter, with Lewis building its lead up to 16 points after back-to-back threes by Gugliuzza and Schmidt with just over four minutes left in the half. The rest of the period continued to be back-and-forth, with the Flyers leading 40-25 at halftime.

At the break, Lewis was shooting 7/13 (.538) from three-point range, while holding SBU to just 2/8 (.250). Gugliuzza led the Flyers offensively with 10 points and six assists, while Schmidt had eight points and six rebounds.

Each of Lewis' first three baskets of the second half came from beyond the arc as the Flyers increased the lead to 20 points. Then, the offenses quieted down, with neither team scoring for nearly three minutes before a Bearcats three-pointer finished the drought.

Lewis led, 59-41, at the end of the third quarter. Hilber had a huge frame, scoring 11 points and contributing two assists.

A layup by Badali put the Flyers up 20 to start the fourth, but Southwest Baptist then went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 61-48. Layups on back-to-back possessions restored the lead to 17 points for Lewis, but the Bearcats then scored 11 in a row to put the score at 67-59 in favor of the Flyers with just under two minutes remaining.

Badali made three free throws down the stretch to get the lead back up to double-digits, and Lewis finished off the victory with a 73-62 final score.

UP NEXT
Lewis women's basketball welcomes Parkside to Neil Carey Arena on Tuesday (Dec. 5) at 5:30 p.m. CT.