ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Lewis University women's basketball team took down No. 3-seeded Truman State 68-65 Saturday (March 4) in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Semifinals at Hyland Performance Arena. The win puts the No. 2-seeded Flyers in the GLVC Tournament Championship game on Sunday against top-seeded Drury for the second consecutive year. The Flyers have now beaten Truman State two straight years in the GLVC Semifinals but will play a Drury team who beat them in last year's championship game.
LEWIS LEADERS
Points: Grace Hilber (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) (16),
Kathryn Schmidt (Hampshire, Ill./Burlington Central) (16),
Jenna Badali (Oak Lawn, Ill./Mother McAuley) (13) and
Taylor Gugliuzza (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) (11)
Rebounds: Schmidt (8)
Assists: Badali (6)
Steals: Gugliuzza (2) and Hilber (2)
Blocks: Lindsay Harrison (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) (2)
RECORDS
No. 2 Lewis (21-9) | No. 3 Truman State (20-10)
SUMMARY
Truman State jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening minute and a half of the game, which eventually led to a 13-6 advantage for the Bulldogs midway through the first quarter.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 12 in the second quarter before Lewis was able to go on a 17-9 run to end the first half and cut the Truman State lead to four.
In the first half, Truman State shot over 50 percent from the field and the 3-point line, while also making all six of its free throws. Lewis was able to keep the game within striking distance with its defense that turned into easy offense. The Flyers forced the Bulldogs to commit nine first half turnovers and outscored Truman State 13-0 on points off turnovers.
Coming out of halftime, Lewis strung together a 7-0 run that gave them their first lead of the night.
Stephanie Hart (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) hit a driving layup, Hilber sunk a 3-pointer to give the Flyers a 38-37. Lewis was able to outscore the Bulldogs by seven in third quarter, holding the No. 3-seed to just 10 points.
After a big third quarter where the Flyers held Truman State to 27 percent shooting from the field, Lewis was able to extend its lead to eight in the fourth quarter after a jumper by Gugliuzza and a transition layup by Harrison.
Truman State managed to cut the lead down to three in the closing moments, but the Flyers made eight of its 10 free throws in the fourth quarter was enough to hold off the Bulldogs.
For the second consecutive season, Lewis knocked off Truman State en route to the GLVC championship game. In the semifinal win, the Flyers shot 25-for-58 (43.1 percent) from the field and 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from 3-point land. Despite shooting a lower percentage, Lewis also made three more free throws than Truman State.
UP NEXT
Now advancing to the GLVC championship for the second consecutive year, Lewis will face Drury for the fifth time in the conference title match. Tipoff will begin at 3:30 p.m. between the two schools at Hyland Performance Arena.
