Romeoville, Ill. - The Lewis University women's basketball team saw their 10 game winning streak come to an end as they fell to longtime rival Drury, 75-65, in Great Lakes Valley Conference women's basketball action Thursday night at Neil Carey Arena.
With the win, Drury improved to 13-6 (10-2 GLVC) while Lewis moved to 12-8 (8-3 GLVC)
IMPACT PLAYERS
Sara Mendel led the Panthers comeback efforts with a 19 point, 13 rebound double-double. Rhi Gibbons added in 17 scores of her own while Kaylee King chipped in 16 points to aid the Drury win.
Yaharia Bueno led all scores with 23 points while Ally Ceserini added in 22 points of her own for the Flyers. On the glass, Cesarini led the way with eight boards while Bueno chipped in four assists. Lewis ended the evening shooting 25-of-62 (.402) while Drury shot .500 (26-of-52) from the floor.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Flyers raced out of the gate as they knocked down nine of the first 12 points of the contest. The Flyers continued to attack the Drury defense and used a 10-3 run midway through the frame to aid their 21-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
After trading the first handful of buckets, the Panthers found a spark as a King pull-up jumper spurnned a 13-2 run that trimmed the Lewis lead to just two, 29-27, with 4:50 in the half. Each sides exchanged scores to end the half with Lewis entering the locker room with a 37-33 lead.
Out of the break, Drury again whittled down the Lewis lead back down to two, but the Flyers had an answer as a
Jasmine Jones (Bolingbrook, IL/Bolingbrook) triple uncorked a half-best 13-2 run that pushed Lewis ahead, 52-40, with 3:45 to play. Still, the Panthers closed the half on a 13-2 run to trim the Lewis lead to just one, 54-53 and set the stage for the fourth quarter where they outscored the Flyers, 21-12, en route to their road comeback victory.
GAME NOTES
- Today marked the 35th all-time meeting between the two sides
- Lewis attempted 22 3-pointers, tying their season-high
- Fouls were plenty as 36 fouls and one technical awarded to Drury
- Bueno had four-or-more assists for the seventh time this year
- The Flyers 10 game winning streak was the longest in the GLVC this season
HALL OF FAME
This past week, the Flyers inducted their 39th hall of fame class. The inductees include longtime athletic trainer Tony McCormick (Aug. 1986 – May 2001), the 1996 & 1997 Women's Cross Country Teams, David Locker (Men's Cross Country/Track and Field, 1994-97), Magdalena Paszta (Women's Cross Country/Track and Field, 1994-1998) and Kevin Coates (Men's Swimming, 2007-11). Lewis Athletics also had their 6th annual Flyer Red Dinner which
celebrated the success of the 2024-25 season for Lewis.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will wrap up their weekend this Saturday at home against Missouri S&T at 1 p.m.
For the latest news and updates on Lewis Women's basketball, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @lewiswbball on Instagram and @LewisWBBall on X.
