ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Lewis University women's basketball team beat Maryville 76-60 Sunday (Jan. 4) in a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest. It was the fifth straight win for the Flyers (7-6 overall, 3-2 GLVC).
 
IMPACT PLAYERS
Yahaira Bueno (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) scored 24 points with four three-pointers, while going 8-for-8 from the free throw line. She also added six assists and two steals. Kree Nunnally (Crystal Lake, Ill./Example Academy) added 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting and eight rebounds, while Jasmine Jones (Bolingbrook, IL/Bolingbrook) had nine rebounds and four blocks. Ally Cesarini (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township) recorded 11 points, six steals and four assists.
 
Claire Lueken scored 20 points to lead the Saints (10-4, 4-2).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lewis scored the first nine points of the game and never looked back. Nunnally scored seven of those nine points to get the Flyers off to a great start on the road. After a Saint three-pointer, Nunnally continued her hot start with a basket and a free throw for a 12-3 advantage.
 
The teams traded baskets from there with Lewis leading 19-10 after the first quarter.
 
The Flyers continued to build their lead, extending it to 13 points on a Gabi Hoover (Mishawaka, Ind./La Lumiere) three-pointer with 6:56 remaining in the half to pull ahead 24-11.
 
Maryville narrowed the deficit to five points with 54 seconds left in the half at 25-20, but a Bueno three-pointer helped the Flyers go into the locker room ahead 28-22.
 
The Saints scored the first four points of the third quarter to get to within two points at 28-26. Lewis came back with 11 straight points and 19 of 21 points over a six-minute stretch to take control of the game, 47-28, with 2:16 left in the third quarter as Bueno scored eight points during the run. The Flyers led 54-32 after three quarters.
 
Lewis built the lead to as many as 28 points at 60-32 before a Saints run got them to within 14 points with 1:58 left. But it wasn't enough as the Flyers finished off the victory.
 
GAME NOTES

• Bueno's 24 points sets a new career high, eclipsing the 22 points from Dec. 20 at Roosevelt.
• Cesarini has continued her record-breaking steals run. She has now gone seven straight games with at least four steals, totaling 36 during that stretch.
• The Flyers went 8-for-16 from beyond the arc for the second straight game and surpassed 50 percent shooting from the floor for the second consecutive game (53.3%).

UP NEXT
Lewis will try for a sixth straight win when it travels to Upper Iowa for its fourth straight road game Saturday (Jan. 10) in Fayette, Iowa at 1 p.m.