Lewis Athletics
Luke Rinne, Director of Athletic Communications

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Lewis’ women’s basketball team saw its season come to an end in a 72-55 loss to Grand Valley State on Saturday in the Midwest Region Semifinals at Drury University. The Flyers end their season with a record of 27-5 while the Lakers improve to 29-3.

Lewis got off to a slow start making only one of its first 10 shots and trailed Grand Valley 10-2 with 3:26 left in the opening quarter. The Flyers responded with an 8-0 run to the game in the span of 96 seconds thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Stephanie Hart (Geneva, Ill./Geneva).

The Lakers ended the quarter with baskets from Cassidy Boensch and Taya Andrews to take a 14-10 lead at the quarter break.

Grand Valley opened the quarter on a 14-2 run to extend its lead to 16 points on a three-pointer from Natalie Koenig with 3:46 left in the stanza. Lewis was able to chip away at the lead by scoring the final eight points of the first half to cut the deficit under double digits on a layup from Jessica Kelliher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North)with less than a minute to play in the half.

The Lakers opened the third quarter on a 16-7 run to extend its halftime lead to double digits on a jumper from Maddie Daley with 3:20 to play in the frame. The Flyers cut the margin to 15 a couple of times but Jenn DeBoer hit a three with 0:01 left in the stanza to give Grand Valley an 18-point lead heading into the final quarter.

Lewis opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run over the first 2:30 to cut the Laker lead to 50-41 on a jumper from Kelliher. That would be the closest they got though as Grand Valley countered with a 15-3 run over the next 4:30 minutes to build its largest lead of the game at 21 points on a three-pointer from Andrews.

Kaitlyn Williams (Homer Glen, Ill./Joliet Catholic) hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds for the final margin.

The Flyers were held to a season-low 55 points while shooting only 35 percent (23-for-66) from the floor, including 7-of-33 from three and shot just 29 percent at the foul line. They outrebounded the Lakers 39-to-36 in the contest.

Tierney Lockett (Richton Park, Ill./Rich South) led Lewis with 12 points while Kelliher finished with 10.

Grand Valley had five players reach double figures in scoring with Dailey leading the way with 20 points.