Nov. 27, 2009

The Lewis women's basketball team (0-2) hosts Saginaw Valley State (1-1) on Saturday Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. before playing Blackburn (1-2) on Sunday at 2 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: Lewis came back from a five-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the second, but in the end the Ferris State Bulldogs pulled away for a 74-66 victory on Tuesday thanks to a 12-0 run with seven minutes left.
The Lewis offense was hampered by foul trouble to all-region junior forward Jenny Turpel. She earned her fourth foul three minutes into the second half. Turpel finished with just four points on 2-of-5 shooting. She entered the contest with 28 straight games of double-digit points.
Junior Kady Currin led Lewis with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Senior Kelly Dianis totaled 11 points. Sophomore Devon Carbaugh added 10.
Lewis earned 16 trips to the free throw line in the first half, and had just four in the second. Ferris State took just six from the line in the first and shot 20 in the second.
The Flyers struggled from the floor, shooting just 39 percent (24-of-62). Ferris State shot 55 percent (27-of-49). The Flyers made 5-of-26 3-point attempts while Ferris State missed all four of their attempts.
Lewis trailed 30-25 at the break, but came out of the break hot. The Flyers took a 42-39 lead on a layup by Carbaugh with 13:30 remaining. Freshman Labrenthia Murdock tallied an assist on the play. However Ferris State stormed back and took a 62-50 advantage with four minutes remaining thanks to a 12-0 run.
Becci Houdek led the Bulldogs with 14 points.

ALL GOOD THINGS...: Jenny Turpel had 28 games of double-digit points until scoring just four on Tuesday at Ferris State due to foul trouble. Despite playing only 23 minutes in the game, she still grabbed eight rebounds.

A LOOK BACK: Before Turpel's disappointing night on Tuesday, she opened the season with a bang against Florida Southern by scoring a career-high 36 points. It's also the most points scored by a GLVC player this season. To put per her performance in perspective, the single-game high all of last season in the GLVC was 38 points. The last Flyer to record 30 points in a game was Darcee Schmidt on Feb. 22, 2007 at Kentucky Wesleyan.

LAST TIME WE MET: The Flyers and Cardinals last hooked up on Dec. 30, 2007. Lewis led for the majority of the contest until Kara Kinzer made a 3-pointer for Saginaw Valley State with seven seconds remaining to give the Cardinals a 64-63 win. It is Saginaw Valley State's only win in four previous meetings.

LAST TIME WE MET: The only previous meeting between Lewis and Blackburn came on Dec. 19 of last season. Lewis never trailed and defeated the Beavers 83-44. Jenny Turpel finished with 23 points. Kelly Monaco added 17.

BACK-TO-BACK: This weekend is the first of two occasions this season when the Flyers will play back-to-back games. Lewis will do so again on Dec. 18 and 19 when they play Concordia (Calif.) and Cal. Baptist on consecutive days in Irvine, Calif.

SMITH OFF THE BENCH: Senior Amy Smith added seven points and four boards off the bench in 15 minutes of play at Ferris State on Nov. 24.

FLYERS PICKED FOR SECOND: Lewis was picked for second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference North division by a vote of league coaches. The Flyers were six points behind Quincy, who lost in the GLVC Tournament Championship game last year to Northern Kentucky.

Team (First-place votes) Total Points

1. Quincy (8) 58

2. Lewis (4) 52

3. UW-Parkside (3) 49

4. Saint Joseph's 27

5. Illinois-Springfield 14

NINE CONNECTS: In Lewis' season opener against Florida Southern nine different Flyers made a 3-pointer.

TURPEL IS TOPS: Junior Jenny Turpel has recorded double-digit points in 28 straight contests. She finished her sophomore year ranking third in the GLVC in scoring (18.5), seventh in blocked shots (1.00) and field goal percentage (52.1), ninth in rebounding (6.9), and 11th in steals (1.66). She had six double-doubles and 13 20+ point contests during the season.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Turpel's 539 points last year was the ninth most in a single season in Lewis history.

TURPEL'S HONORS: For her play last season Turpel earned All-Midwest Region Second Team and All-GLVC Second Team honors. She was also named to the All-GLVC Tournament Team.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: Junior Kelly Monaco's 71 3-pointers last season tied her for second most in a single season in Lewis history. Carey Jewell holds the top two spots, draining 71 in 1997-98 and 88 in 1999-00.