ROMEOVILLE, IL – Lewis University powered past the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's basketball team in an 82-59 victory during Thursday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.
 
Lewis (10-4, 3-1) pulled ahead to a 24-14 lead through one quarter and held a 42-25 advantage over UIS (8-3, 2-1) at halftime. The Flyers led 61-42 through three quarters and outscored the Prairie Stars 21-17 in the fourth quarter.
 
"Our slow start really hurt us," UIS coach Mark Kost said. "Lewis came out with great intensity to start the game."

UIS entered the contest ranked No. 7 in the latest Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Midwest Region poll and Lewis was ranked No. 8.
 
Jasmine Sangster and Destiny Ramsey each paced the Prairie Stars with 12 points. Ramsey also tallied eight rebounds. Shelbi Patterson scored 11 points, Katelyn Rosner posted 10 points and Val Meissner scored eight points. Tehya Fortune, Gabrielle Sanders, Chasitee Shroyer each rounded out the UIS scoring effort with two points apiece. Fortune also dished out four assists.
 
Jessica Kelliher led the Flyers with 30 points. She converted 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) shots from the field while totaling nine rebounds and two blocks. Kelliher entered the contest ranked second among all NCAA Division II players with an average of 24.8 points. She is the reigning GLVC Player of the Week and has been selected for the honor three times this season.
 
Rachel Hinders contributed 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Gabby Green provided 10 points and six assists. Kayla Brewer also provided three steals.
 
Lewis knocked down 30-of-61 (49.2 percent) shots from the field and 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) attempts from 3-point range. UIS hit 20-of-60 (33.3 percent) attempts from the floor and 3-of-15 (20 percent) shots from the perimeter.
 
The Flyers outrebounded the Prairie Stars by a 47-34 margin.
 
Lewis made 18-of-33 (54.5 percent) attempts from the free-throw line while UIS drained 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) shots from the charity stripe.

Among UIS Division II career leaders, Patterson is tied for fourth in 3-point field goals made (68) and ranks fifth in free throws made (110). In UIS Division II history, Ramsey is tied for ninth in career offensive rebounds (91) and ranks 10th in career field goals made (180). Rosner is tied for fourth in UIS Division II history with 27 blocks on the season.
 
UIS goes head-to-head with McKendree University (4-6, 0-3) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Lebanon, IL.
 
"We have to regroup and bounce back on Saturday."