INDIANAPOLIS – After having more than a week off since their last game at Drury, the UIndy women's basketball team hosted No. 18 Lewis in Nicoson Hall Saturday afternoon. Saturday's matchup was the second this season between the Flyers and Greyhounds, Lewis came away with a five point win back in Romeoville, Ill., in early December. Today's result was similar for the Greyhounds as they fell to the visiting Flyers, 70-57.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was tightly contested throughout most of the first quarter until Lewis went on a late eight-point run to stretch their lead to 10 just minutes after the Hounds cut it the Flyer lead to two on a Laura Thomas layup. Emma Benoit hit a pair of free throws to close out the quarter, finishing the opening frame with six points and five boards for UIndy. Lewis sped up the pace on the Hounds early in the second quarter, stretching out their lead to 12 before a three-point bucket from Taylor Drury and a layup from Thomas forced a Flyer timeout. UIndy did not let the game get out of hand, they stayed tough defensively and forced Lewis turnovers including a steal in the final seconds from Shira Sasson who got fouled on a layup attempt with a second left, sinking both free throws to go into the half down eight to the 18th-ranked Flyers.
 
Lewis started to pull away midway through the third quarter, reigning GLVC player of the year Jessica Kelliher went to work down low to slowly increase the lead heading into the game's final 10 minutes. The Greyhounds turned up the pressure on the Flyers in the backcourt, forcing Lewis turnovers and taking advantage of the extra possessions. The Hounds did not quit, trimming down the Lewis lead to just 10 with some help from Shira Sasson off the bench as well as Laura Thomas staying aggressive and taking the ball into the paint and ability to pull up off of ball screens. UIndy's late surge was not enough as the Hounds fell to No. Lewis by 13 in Nicoson Hall.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-The Greyhounds drastically cut down on turnovers Saturday afternoon, UIndy turned the ball over 13 times, their fewest amount of giveaways in a game since only turning the ball over 12 times against Lake Superior State on November 21, 2018.
-UIndy posted their second-highest free throw percentage of the season today, going 11-of-13 from the stripe for an 84.6% success rate.
-Taylor Drury and Emma Benoit each registered two blocks Saturday afternoon, the team's four total blocks was their most since the team combined for five rejections against Quincy just over two weeks ago. Drury and Benoit each tied their season-bests with their two swats.
-Shira Sasson came off the bench for 21 minutes to lead all-reserves. Sasson shot two-of-three from the field and sunk a free throw to finish with five points and also tied for second on the team in rebounding with six boards.
 
HOUND BYTES
Head coach Kristin Wodrich on her team's play down the stretch, "we decided to play defense aggressively and took advantage of some opportunities."
 
Wodrich on Lewis' Jessica Kelliher, "she is one of the best in the country. You can try to deny her, dig the ball out against her, but she is a talented player. She's a senior, she's a veteran, she has been here before and she is a tough matchup for anybody in the country."
 
Wodrich on Taylor Drury, Emma Benoit, and Laura Thomas all finishing in double figures, "we did not move the ball particularly well, but they all stepped up and helped us out when we needed it. We will go back to the drawing board and figuring out what we can do to move the ball better moving forward."
 
HOUND BYTES
UIndy travels to Rolla, Missouri, to face off with Missouri S&T this Monday to make up their game that was postponed last week due to weather. The Hounds and Miners are slated for a 4 p.m. tip-off.