LEBANON, Ill. - Peacock women's basketball (14-14, 10-10 GLVC) fell to Lewis (Ill.) (17-12, 13-7 GLVC) on Saturday to close the regular season. Ellie Foster and Ava Privet combined for 48 points in the 72-64 loss.
Despite the loss, Upper Iowa earned the eighth and final spot in the GLVC Tournament. Upper Iowa (3.20 rating/64 total points) edged out Illinois Springfield (3.18 rating/63.5 total points) by half a point in the GLVC Point Rating System. Quincy's (15-12, 12-8 GLVC) 75-73 win over UIndy (5-23, 4-16 GLVC) on Saturday helped the Peacocks have enough points to edge out the Prairie Stars and make the conference tournament.
Foster played all 40 minutes, scoring a team-high 25 points. She also led the team in rebounds with five and in steals with two. Privet scored 23 points, shooting 8-of-14 (57.1%) from the field with three rebounds and an assist.
After trailing 10-2 early, Privet and Foster came alive by scoring 11 unanswered points. Privet knocked down a pair of 3-pointers while Foster scored five points to lead 13-10.
Lewis tied the game, 15-15, and used a quick 9-0 run over 1:04 to take a 22-15 lead. The Flyers led 24-18 at the end of the quarter with Amelia Valentino hitting a 3-pointer for the Peacocks.
After a Privet layup cut the lead to five with 7:28 left in the half, the Flyers outscored the Peacocks 9-3 to take a 40-39 lead with 3:42 remaining. A late layup by Mercy Lasu gave Lewis a 42-32 lead at halftime. Lewis shot 7-of-11 (63.6%) in the second quarter compared to Upper Iowa's 5-of-15 (33.3%).
With Lewis leading 52-43, the Flyers went on a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 59-43 with 2:05 left in the third quarter. The Peacocks scored the final five points of the period to trail by 11 entering the fourth.
Lewis extended the lead to 64-50 before one last push from the Peacocks. Foster scored 10 of the next 12 points to pull the Peacocks within four, 66-62, with 4:55 left. UIU had a few opportunities to cut the game to a possession, but could not convert, and Lewis capitalized by scoring the next four points unanswered. Upper Iowa finished 1-for-6 (16.6%) from the field with three turnovers in the final 4:55.
Valentino totaled six points and two rebounds after making two 3-pointers. Kenzie Deaton added four points. Josie Foster, Kendyl Lodermeier and Sydnee Nelson each scored a basket. Nelson led the team in assists with three while also grabbing three rebounds and forcing two steals.
Mallory Ramage led Kewis with 24 points. Ally Cesarini had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Yahaira Bueno scored 14 points with three boards.
The Flyers shot 28-of-54 (51.9%) from the field and 7-of-15 (46.7%) from behind the arc. Those are the fifth-highest shooting percentages for Lewis this season. The Peacocks were 24-of-54 (44.4%) from the field and 11-of-26 (42.3%) from behind the arc.
Lewis outscored Upper Iowa in the paint 30-18 with a 27-21 rebounding advantage. The Flyers led for 38:30 of the game.
The Peacocks will prepare to face GLVC Regular Season Champion No. 20 Missouri-St. Louis (22-4, 18-2 GLVC) in the first round of the GLVC Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for noon in the Mark Twain Building on UMSL's campus on Thursday, March 5.
