HAMMOND, Ind. — Purdue Northwest suffered a 78-57 road defeat to Lewis in non-conference women's basketball action Tuesday night inside Neil Carey Arena.
Following the setback, PNW dropped to 2-2 overall heading into a pair of non-conference games this weekend. Lewis (1-4) earned its first win under new head coach Matt Nelson and snapped a four-game losing streak in the early part of the season.
STAT LEADERS
- Elexah Roepke knocked down a pair of threes and went a perfect 4-for-4 shooting to finish with 12 points
- Dash Shaw shot 5 of 7 from the floor and tied for the team lead with 12 points
- Taylor Austin chipped in with a career-high seven points off the bench
- Savaya Brockington led the team in rebounds (5) and assists (4)
How it happened: The two teams exchanged early leads as the Pride went up 6-4 on
Antreese Shelton's layup, but Lewis started hot by making five of six shots to take a 13-9 advantage midway through the first quarter.
Reagan Courier's 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to one with under three minutes in the first. However, the Flyers closed the opening period on a 9-0 run which led to a 10-point lead heading to the second, 22-12.
Roepke's first three of the night ended a five-minute scoring drought for the Pride and then a free throw from Galbraith cut the Lewis lead to six, 28-22, with under six minutes until halftime. Soon after, Roepke hit again from deep to make it a one-possession game, but the Flyers dealt another devastating blow with an 11-0 spurt to take a 41-27 advantage at the break.
PNW poured in 16 points in the third period – the highest total for the Black & Gold in a quarter throughout the night. But the Pride weren't' able to make stops defensively to get back within single digits and never had a chance at the comeback attempt. PNW trailed by 16 after three quarters and already had 24 turnovers.
Overall, the Pride fell victim to 30 giveaways on the night and were outscored 28-14 on points off turnovers. The Flyers also held the edge in scoring in the paint, 38-26. PNW registered a 45-37 advantage in bench scoring and out-rebounded the hosts 34-32.
It was the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools as Lewis remained unbeaten in the series.
UP NEXT
PNW will travel to Ohio after Thanksgiving for back-to-back non-conference games. The Pride are scheduled to play at Tiffin University in a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday, followed by a 2 p.m. Sunday start at Ursuline College.
FOLLOW THE PRIDE
For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest women's basketball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics & @PNWWBB) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
