Maryville Saints women’s basketball team falls in title game of GLVC tourney

The season is over for the Maryville Saints women’s basketball team.

In the championship game of the 2013 Deaconess Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Lewis University used a 14-0 run to end the first half and went on to post a 76-61 victory over Maryville.

The Saints were attempting to become the first school to win back-to-back GLVC tournament championships but an injury-depleted roster just fell short. Shelby Miller and Samantha Robison were named to the All-Tournament team for the Saints.

Robison nailed a 3-pointer on Maryville’s first possession for a quick lead. The Flyers went ahead 8-3, but the Saints answered with a 10-2 burst, Brittnye McSparron rattled in a 3-pointer, and Kayla Person scored on back-to-back drives to tie the game. Miller scored on a backdoor cut, was fouled, and her free throw put the Saints ahead 13-10. The score was tied four more times before Angela Pepowski powered for a short jumper in the lane for a 25-23 lead. However, the Flyers scored the final 14 points of the half to take a 37-25 lead at intermission.

The Flyers were up by 17 before the Saints made a charge midway through the second half. Rita Flynn converted two layups, and Miller hit two free throws as the Saints closed to 50-39 with 10:51 to play. The Saints were still only down 12 and had a layup to cut the deficit to 10 but the shot misfired. Lewis made consecutive 3-pointers and stretched the advantage to more than 20 as it cruised to its first title since 2011.

Robison paced the Saints with nine points and 11 rebounds, while Childs scored a team-high 12 points. The Saints struggled from the field and only converted 4-of-23 from 3-point range. Mariyah Henley led Lewis with 18 points, while Sam Reinhart had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Saints saw their season-best five-game winning streak end and fall to 19-10. Lewis wins its eighth straight and improved to 24-5.