The William Jewell women's basketball team saw a 21 point lead slip away in the fourth quarter and fell to Lewis University 58-52 on Thursday night. The Cards drop to 8-11 over and 4-7 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. 

Jewell came out firing in the opening quarter as they built a 16-3 lead after the first ten minutes of play. Maddie Nelson and Katie Finn led the charge as the duo combined for 16 of the Cards 30 points in the first half. After the Flyers got on the board in the second quarter junior Hayden Butler hit back-to-back three point shots at the 3:26 mark to push the lead back to 21. Lewis scored the final six points of the half to make it a 30-15 Jewell lead at the break.

The Flyers shot just 28 percent in the first half, including just 14 percent in the opening quarter, while Jewell connected on 40 percent of their shots. The Cards also forced Lewis into 16 first half turnovers while grabbing 11 steals. 

Jewell continued to hold the large advantage until the fourth quarter when the Flyers went on a 20-10 run, including a 16-1 streak over the final five minutes to eventually take a 53-52 lead with under a minute to play. The Cardinals were forced to foul and Lewis' Jamie Johnson connected on all four free throws to help her team to the win. 

In the second half Jewell committed 15 turnovers compared to just six in the opening half, while shooting 39 percent. However, the Flyers exploded offensively hitting on 57 percent of shot attempts. 

Overall, the Cardinals shot better than their season average, including a 40 percent clip from behind the arc, however, Lewis hit 19-of-27 free throws compared to just 5-of-7 from Jewell. 

Finn led the Cardinals with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting while hitting four three pointers and pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. Nelson followed close behind with 15 points and tied her career-high with eight assists. Freshman Rhyann Fisher was a master on defense, specifically in the opening half, swiping a career-high four steals.