Even though the Bowling Green women’s basketball team gets most of their production from freshmen and sophomores, the upperclassmen know they are still the leaders of the team.
Senior point guard Tene Lewis exhibited this in the Falcons’ 80-58 win over Western Michigan Saturday.
Lewis provided the spark BG needed in order to run away with the game out of the gate. In her 26 minutes she had 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals.
“Tene is our best defender,” BG head coach Curt Miller said. “She brought energy off the bench, she really defended well, and she created tempo. She continues to step in passing lanes and get those breakaway layups, and her energy is something that this team really needs.”
What doesn’t show up in the stats for Lewis are all the loose balls she got after and all the times she tipped the ball to a teammate or confused Western with her-in-your face defense.
“That’s all my coach and teammates ask of me,” Lewis said. “To play defense, and I don’t have any complaints with that.”
That is the way Lewis has played in her four years at BG.
Her scoring numbers don’t normally jump out on the stat sheet and she isn’t always in the limelight.
But when teams walk away from playing BG, they remember how Lewis was all over the court.
“I’m not a person that looks to score,” Lewis said. “I’m more of a passer and a person that will sacrifice their body at the other end. I don’t mind playing defense at all.”
Miller has described this team as blue-collar this season. And Lewis embodies that.
Freshman Kate Achter emerged this season as a force at the point guard position.
This has meant less playing time for Lewis, but that hasn’t changed her outlook on the game.
“We want to win a championship,” Lewis said. “We want to go into each game with a killer mentality. We need to go after each team, and not let up.”
Lewis won’t win a scoring title any time soon but thanks to her key contributions every game, the Falcons continue to look like an early favorite to win the MAC championship.
“You are always looking for the extra people to step up,” Miller said. “You come to expect that Liz Honegger and Ali Mann are going to be tremendous, but you look to see who else will step up.”
Saturday, that person was Lewis.
