Lyons College boxscore in PDF

In the opening game of the Holiday Inn Express Classic, Alex Hillyer scored a season-high 21 points to pace Maryville to a 71-56 victory over Lyon College. The game was played in St. Joseph, Mo., and the tournament host is Missouri Western.

The Saints lead for most of the first half and build a lead as large as 10 points before settling for a 37-33 advantage at halftime. The Scots cut into Maryville's lead and eventually went ahead early in the second half.

Down 44-43 with 12 minutes left to play, the Saints went on a 9-2 run to surge ahead.  Alex Hiller scored on a layup to pus the Saints ahead 45-44, and the junior center hit a jumper on Maryville's next possession. Rita Flynn converted a layup for a 49-44 lead midway through the second half. After Lyons scored,  Alex Wolf made one free throw, and Carly Frala hit a layup for a 52-46 margin with 7:44 left to play. Lyons made one free throw but Shelby Miller's drive and basket built a 54-47 advantage. The Scots sank one at the line on two straight trips before Hillyer drilled a 3-pointer for a 57-49 lead at the 4:27 mark.

The Saints defense forced a turnover and missed 3-pointer, and Miller hit a jumper for a double-digit lead at 59-49 edge. Lyons converted one free throw until Martin made two as the Saints took their biggest lead of the night at 61-50 with just over two minutes to play. The Saints closed out the victory by hitting three of their next four free throws and closed out the Scots late.

Hillyer hit all six of her free throws en route to her highest scoring total of the young season. Martin was 8-for-8 at the line and finished with 15 points, while Miller chipped in 10 points. Wolf and Flynn both claimed nine rebounds to top the Saints. Maryville limited Lyon to just 27.6 percent shooting.

The Saints improve to 2-2 while Lyon slips to 3-3 on the season. Maryville is back in action against host Missouri Western in a 5 p.m. game Saturday at MWSU Fieldhouse.