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Romeoville, Ill. – Lewis University freshman forward Mariyah Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points to push the women's basketball team past Upper Iowa, 86-75, on Wednesday (Dec. 19) at Neil Carey Arena.
 
The Flyers improve their season record to 7-1 after their fourth-straight win, while the Peacocks fall to 3-9.
 
“Coming out with a win is a huge accomplishment for us,” Lewis head women's basketball coach Lisa Carlsen said. “We knew Upper Iowa was going to come out hard and they were scrappy for all 40 minutes.”
 
Henley added nine boards and made 10-of-11 free throws in her high-scoring affair, stepping in when sophomore forward Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) was whistled for her second foul early in the first half.
 
The teams exchanged the lead six times in the first half. Upper Iowa built a seven point lead midway through the period before Lewis was able to regain their footing and take a five-point lead at 30-25 on a Sam Rinehart (Marion, Iowa/Marion) free throw at the 5:09 mark. Rinehart scored 11 points, pulled down four rebounds, and had five assists and three steals.
 
The Peacocks got within one point but the Flyers were able to head into halftime with an 11-point lead, 42-31, shooting over 50% from the field (.552; 16-29) and from the free throw line (.533; 8-15).
 
In the second half, the Flyers lead ballooned out to 24 points with two free throws from Rinehart at the 12:03 mark. As the Peacocks tried to chip at the Flyers' lead, they were unable to get it under 10 points.
 
Guards Alexus Grayer (Washington, Ill./Washington) and Alyssa Dengler (Chicago, Ill./Trinity) had a big night off the bench for the Flyers. Grayer scored 12 points, all from beyond the arc, while Dengler scored a career-high five points, hitting a jump shot and a three-pointer.
 
Reinhart finished with 11 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes of action.
 
“Games like these are great for our young team to learn from,” Carlsen said. “It will be something that we can hopefully recall when are in the same situation and handle it better the next time.”
 
The Peacocks were led by guard Whitney Kieffer with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while forward Carly Pagel added 21 points and eight boards. Upper Iowa outrebounded Lewis, 28-25, including pulling down 18 offensive rebounds to the Flyers' eight.
 
Lewis will turn the calendar and jump into Great Lakes Valley Conference play when the team travels to Springfield, Mo., to take on Drury on Thursday, January 3, 2013. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:45 PM at the O'Reilly Center.