HTML Box Score / PDF Box Score

WINTER PARK, Fla. – No. 4 Lewis women's basketball finished Friday's (Nov. 28) contest with St. Edward's (Texas) on an 11-3 run to rally back and defeat the Hilltoppers 75-73 at the Rollins College Thanksgiving Tournament. It was Lewis' second big rally of the day after trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half.

The Flyers fell behind almost immediately with the Hilltoppers jumping out to a 24-9 advantage over the game's first 10 minutes. Lewis closed the first half on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to 37-30 at the break. Senior Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) had an old fashioned three-point play with two seconds remaining in the half.

Lewis continued to trail before the Flyers finally broke through on a three-point play by senior Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) with 5:52 remaining to put the Flyers up 60-57. It was Lewis' first lead of the contest since Johnson scored the game's first basket.  

St. Edward's didn't rollover and used a 9-0 run to grab a six-point advantage at 68-62 with 3:33 on the clock. It was still a six-point St. Edward's lead when Lewis junior Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) put in a layup with 1:34 remaining to cut the Hilltoppers' lead to 70-66. Her basket started the 11-3 Lewis run to close the game with Johnson scoring the remaining nine points. Following a St. Edward's miss after Brawner-Henley's layup, Johnson made it a one-point game with a basket. St. Edward's missed a jumper on the other end and the Flyers push the ball to Johnson who went right to the basket. She made the layup to put the Flyers up and was fouled on the play. Johnson's free throw put Lewis up 72-70 with 25 seconds left. St. Edward's couldn't convert on a jumper on the other end, and it was Johnson grabbing the rebound. She was fouled and made both free throws to give Lewis a four-point lead, their largest of the game, at 74-70 with 14 seconds remaining. A late St. Edward's 3-pointer and a Johnson free throw accounted for the game's final points.
 
Johnson tied a career high with 32 points and 22 coming in the second half.
 
"Jamie refused to let her team lose," Lewis head coach Lisa Carlsen said. "It makes a difference having experience and competitors on your roster and we saw that today."
 
Reinhart added 20 points and nine rebounds. Brawner-Henley pitched in eight points and 16 rebounds. Senior Kristin Itschner (Metamora, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) recorded 10 points.

The Flyers spent only 2:22 of the contest with a lead. Lewis finished the game shooting 40.3 percent (29-of-72). St. Edward's shot 38.7 percent (29-of-75).

St. Edward's, who won the Heartland Conference last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, is now 3-1. Lewis improves to 4-0. The Flyers will play No. 14 Rollins on Saturday (Nov. 29) at 3 p.m. ET in the tournament championship game. Lewis is off to their first 4-0 start since the 1997-98 season. The Flyers started that season 5-0.