Women's Basketball | 12/20/2014 10:39:00 AM

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

No. 2 Lewis women's basketball (10-0) plays No. 17 Grand Valley State (7-0) on Sunday (Dec. 21) at 1 p.m. at Neil Carey Arena. The battle of unbeaten teams can be heard on The Lewis Sports Network and 1340 WJOL AM with Mark Vasko on the call. Fans can watch for free at www.LewisFlyers.com/watch.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE - The last time Lewis, as a ranked team, hosted a ranked opponent at Neil Carey Arena was Feb. 11, 1984. The then 14th ranked Flyers defeated 19th ranked Indianapolis 62-59.

VS. THE LAKERS - Lewis is 7-9 against Grand Valley State. The Lakers have won four straight games in the series. Lewis' last victory came Dec. 30, 2006 at Neil Carey Arena 63-52. The game has some parallels to Sunday's contest. The 2006 contest saw Grand Valley State enter the contest ranked No. 2 in the country. Following Lewis' win over the Lakers, the Flyers earned a No. 16 ranking and were ranked the rest of the season.

AIM FOR 1,000 - A pair of Flyers are nearing 1,000 career points. Junior Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) enters the contest with 947 career points while junior Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) owns 935 career points. All-time in Lewis history, 20 players have reached the 1,000 career points plateau. Teammate Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) has already reached 1,000 points.

SPEAKING OF JESS - Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) is rising up the list of all-time scorers. She owns 1,340 career points, eighth all-time in Lewis history. Seventh place is Mary Niego's (1980-83) 1,563 points.

TWO GOOD - Lewis' No. 2 national ranking is the Flyers' highest in program history. It is the best ever ranking for a men's or women's basketball team at Lewis. The 1984-85 men's team earned the No. 3 ranking for consecutive weeks in January 1985.

HOT START - The Flyers' 10-0 start to the season is the best undefeated stretch to start a season in program history.

PERFECT 10 - Lewis' 10-game win streak is the longest win streak under head coach Lisa Carlsen. The 10-game streak is the longest for a Lewis team since the 2006-07 squad won 13 in a row.

THE LEWIS FIVE - When Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI), Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic), Kristin Itschner (Metamora, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame), Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic), Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) start the Flyers are 28-4. This group has never lost at home as a starting unit.

ONLY THE LONELY - Lewis is the only undefeated team in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and one of 16 NCAA DII women's basketball squads without a loss.

UP NEXT - The Flyers hit the road Jan. 2 for a Great Lakes Valley Conference road game at Quincy. Tip at Pepsi Arena is set for 5:30 p.m.

START EM UP - Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) has started all 67 games she has played in a Lewis uniform.

PLAYER, PLAYER (OF THE WEEK) - Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) owns two GLVC Player of the Week Awards this year. She took home the first honor on Dec. 1 for her play against St. Edward's and Rollins. She was named the Rollins Tournament MVP as she scored 32 against St. Edward's and 24 against Rollins. She came back the next week to earn GLVC Player of the Week once again (Dec. 8). She scored a career-high 36 points against St. Francis (Ill.) on Dec. 6.

CLEANING THE GLASS - Junior Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) recorded 21 points and 22 rebounds in Lewis' 83-75 victory over Northwood on Nov. 15, 2014. Her 22 rebounds was one short of tying the Lewis program record for rebounds in a single game. Julie Fruendt holds the record with 23 boards against Valparaiso during the 1984-85 season.

BASKETBALL 101 - Lewis scored 101 points vs. Upper Iowa on Nov. 22. The last time Lewis scored 100 points in a non-overtime game was Dec. 16, 2003 when Lewis topped Saint Xavier (Ill.) 105-83.

1 VS. 5 - Lewis limited Upper Iowa to only five field goals in the second half on Nov. 22. Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) recorded six field goals herself in the half. Lewis outscored the Peacocks 43-18 in the final 20 minutes.

MIRACLE MINUTE (AND A HALF) - Lewis trailed St. Edward's by six points with a little more than a minute and half remaining on Nov. 28. Lewis closed the game on an 11-3 run with Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) scoring nine of those points to help Lewis get the win.

BETTER THAN 50/50 CHANCE - Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) is shooting .556 (69-of-124) on the season, 27th best in the nation. Johnson shot .344 as a freshman and .433 as a sophomore.

SCORING IN BUNCHES - Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) ranks 15th in the nation in scoring with an average of 20.2 points per game. The total is on track to be a career best for the guard. As a freshman in 2011-12 she averaged 8.7 points per game. She redshirted the following year due to injury and returned last season to score 17.3 points per game.
 
ON THE BOARDS - Junior Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) ranks fourth in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (9.8) and second in total rebounds per game (13.6).

YOU SHOOT 3's NOW TOO!? - Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) made just 1-of-6 3-point attempts last season as she earned GLVC Player of the Year honors. In 2014-15 she has already made 6-of-15.

KEEP IT - Lewis ranks seventh in the nation with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.35. Individually, Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI) ranks 21st (2.59) in the country.

SCORING POINTS - Lewis leads the league and ranks ninth in the nation in scoring with an average of 83.0 points per game. It is on pace to be head coach Lisa Carlsen's highest scoring team. Her first seven teams averaged 69.7 points per contest with last season's squad averaging a tenure-best 78.3 points per game.

FREE FOR A REASON - By the numbers, the two best free throw shooters in school history are on the roster. Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) ranks first in career free throw percentage (.839/182-of-217) while Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) ranks second (.823/362-of-440). Reinhart ranks sixth of all active NCAA DII players for career free throw percentage as the stat requires 250 attempts.

HELPING HAND - Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI) owns 385 career assists, seventh most among-active Division II players and 33rd among all three NCAA Divisions. Her carer total ranks ninth in career history. Julie Giles (1990-94) is eighth with 395.

D1 AND DONE - Lewis made history this year before the season even started by becoming the first non-DI school to defeat three DI teams in exhibitions. The Flyers topped Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois and Marquette.

JUST TOOK ONE WIN - Thanks to Lewis' season opening win over Saginaw Valley State, Lewis head coach Lisa Carlsen is now the program leader in wins. It was her 118th career win. She passed Brian Michalak's (1993-2002) career total of 117-126.