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Rensselaer, Ind. – A steal with 34 seconds left in regulation by Lewis University guard Kristin Itschner (Metamora, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) proved to be the pivotal defensive stop the No. 20 women's basketball team needed to wrap up a 79-73 victory over Saint Joseph's University on Saturday (Feb. 1) at Scharf Fieldhouse.
 
The squads had battled for the upper hand and knotted the contest five times in the second half, the last at 73-all with 1:13 left in the game on a jumper by Saint Joseph's Tonisha Sanders.
 
Lewis guard Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) was able to power up for the layup to give the Flyers a 75-73 lead with 41 seconds left in the game before Itschner collected the steal to seal the Flyers victory. Sophomore forward Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) and  Johnson both then hit a pair of free throws to put the game away.
 
The Flyers improve to 16-3 on the season and 10-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action while the Pumas fall to 5-13 on the year and 3-7 against league opponents.
 
"We knew it was going to be a tough game," Lewis head women's basketball coach Lisa Carlsen said. "Scharf Fieldhouse is always a tough place to play and it's huge to come away with a win."
 
"After Thursday's triple overtime win at Indianapolis, there were some tired legs out there," Carlsen said. "We were able to focus and dig deep defensively to get some big rebounds and knock down free throws at the end."
 
The Flyer offense was led by Brawner-Henley with 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI) tallied 17 points, including four three-pointers in the first half, four assists and four rebounds. Junior forward Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) chipped in 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe while Johnson scored 11 points, dished out four assists and picked up three steals.
 
After Lewis shot 67.8% (19-of-28) from the field in the first half, Saint Joseph's was able to erase the Flyers nine-point, second-half advantage at 54-45, with an 11-2 run over three minutes of action to take a 56-54 lead.
 
The Pumas held a 60-56 lead over the Flyers until the 9:01 minute mark when a jumper by redshirt senior forward Lauren Mead (Wauconda, Ill./Wauconda) followed a Johnson three-pointer to give the Flyers a 61-60 advantage.  
 
Lewis finished the game shooting 48.2% (27-of-56) from the field, including hitting 20-of-23 attempts at the free throw line. Saint Joseph's shot 44.3% (27-of-61) from the field and 68.2% (15-of-22) from the line. The Pumas out rebounded the Flyers 39-25, but the Flyers were able to limit their turnovers (10) while forcing 15 Puma miscues and collecting eight blocks.
 
The Puma offense was led by Jasmyne Reynolds' 26 points, while Sanders chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Kiki Lyons had nine points, a floor-high five assists and two rebounds for Saint Joseph's.
 
The Flyers return to Neil Carey Arena to host Rockhurst on Thursday (Feb. 6), with tip-off set for 5:30 PM.