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Romeoville, Ill. – The No. 15 Lewis University women's basketball team buckled down to get the 82-77 overtime victory over Illinois Springfield to clinch the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division on Thursday (Feb. 20) at Neil Carey Arena.
 
Lewis sophomore Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) made the layup that tied the game at 75-75 at the 3:08 mark in overtime. Junior forward Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) scored the next four of her six overtime points to push the Flyers lead to four at 79-75 before junior guard Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI) put it out of reach with a three-pointer.
 
The Flyers, who extended their home winning streak to 23 games, improve to 20-4 on the season and 14-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play as the Prairie Stars fall to 7-17 on the year and 3-13 against league opponents.
 
With the win, Lewis also tallied their second-straight 20-win season, the first time since the 1983-84 and 1984-85 campaigns under Kathy Kissinger.
 
"UIS played a great basketball game," Lewis head women's basketball coach Lisa Carlsen said. "We did just enough down the stretch to put ourselves in position to win."
 
Reinhart paced the Flyers with 23 points and 11 rebounds while Brawner-Henley tallied a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards. Redshirt sophomore guard Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) picked up 18 points, six assists and five rebounds as Nellen collected 10 points, including three three-pointers, five rebounds and three assists for the Flyers.
 
The Prairie Stars kept the Flyers off balance in the second half, putting together two nine-point runs late in the half to build a four-point lead, 67-63, at the 4:16 mark. Lewis answered each time with two six-point runs, as Johnson hit a three-pointer with 13 seconds left. The Prairie Stars' Alyssa Palmer drew a foul and hit two free throws with four seconds left to send the game into overtime.
 
Lewis, who took a 44-40 lead into halftime, shot 48.4% (31-of-64) from the field, hitting six three pointers, as UIS shot 46.0% (29-of-63) from the floor, with seven of their nine three-pointers coming in the first half. The Flyers edged the Prairie Stars on the boards, 39-37, as Lewis collected eight blocks and seven steals.
 
The Prairie Star offense was led by Palmer's 13 points and four assists, while Megan Bergerud and Carly Goede both chipped in 12 points.
 
The Flyers are back in action on Saturday (Feb. 22) when they host McKendree at Neil Carey Arena. Tip-off is set for 1 PM at Neil Carey Arena.