Box Score  / Box Score (pdf)

Romeoville, Ill. – Junior Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) led the Lewis University women's basketball with 27 points, connecting on 10-of-11 (90.9%) from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line, as the No. 16 Flyers picked up an 86-75 victory over William Jewell on Saturday (Feb. 8) at Neil Carey Arena.
 
The Flyers improve to 18-3 on the year and 12-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action while the Cardinals fall to 9-12 on the campaign and 4-9 in conference play.
 
 "William Jewell played a great game," Lewis head women's basketball coach Lisa Carlsen said. "We did what we needed to do down the stretch for the win."
 
"As the game went on we did a better job getting the ball to our post players," Carlsen said. "Our posts are tough to handle for any team, but it's on us to get them the ball."
 
Lewis redshirt sophomore guard Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) chipped in 21 points, including two three-pointers and 9-of-10 from the free throw line, while dishing out five assists and collecting five boards. Sophomore forward Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) tallied 19 points and nine rebounds while junior guard Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI) had six points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals for the Flyers.
 
William Jewell's Chelsea Meeks hit a jumper to tie the first half for the seventh time at 30-30 with 3:29 left. Meeks' shot spurred the Cardinals to close the half on a 10-6 run, and take a 40-36 lead into the locker room.
 
In the second half the Flyers were able to wear the Cardinals down, using a 7-2 run to tie the game at 65-65 on a Johnson three-pointer at the 8:01 mark. Lewis didn't look back after that, as Johnson hit a three-pointer and made a fast-break layup before the Flyers tallied 12-of-16 shots at the line in the last two and a half minutes to push their lead out to 86-75 for the win.
 
The Flyers out-scored the Cardinals 42-34 in the paint, and won the battle on the boards, 41-35. Lewis was also able to hold William Jewell to only one made three-pointer in the second half, after giving up five in the first half.
 
The Cardinals had four in double-figures, led by Aerial Smith's 18 points, five assists and four rebounds. Chelsea Meeks and Hayli Jo Smith both chipped in 15 points, while Cassy Nicolay collected a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.
 
The Flyers will next head on the road to take on Missouri S&T on Thursday (Feb. 13) at the Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building in Rolla, Mo. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM.