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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Even the top scoring team in the country needs to win with defense sometimes. No. 1 Lewis women's basketball limited Bellarmine to 30.9 percent shooting to win a Great Lakes Valley Conference road game 73-54 on Thursday (Jan. 22) evening at Knights Hall.

The Flyers led for the final 30 minutes of the contest with Lewis earning breathing room late in the first half. A 15-4 run by the Flyers to close the opening half gave Lewis a 35-23 lead at the break. Lewis increased their lead to as many as 29 points in the second half as the Flyers pulled away.

Senior Alexus Grayer (Washington, Ill./Washington) pitched in a game-high 17 points. Junior Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) recorded her 14^th double-double of the season with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Junior Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) added 15 points. Senior Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) scored 12 points, doing most of her damage at the line by making 6-of-7 free throws.

"Road wins, especially conference wins, are tough," Lewis head coach Lisa Carlsen said. "We were a little careless with the basketball, but we made shots so we will take it."
 
The Flyers shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) but committed a season-high 24 turnovers.
 
Senior point guard Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI) recorded seven assists, one game after tying a career high with 10 against UIS last Saturday. Nellen owns 428 career assists and now ranks fourth in Lewis history. She passed Carey Jewell (1996-00) and Kari Wong (1999-03) in Thursday's contest.

This was Lewis' first win at Bellarmine since 2009. The Knights fall to 8-8 (3-5 GLVC). Lewis improves to 18-0 (8-0 GLVC). The Flyers head to Southern Indiana on Saturday for a 1 p.m. GLVC contest.