Women's Basketball | 11/12/2015 11:00:00 AM

No. 2 Lewis women's basketball opens the 2015-16 campaign on Saturday (Nov. 14) and Sunday (Nov. 15) with a pair of in-region contests. Lewis will play Saginaw Valley State on Saturday in a 6 p.m. start. Sunday's contest with Northwood will start at 2 p.m. Both games will be played at the neutral site of Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana.
 
Saginaw Valley State & Northwood Game Notes (PDF)

Season Preview
A No. 2 preseason national ranking will raise the expectations for any program, however first-year Lewis women's basketball head coach Kristen Gillespie is quick to point out the 2015-16 Flyers are just like every other team in the nation as they enter the season.

"It is really going to be about coming together," Gillespie said. "As a group, we need to keep getting better each day."

The Flyers graduated several key players from last season's Elite Eight run. However perhaps the two best players in the Great Lakes Valley Conference return, in forward Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) and guard Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic). Both were All-Americans last season.
 
Brawner-Henley enters the season 10th in scoring (1,357) and second in rebounding (916) at Lewis. She will likely become Lewis' all-time leading rebounder as only Julie Fruendt (1981-85) and her 1,043 rebounds stand in front Brawner-Henley. She was the GLVC Player of the Year in 2013-14.

"Mariyah is so versatile and can score with both hands," Gillespie said. "I've been most impressed with all the things she can do to impact a game."

Johnson is ninth in scoring (1,346) at Lewis. She is Lewis' best free throw shooter in school history at 85.3 percent. She was the 2014-15 GLVC Player of the Year.
 
"I'm not surprised by any of Jamie's accolades," Gillespie said. "I've never been around a player at any level who spends so much time in the gym. It isn't to socialize either, it is to work on her craft."

Not lost on Gillespie is the challenge of a new coach coming in after such a successful junior season and what it takes from her two senior captains to bring the team together.

"They both were put in a tough spot for a senior year and they have been great ambassadors for the younger players," Gillspie said. "In a change like this it can go one of two ways, and they've set the tone for the locker room to get on board."

While Brawner-Henley and Johnson are very accomplished, it takes more than two players for a team to be successful. Lewis welcomes back key returners in junior point guard Alyssa Siwek (Palos Heights, Ill./Mother McAuley) and senior guard/forward Alyssa Dengler (Chicago, Ill./Trinity). Siwek and freshman Tierney Lockett (Richton Park, Ill./Rich South) will both see time at point guard. Dengler has played in all 93 games as a Flyer.

Joining Lockett as new additions who are in position to make an immediate impact are freshman forward Jessica Kelliher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) and Loyola-Chicago transfer sophomore guard Tiana Karopulos (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew). Kelliher and Karopulos started both exhibition games for the Flyers.

"Jessica has the ability to be that third scorer for us," Gillespie said. "Tiana is the type of player who will run through a brick wall for you. Her defensive skills will make her tough to take off the court."

Redshirt freshman Kayla Brewer (Milwaukee, Wis./Milwaukee School of Languages) and senior forward Sophie Lichte (Reedsburg, Wis./Reedsburg) will be early options off the bench for the Flyers.

In the past the Flyers have been a get a rebound and run team. Gillespie stresses that the makeup of this roster is different than in the past. The personnel on this team means Lewis can still push the ball, but Gillespie wants her players to make sure they are making the correct choice in any given situation.

"There is always that split second to decide what to do with the ball before you do it, and I want this team to take that moment," Gillespie said. "I think it has shown itself in how they pass the ball. In the preseason I have loved how this team has shared the ball."

The potential of Lewis' offense was seen in the exhibition games. The Flyers took Division I Loyola to overtime and then shot better than 50 percent against a top 25 foe in DePaul.
 
However with a pair of in-region games to open the season against Saginaw Valley State and Northwood, Lewis will have to work things out offensively in key games right from the start.

"Early on we will probably rely on our seniors a bit more," Gillespie said. "But this team has bought into the process, meaning the results are going to come. That is what has me most excited."

Lewis' season opener on Saturday (Nov. 14) against Saginaw Valley State will be played on the campus of Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana. Tip is set for 6 p.m. Sunday's contest against Northwood will start at 2 p.m.