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RENSSELAER, Ind. – Thanks to a dominating second half performance, No. 2 Lewis women's basketball cruised to a 78-57 victory over Northwood on Sunday (Nov. 15) afternoon in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge played at Saint Joseph's College.

"We became a team today," Lewis head coach Kristen Gillespie said. "We played for each other and everyone contributed."

Northwood's final lead was with 3:16 remaining in the second quarter at 26-25. Lewis closed the half on a 7-0 run. Senior Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) had five of the points, including a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining in the half to put Lewis up 32-26 at the break. The 7-0 run was part of a larger 28-6 push which saw Lewis grab a 21-point advantage at 53-32 with 2:53 remaining in the third quarter. Six different Flyers had points in the game-changing stretch. Lewis forced six turnovers and limited Northwood to 1-of-13 shooting.

The Flyers built their lead to as large as 30 points in the fourth quarter.

"We had some unforced turnovers and gave up too many offensive boards in the first half," Gillespie said. "We came out on a mission to be better in the second half. We never let up and were relentless on defense."

Senior Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) led Lewis with 23 points while adding seven assists and just one turnover. Brawner-Henley added 22 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Junior Alyssa Siwek (Palos Heights, Ill./Mother McAuley) pitched in nine points.

Lewis shot 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) from the floor, including 7-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Lewis improves to 2-0. Northwood falls to 1-1. The Flyers return to the court on Tuesday (Nov. 17) in a road non-conference game at Upper Iowa.