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ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – It took until the 24^th game of the season for No. 1 Lewis women's basketball to suffer their first loss, but it happened on Thursday (Feb. 12) evening at Neil Carey Arena. No. 17 Drury defeated the Flyers 75-72 in a showdown of the two division leaders in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
Lewis erased a 12-point second half deficit but fell victim to a pair of key 3-pointers down the stretch by Alice Heinzler for the Lady Panthers.

It was a 63-51 Drury lead with 10:15 remaining when the Flyers went on an 18-2 over the next eight minutes to grab a 69-65 lead with 3:26 remaining. A free throw by senior Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI) put Lewis up three points 70-67 with 2:35. However the Flyers would only score two points the rest of the way.

Heinzler made a corner 3-pointer with 1:51 left to tie the score. The Lady Panthers went to Heinzler again on the next possession, and she did it one more time. Her 3-pointer put the Lady Panthers up 73-70.

Junior Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) connected on a layup with 25 seconds on the clock to make it a one-point game. But Drury's Sanayika Sheilds followed with a basket of her own to make it a 3-point game with 10 seconds remaining. Senior Jamie Johnson (South Holland, Ill./Marian Catholic) had her left wing 3-point attempt blocked by Heinzler on he next possession. The ball went out of bounds with 1.4 on the clock. After a Lewis timeout, Shields blocked Brawner-Henley's final desperation 3-pointer to end the game.

Drury led the entire game until Lewis' second half run. Drury built their lead in the first thanks to a 7-of-10 performance from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

Thursday's loss snaps a 35-game home win streak for the Flyers dating back to Dec. 6, 2012. It also snaps a 27-game home GLVC win streak dating back to Feb. 2, 2012.

Senior Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) finished with 18 points. Brawner-Henley and Johnson each had 17 points. Brawner-Henley pitched in 12 rebounds for a double-double. Senior Kristin Itschner (Metamora, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) added 10 points. Lewis' final starter, Nellen, scored eight points. It is the first time in their career these five have lost a home game when they start as a unit.
 
"I was proud of the push we put together in the second half," Lewis head coach Lisa Carlsen said. "Ultimately it came down to a few possessions over the final minutes and Drury made some big shots. We are going to be playing good teams the rest of the way so we will have to learn from tonight."

Drury finished 46.2 percent (30-of-65) from the floor. They limited Lewis to 28-of-68 shooting (41.2 percent) overall and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. It is the first time all season Lewis has made fewer than four 3-pointers in a contest.

Drury improves to 19-3 (13-1 GLVC). Lewis falls to 23-1 (13-1 GLVC). The Flyers return to Neil Carey Arena on Saturday (Feb. 14) for a 1 p.m. start with Missouri S&T. It is Senior Day for the Flyers.