SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Leading by only two at halftime the Lewis women's basketball team used a strong third quarter to defeat Illinois Springfield 67-53 on Thursday night in Springfield, Ill. Lewis, ranked 11th in the D2SIDA media poll and 18th in the WBCA coaches poll, improved to 17-2 overall and 8-1 in the GLVC.

Jessica Kelliher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) led the Flyers with 29 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to record her eight double-double of the season. Tierney Lockett (Richton Park, Ill./Rich South) finished with 13 points and Rachel Hinders (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) added nine points.

Lewis shot 55 percent (28-for-51) from the floor in the contest but was only 23 percent from three and shot 67 percent at the foul line but outrebounded UIS (6-12, 3-7 GLVC) 45-to-21.

The Flyers got off to a slow start shooting only 30 percent (3-of-10) from the floor in the opening quarter and turned the ball over eight times. Illinois Springfield led for a majority of the frame thanks to 44 percent (7-of-16) from the field. Despite that Lewis trailed by only two at the end of the quarter thanks to shooting 83 percent at the foul line.

Morgan Glatzcak and Kelliher hit back-to-back layups early in the second quarter to give Lewis the lead back but the Prairie Stars countered with back-to-back three's from Tehya Fortune and Valerie Meissner to regain the lead at 20-16.

The Stars extended their lead to as many as six on a jumper by Ellie Mitchell with 4:21 left in the half. The final four minutes belonged to the Flyers as they closed the half on a 13-5 run. Lockett and Kelliher each had four points in the run.

Lewis dominated the third quarter outscoring the Prairie Stars 23-10 in the frame and used a 16-3 run to build a 16-point cushion on a layup from Hinders with less than a minute to play in the quarter. The Flyers shot 85 percent (11-for-13) from the floor in the stanza while holding UIS to just 25 percent shooting.

Lewis built its largest lead of the game on a three-pointer by Glatczak with 5:56 to play in the contest. The Prairie Stars cut the deficit to 12 late in the contest thanks to a 10-0 run but wouldn't get any closer as Dajae Black (Chicago, Ill./Marist) capped the win with a late bucket.

The Flyers are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Lebanon, Ill., to take on McKendree at 1 p.m.