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Evansville, Ind. – The No. 21 Lewis University women's basketball team advances to the 2013 Deaconess Great Lake Valley Conference Championship game with a 61-59 victory over UW-Parkside on Saturday (March 9). The Flyers return to the title game for the first time since the program's postseason run in 2010-11.
 
The Flyers improve to 23-5 on the season while the Rangers end the season at 19-9.
 
“We knew Parkside was going to make a run late,” Lewis head women's basketball coach Lisa Carlsen said. “We knew they were going to challenge us. We needed to be focused on our defense to get stops and that's what the team did.”
 
Sophomore forward Jess Reinhart (Normal, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) led all scorers with 18 points and six rebounds, while senior forward Sam Rinehart (Marion, Iowa/Marion) added 12 points, six rebounds and two steals.
 
Lewis pushed their lead to a game-high 13 points four minutes into the second half, at 40-27. Murdock hit the Flyers' only three-pointer of the game and a jumper in the paint during the 7-4 run, while Rinehart put in a lay-up.
 
The Rangers turned the tables on the Flyers, going on a 21-7 run to take a 48-47 lead at the 9:48 mark. Lewis was able to bounce back put together a five-point cushion, but Parkside again retook a one-point  lead, 56-55, with under three minutes left.
 
Reinhart put in a layup, while Rinehart and sophomore guard Nikki Nellen (New Berlin, Wis./Pius XI) each made two free-throws to push the Flyers lead to 61-56 with 30 seconds left. Parkside hit a late three-pointer but Lewis was to corral rebound on a last-second shot for the win.
 
In the first half, the Flyers shot 61.9% from the floor (13-for-21) as Reinhart scored 12 points on 3-for-3 shooting from the floor and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Lewis held Parkside to only 29.6% (8-for27) and forced the Rangers to commit 12 turnovers.
 
The Rangers made a late run in the first half, getting within four points with two minutes left. Rinehart scored four points while Reinhart and senior Labrenthia Murdock (Round Lake, Ill./Round Lake) each added a bucket to push the Flyers lead to 10 points, 33-23 at the half.
 
Tara Knapstein led three Rangers in double-figures with 14 points and five steals. Sierra West and Jenna Endisch each chipped in 10 points.
 
Top-seeded Lewis will face the second-seeded Maryville in the 2013 Deaconess GLVC Championship game at 3:30 PM at the Ford Center.