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Western Illinois University Athletics

JD Gravina
Mark Kuhlmann
Photo by Mark Kuhlmann.
78
Winner Western Illinois WIU 14-4, 4-1
74
Omaha OMAHA 8-9, 1-3
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
14-4, 4-1
78
Final
74
Omaha OMAHA
8-9, 1-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Western Illinois WIU 12 18 23 25 78
Omaha OMAHA 22 19 23 10 74

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois Defeats Omaha Off Fourth Quarter Rally

The Leathernecks overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

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OMAHA, Neb. - Western Illinois overcame a 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Omaha 78-74 on the road Wednesday night (Jan. 11).

The Leathernecks (14-4 overall, 4-1 Summit League) trailed by as many as 15 points in the game to complete the comeback for their fourth Summit League win of the season.

"We made just enough plays. At one point, they [Omaha] shot 75 percent from three, and to not be down by 20 or 25 is a credit to some things we did defensively," said head coach JD Gravina. "I felt like if we could cut it to single digits that would help. We were down by one possession and had a couple of late shots roll in and out, but were finally able to take the lead. It's a credit to our kids' toughness."

Western fell into a 22-12 hole after an 8-0 Omaha run to close out the first quarter. After a trio of consecutive made shots from beyond the arc by the Mavericks, Western Illinois fell behind 31-18 with 7:47 to go in the second quarter.

A steal and fast-break layup by Emily Clemens cut Omaha's lead to 11 (41-30) at the half.

Olivia Braun opened the third quarter with a jumper, followed by a pair of free throws to cut the Mavericks' lead to 10. With 4:43 remaining in the third, the Leathernecks trailed 52-40 at the media timeout.

Western cut Omaha's lead to single digits after a 3-point play by Morgan Blumer, but Omaha responded to make it an 11-point game entering the final quarter of play.

Cue the run.

WIU eventually dwindled the Mavericks' lead to five points, and a 3-pointer plus two made free throws by Clemens made it a 9-0 run for the Leathernecks. A Blumer put-back made it a 3-point game with 5:31 to go.

Western was able to get another defensive stop and Clemens found the basket once again and got her defender on a quick misdirection for the easy layup, which made it a 69-68 Omaha lead with 3:30 remaining. At the 1:42 mark, Omaha hit a three to make it a four point game, but another Clemens basket cut the lead to two.

With 18.1 seconds to go, Blumer hit a three a few feet behind the line. That shot cut Western's deficit at 74-73. Following that play, the Purple and Gold fouled and sent the Mavericks' Amber Vidal to the line. She missed both free throws and Gravina called timeout.

The first lead change of the game happened when Blumer made a layup cutting inside the lane after Braun found her from the high post. That play made it a 75-74 WIU lead with 12 seconds left.

The Mavericks' Vidal drove inside the lane, but her shot was contested and Taylor Higginbotham was there for the board. She split her first trip to the line, which made it a 76-74 game with 2.9 seconds to go.

Omaha heaved a long pass, but Higginbotham was there to intercept it and was fouled. The sophomore guard went on to sink both shots from the charity stripe, sealing the 78-74 win for the Purple and Gold.

"It felt like they were knocking down three after three and we were struggling to get every shot up," said Gravina. "We did just enough to hand around and really stepped up our aggressiveness towards the end. I thought we really rebounded well in the fourth quarter."

Clemens led the way with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. She shot 7-of-14 (50 percent) from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Blumer followed with 19 points and six rebounds, followed by Higginbotham (13 points) and Braun (11 points).

Omaha (8-9, 1-3) was led by Michaela Dapprich's team-high 20 points and Mikaela Shaw's double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Remy Davenport finished second on the team in scoring, with 19 points and five 3-pointers.

The Leathernecks have a quick turnaround as they play host to North Dakota State this Saturday (Jan. 14) for a 4:30 tip inside Western Hall.

PROGRAM NOTES:
-201st win for head coach JD Gravina… 87th in his career at Western Illinois
-14-4 record is still the best start since the 2005-06 season (started 15-3 through 18 games)…
-Western Illinois is 4-0 in games decided by 3-5 points…
-4-1 start in Summit League play is the best start since 2007-08 season (started 7-0)…
-Second straight game where Western Illinois recorded seven blocks or more... fifth time this season of recording seven or more team blocks in a single game (season high is 11 vs. Oral Roberts, Jan. 7, 2017)…

PLAYER NOTES:
-Emily Clemens' 23 points marks her 17th double-digit scoring performance of the season (career 31st)… 10th 20-plus point game this season (career 13th)… ninth game this season as the scoring leader (career 12th)…
-Olivia Braun was one point shy of tying her career-high (12) with 11… also marks her second career double-digit scoring game of the season… tied her season-high of three free throws made for the third time…
-Morgan Blumer recorded her 16th double-digit scoring game of the season and for her career…
-Michelle Farrow's one block ties her season high for the second time… also ties her career-high for the 10th time…
-Taylor Higginbotham's 13 points marks the 12th double digit scoring game for her this season (32nd in her career)…

   
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