COLUMBIA, Mo.- Senior Amanda Walker scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds, while shutting down Missouri's leading scorer, but the Western Illinois women's basketball team dropped a nail-biter to the Tigers, 61-54, at The Mizzou Arena.

After a lay-up by senior Nicole Myers put the Westerwinds (1-2) up by three points at 54-51 with 3:19 left to play in the game, Missouri (1-2) answered with an 11-0 run to close the game. The Tigers received back-to-back lay-ups from Shakara Jones, followed by a lay-up from Jessra Johnson with 58 seconds left on the clock.

After a turnover by sophomore Lindsey Wutt, junior Katy Clark was able to get the ball right back for Western with a steal. Clark found a streaking Amanda Walker down the right side of the court, but the senior had her shot blocked and when the Tigers recovered the ball with 17 seconds left on the clock, the Westerwinds were forced to foul.

Alyssa Hollins hit four straight free throws to close out the game and give Missouri the seven-point victory.

The Tigers opened up a five point lead with 9:55 remaining in the first half, a lead that was quickly erased by a 9-3 run for the Westerwinds coming from back-to-back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Katie Horsman, giving Western its fourth lead of the ball game at 17-16 with 8:10 left in the opening half.

Missouri pushed its lead back to five, but the Westerwinds again answered quickly with a 6-0 run that featured a pair of free throws from Walker and junior Katy Clark, along with a lay-up from Myers to give Western the lead at 23-22 with 3:33 left in the first.

The two teams traded baskets the final minutes of the first half and the Westerwinds took a two-point lead into the locker room at the break after a 25-foot heave by sophomore Anne Borgertpoepping banked in as time expired.

The Tigers came out of the break and opened up another five-point lead, capped off by a Jessra Johnson three-pointer with 16:33 left to play in the second half. The Westerwinds ran off seven straight points to take a two-point lead at 43-41 after a lay-up by Walker with 13:42 left in the game.

Western equaled its largest lead of the game after a pair of Clark free throws gave the Westerwinds a 52-49 advantage with 4:23 left to play.

Walker led Western in scoring with 13 points, and tied Myers and freshman Lyndi Thorman for the team lead in rebounding with five. Horsman chipped in with 11 points, while Clark and Myers added 10 and 9 points respectively.

The Westerwinds continue its four-game road trip with a mid-week game at Northern Iowa Tuesday, November 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. at The McLeod Center.

Postgame Notes
Walker scored in double-digits for the first time this season. It was also the first time that Walker had led the team in scoring this season.

This was the second straight game in which Horsman has set a new career high in points.

Western shot 44.2 percent (19-43) from the field and 62.5 (5-8) from beyond the arc, compared to Missouri's 32.9 percent (23-70) from the field and 31.6 percent (6-19) from behind the three-point line.

The game featured nine different tied scores.

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Leslie Crane
On Amanda Walker's holding Missouri's leading scorer to six points
"Amanda never let her get her feet set for a shot. She didn't allow Hollins to have any easy looks, which is what you have to do with a good shooter. She did a fantastic job defensively for us tonight."

On the impact of the freshman
"Katie and Lyndi really came along tonight. They played more experienced and they responded well, but they need to play with more consistency as freshmen."