CEDAR FALLS, Iowa- Despite three players posting double-digit scoring performances, the Western Illinois women's basketball team dropped a mid-week game at Northern Iowa, 67-52, at The McLeod Center.

The Panthers (2-1) used a 12-4 run midway through the second half to open their lead to 13 points with 13:45 left in the second half. The run featured three-pointers from both Lizzie Boeck and Katelin Oney.

Northern Iowa pushed its lead out to 19, the largest of the game, with 8:20 left in the game after a pair of free throws from Nicole Clausen. A jumper by senior Amanda Walker cut the Panther lead to 13 with 4:37 left to play, but the Westerwinds (1-3) were unable to get any closer as a pair of Jacqui Kalin free throws closed the scoring at 67-52 with just under two minutes to play.

Western took its first lead of the game at 2-0 with 19:06 left in the first half after a lay-up from senior Nicole Myers. After back-to-back lay-ups from Northern Iowa, a three-pointer from Walker put the Westerwinds back on top 5-4 with just under 17 minutes left on the clock.

The teams would trade baskets until a three pointer from junior Jordon O'Brien put Western up by four at 16-12 with 10:16 left in the opening period.

The Panthers answered with a 9-2 run that was capped off by a Boeck lay-up with 5:58 left in the first half to push its lead to seven with 25-18 left on the clock.

A pair of Clausen free throws would give the Panthers its largest lead of the first half of 10 at 36-26 with 41 seconds left. Walker hit a jump shot with 27 seconds left in the first half to cut the Northern Iowa lead to eight points, 36-38, heading into the locker room.

The Westerwinds came out of the break and scored the first five points of the second half courtesy of a lay-up from freshman Lyndi Thorman and another three-pointer from O'Brien.

Walker led the way in scoring for the Westerwinds for the second straight game with 12 points, grabbing a team-high six rebounds and dishing out four assists in the process. Thorman and O'Brien chipped in with 10 points a piece, while Thorman pulled down six boards of her own.

Western concludes its four-game road trip with a pair of games at The Doubletree White Invitational in Evanston, Ill., on the campus of Northwestern University. The Westerwinds are scheduled to face off against host Northwestern Saturday, November 29, at 2 p.m. They follow that with a 1 p.m. game against Holy Cross Sunday, November 23.

Postgame Notes
With her two three-pointers, Walker has tied Rita Castans (2000-04) for fourth place on Western's all-time career three-point field goals made list. Walker needs six more three-pointers to pass Doshia Woods (1999-01) for third-place.

Thorman set a new career high in points with 10, her first double-digit performance of her career. She also set a new personal best in rebounds with six.

The Westerwinds only visited the foul line three times, making just one free throw shot, while the Panthers made 26 trips to the charity stripe, connecting on 21 of them.

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Leslie Crane
Opening statement
"It's a disappointing loss. We looked good at times by we just couldn't contain it and we're continuing to turn the ball over way too much. We didn't attack the basket enough and that shows with us only taking three free throws. They really got after it and got to the line much more and made us pay."

On what the team needs to work on
"We need to keep teaching exactly what we have been working on, but we have to get them to execute it. We need to get the ball inside more often and set good screens. We have to keep drilling our half court sets into their mind until they have it down pat and know exactly what to do. We also need to work on our transition and getting back on defense."

On becoming more consistent
"We only have about one to two kids who come ready to play at a time. We need to get everyone on the same page and more prepared. We have two practices tomorrow and another one on Thursday, which hopefully will get people playing more consistent."