ROCHESTER, Mich. ? Senior Gina Hugelier tallied 19 points and added eight rebounds, but it was not enough to propel the Western Illinois women's basketball team over Oakland, as it fell 66-62 in the Westerwinds' (14-14, 12-5 The Summit League) first overtime game of the 2007-08 season.

"We certainty battled tonight and I am proud of the team for that," said head coach Leslie Crane. "We got down by 11 points at one point in the second half and the team kept playing."

With 2:20 left in regulation Western started a 6-0 run to tie the game and force the extra five minutes of play. During the span the Westerwinds forced the Golden Grizzlies (17-9, 10-6 The Summit League) into bad shots and a shot-clock violation. Junior Amanda Walker hit a jumper with seven seconds remaining to tie the game at 58.

Oakland's scoreless streak continued until 3:20 remaining in overtime when Jessica Pike made a lay-up. Freshman Lindsey Wutt tied the game at 60 with 1:48 remaining before the Golden Grizzlies started a 6-2 run to end the game with the victory.

Both teams started the first period with strong defense, holding each other scoreless for almost three minutes. Hugelier got the Westerwinds on the board first with 17:18 left. Western went up 5-2 with a three-pointer from sophomore Jordon O'Brien before Oakland started a 10-2 run with 15:30 left to take its first lead of the game.

After being held without a basketball for five minutes the Westerwinds started a 5-0 run to cut the lead to two points, with 4:23 left in the opening half. The Golden Grizzlies then went on a 6-0 run to push their advantage back out to eight points. Hugelier then scored five straight points for Western to drop the advantage to five, 26-21, heading into the locker room.

Walker hit a three-pointer with 17:20 left in the second half to cut the advantage to two points, but Oakland started a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to push the lead back out to nine. The Westerwinds then went on a 6-0 run to get within five points before the Golden Grizzlies again pushed the advantage back to 10 with 8:40 left in the second half.

Over the next 3:30 Western picked up its game and cut the lead to two points with an 8-0 run. The game remained close for the next three minutes before the Westerwinds started their final push to force overtime.

Western was hurt by low shooting percentages in the first half and overtime, but finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field. Oakland held a slight advantage in the category with level shooting throughout the game to finish with a 47.1 mark.

The Westerwinds earned the advantage in the rebounding column, 34-32. Western also out-rebounded the Golden Grizzlies on the offensive side, 14-8.

"We out-rebounded them and had one less turnover, " Crane said. "We just didn't connect on some of the shots that we usually do."

One key for Oakland was free-throw shooting, as the team took advantage of its trips to the charity stripe making 15-of-17 shots to the Westerwinds 9-of-13 mark.

Western will finish up the regular season with a stop in Indianapolis to face IUPUI, Saturday, March 1 at 3:30 p.m. (CST).

Notes: O'Brien was the only other member of the Westerwinds' roster to record 10 or more points...Wutt tied a career high with seven rebounds...O'Brien tied a career high with five assists.

Quotes
Western Illinois head coach Leslie Crane
"This is the way that we can play when we set our minds to it."

"Lindsey Wutt and Nicole Myers came in helped us on the inside. They were able to get points and big rebounds for us."

"Gina Hugelier played with a lot of heart tonight. She didn't take care of the ball as much as I would like her to in the first half, but she has the ball in her hands the majority of the time."

"Jordon O'Brien played a great game. She shot the ball well and did some very good things defensively."