MACOMB, Ill.- Junior Jackie Barton scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Fighting Leathernecks over William Woods, 52-42, in preseason action Sunday afternoon.

With 7:49 left in the game, Barton connected on two free throws to give Western its first lead of the game, 38-36. The Leathernecks would never look back as they pushed their lead to 12 with 2:28 remaining in the contest. The Owls would pull back within nine on a Rachel Baker lay up with 1:26 left in regulation, but the Leathernecks would hold onto win the game, 52-42.

William Woods scored 15 unanswered points to start the game and led by as much as 17 through the first 12 minutes of play, but Western out-scored the Owls, 18-5, in the last eight minutes of the half as they headed into the locker room down 29-25.

"We definitely started off really slow," said senior Jordon O'Brien. "Our defense was not as tight as we would've liked. It was a sluggish start."

Western's defense regrouped at the half, holding William Woods to only 13 points in the second half and a 12.5 field-goal percentage from the floor.

"Defensively, we did a nice job in probably 30 out of the 40 minutes," said Western Illinois head women's basketball coach Leslie Crane. "We only gave up 13 points in the second half. A lot of that had to do with the fact that we out rebounded them. We were animals on the board."

The Leathernecks won the battle on the glass as they grabbed eight more rebounds (49-41) than the Owls. Senior Ashley Lord led the defense as she pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds followed by Barton and Michele Salvatori who both had nine rebounds. Sophomore Lyndi Thorman had a team-high four steals in the defensive effort to go along with five rebounds.

Barton led the team offensively in her unofficial debut for the purple and gold, coming off the bench to light up the scoreboard with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor.  O'Brien chipped in with 11 points and three assists while newcomers Lunden Roberts and Salvatori each added eight points.

"I am ecstatic about La'Paris (Newsom), Lunden (Roberts) and Michele Salvatori," said Crane. "They did not look like freshman at times tonight. They showed why they are out there."

Western's newcomers contributed 35 of the team's 52 points in the contest and 24 of the team's 49 rebounds. The Leathernecks also scored 34 points off the bench.

"I was impressed with our newcomers," O'Brien said of her new teammates. "Lunden (Roberts) came in and gave us a spark. That is important because it isn't just our first five starters helping out."

The Leathernecks are back in action Nov. 9 as they host Judson University in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. in Western Hall.