WICHITA, Kan.- Wichita State was able to score 34 points off 27 Fighting Leatherneck turnovers in rout of Western, 70-45, Friday evening at Charles Koch Arena.

"We did a poor job taking care of the ball, we had 27 turnovers tonight," said Western Illinois head coach Leslie Crane. "We were too lackadaisical and we have to do a much better job."

Western Illinois (1-2) took an early 6-3 lead at the 18:26 mark, but an 18-2 run by the Shockers (1-1) would put the Leathernecks down 21-8 with 12:20 left in the first half. Wichita State led by as much as 16 in the half, but back-to-back layup's by Erica Lewis and Ashley Lord would cut the deficit to nine (32-23) with 1:18 left before halftime. The Shockers retaliated with a three-pointer by Marisah Henderson with 34 seconds left on the clock, taking a 35-23 lead into the locker room.

The Shockers started the second half on a 14-2 run and led by as much as 26 with five minutes left to play in the game to seal the victory for Wichita State. The Leathernecks would go on an 8-2 run at the 4:41 mark on a layup by La'Paris Newsom and two three-point field goals by Lunden Roberts, but Wichita State bounced back by scoring the last five points of the game, winning 70-45.

Despite the loss, Western shot a season high 40.4 percent from the field. The Leathernecks also saw all but two players score in the game, including career first points by newcomers Newsom, Jackie Rieger and Roberts.

"I was glad we were able to get our young kids in and get them a lot of experience," said Crane. "I am pleased with how Jackie Rieger and Marina Hartman played. They had some very good, contributing minutes."

The battle on the glass was even as both teams pulled down 31 rebounds in the contest. Ashley Lord led the team in rebounds for the third-consecutive game with seven boards while Lewis added six.

Offensively, Lewis led the team in scoring for the third-consecutive game as she scored 12 points as she shot 6-for-10 from the floor. Roberts added eight points, going 3-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-3 from behind the arc. Jackie Barton added a season-best seven points. Junior Anne Borgertpoepping dished out a team-high six assists in addition to four rebounds and a steal.

The Leathernecks will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 23 as they travel to Mobile, Ala., for a matchup with South Alabama at 7:05 p.m.