MACOMB, Ill.- The Western Illinois women's basketball team finished the regular-season portion of its schedule with a 59-43 home loss to IUPUI on senior night at Waste Management Court at Western Hall.
After a three-pointer from senior Amanda Walker with 9:34 left to play brought the Westerwinds (9-20, 7-11 Summit League) within two points at 39-37, Brittany Ransom answered with a three-pointer from the corner to push the Jaguars' (15-14, 10-8 Summit League) lead back to five with 9:19 remaining.
Junior Jordon O'Brien answered with a driving lay-up with 8:31 on the clock to pull Western within three at 42-39. However, O'Brien's lay-up was quickly answered by a three-pointer from Jernisha Cann that would start a 17-4 run for IUPUI to close the ball game.
BryKeesha Tate and O'Brien traded buckets from downtown to open the ball game before Nicole James went on a 5-0 run to put the Jaguars up five at 8-3 after a steal by Tate led to a James' fastbreak lay-up with 16:13 left in the first half.
A jumper from sophomore Anne Borgertpoepping cut the IUPUI lead to one point at 10-9 with 13:19 remaining in the opening half.
Julia Whitted scored four straight points for the Jaguars before a jumper from freshman Anneloes Kodde with 8:21 left before halftime brought the Westerwinds back within one point at 14-13.
The Jaguars held Western scoreless for the next five minutes and pushed their lead out 14 points at 27-13 with 2:50 left to play in the first half. Freshman Jantine Kraak ended the 13-0 run with a three-point play with 2:06 left before the break.
After a pair of free throws from Elizabeth Mercer, freshman Lyndi Thorman and Walker hit back-to-back buckets to cut the IUPUI lead to nine points at 29-20 at halftime.
The Westerwinds scored the first four points of the second half from back-to-back lay-ups from sophomore Ashley Lord and Thorman to pull within five points at 29-24 with 19:31 left in the second half.
Kodde connected on a three-pointer with 14:01 to bring Western within four points of the Jaguars at 35-31.
O'Brien scored 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor to lead the Westerwinds in scoring for the third straight game. Kodde and Thorman added eight points each while Thorman and Lord each pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Whitted paced IUPUI with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting while also grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. James added 10 points, while Jernisha Cann chipped in with nine.
Western finds out what seed it'll occupy and who its opponent will be in The Summit League championships when regular-season play wraps up Monday night.
Postgame Notes? Kodde tied a career-high in points with eight.
? O'Brien has scored in double-figures in six straight games and nine of the previous 11 games.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Leslie Crane
On IUPUI hitting seven three-pointers“Defensively we had a lack of communication on the back side of our zone that we were playing. They were able to skip over the defense and we didn't get out far enough to challenge their shots.”
On the team making some runs“There were times where we really were able to get after it, play hard and hit some buckets. Then, like all season long, we just stopped. The ball didn't go inside enough but when it did we were successful. We just need to find our posts more.”
Looking ahead to the conference tournament“We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We were projected to finish sixth in the preseason poll and that's where we'll most like end up at. There is no pressure for the lower seeds, we can just play basketball.”
