MACOMB, Ill.- The Western Illinois women's basketball team plays host to Oakland on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 4:30 p.m.
The Matchup
Who: Western Illinois (6-14, 2-7) vs Oakland (9-11, 6-3)
When: Saturday, Jan. 30 at 4:30 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Arena: Western Hall
Coverage
Radio • WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
Kevin Pomazal, play by play
Danielle Gagnon, color analyst
Web • GoLeathernecks.com
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)
Live Stats (Free)
Live Video via www.GoLeathernecks.com (subscription)
Game Notes
Official Western Illinois Game Notes (PDF)
Official Oakland Game Notes (PDF)
FOOD FIGHT!
The game against Oakland has been
designated as one of 20 'Food Fight' games by The Summit League. The
annual event is a league-wide food drive initiative tied in with
Students Team Up to Fight Hunger (STUFH). Fans who donate a
non-perishable food item received half-price admission.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day
The game against Oakland is also a celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports.
Thousands of sports educators, coaches, athletic directors, recreation
directors, association members, sponsors, students, and parents across
the country will show their support of the Day and of this year's
theme, “Stay Strong, Play On.”
Last time out against UMKC
Jordon O'Brien scored a game-high 16 points, but it wasn't enough to defeat UMKC as the Kangaroos handed the Fighting Leathernecks a 54-46 loss on Monday, Jan. 25.
Offensively, Erica Lewis added 12 points and Anneloes Kodde chipped in six points. Both Jackie Barton and Ashley Lord added five points.
UMKC won the battle on the glass, grabbing five more boards (38-33). Barton pulled down a team-high eight rebounds while Lord grabbed seven.
Western took five more shots than UMKC (49-44), but only connected on 28.6 percent of their shots compared to UMKC's 43.2 field-goal percentage. Both teams struggled from the charity stripe shooting 59.1 percent (13-for-22).
Scouting the Grizzlies
Oakland is coming off a 54-52 road win at North Dakota State on Monday, Jan. 25. Bettany Watterworth led the way with 14 points in the victory.
Melissa Jeltema has been the team leader this season, averaging a team-best 14.6 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game and 29 steals. Watterworth has added 13.5 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game this season.
Against Oakland
The Grizzlies hold the all-time series record (17-7) with the Leathernecks, losing the last contest in Rochester, Mich., 64-44, on Jan. 4, 2010.
O'Brien led the Western offense with 17 points while Lord and Lunden Roberts both added six points in the team's first meeting with Oakland. Kodde chipped in five points and Anne Borgertpoepping and Lewis added four points each.
Oakland won the battle on the glass, out rebounding the Leathernecks by six (35-29). Lord pulled down a game-high six rebounds and Kodde grabbed five. Defensively, Western had 11 steals in the contest paced by Borgetpoepping's and Kodde's three steals each.
Both teams shot well from the charity stripe as Western connected on 94.1 percent of their shots (16-for-17) while Oakland drained 88.2 percent of their free throws (15-for-17). The Leathernecks struggled from the field, only making 25 percent of their shots in the contest (12-for-48) and shooting 17.4 percent from behind the arc (4-for-23).
Turnovers continued to be costly for the Leathernecks as the Golden Grizzlies were able to score 20 points off of 18 Western turnovers in the contest.
O'Brien leading the offense
O'Brien leads the team in scoring with 10.3 points per game as well as grabbing 3.4 rebounds per game. The senior is averaging 14.2 points per game during conference play.
She is also Western's most accurate free-throw shooter, connecting on 86 percent of her shots from the charity strip (49-57) to rank third in the category in the conference.
Western defense ranks among the top of the conference
The Leathernecks currently rank third in the league in scoring defense, only allowing 61.8 points per game.
The defense also currently ranks third in the conference in steals, recording 9.3 steals per game. Borgertpoepping leads the team in steals with 45 and ranks fourth in the conference with 2.3 steals per game.
