MACOMB, Ill.- The
Western Illinois women's
basketball team will hit the road for two matches against Big XII opponents this weekend. The Fighting Leathernecks will face No. 9 Oklahoma at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on Kansas State at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Oklahoma defeated Milwaukee in its season-opener last Saturday. Kansas State has posted wins over Grambling State and then No. 14 St. John's. The Wildcats will face Indiana State on Wednesday before the Leathernecks come to town.
The Matchups
Who: Western Illinois (0-2) at No. 9 Oklahoma (1-0)
When: Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
Location: Norman, Okla.
Arena: Lloyd Noble Center (12,000)
Who: Western Illinois (0-2) at Kansas State (2-0)
When: Sunday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m.
Location: Manhattan, Kan.
Arena: Bramlage Coliseum (12,528)
Coverage
Radio • WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
WQMZ (104.1 FM, Macomb)
WRMS (94.3 FM, Beardstown)
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)
Live Stats • Soonersports.com (Free)
KStatesports.com (Free)
The First Meeting
Friday's meeting between the Leathernecks and Sooners will mark the first time that the teams have ever played each other in either program's history... the game will mark the second time that Western Illinois has faced an opponent ranked in the top-20 of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Scouting The Sooners
The Sooners enter Friday's matchup after 76-59 win over Milwaukee in their season opener last Saturday... Oklahoma led by just three points at the had before outscoring the Panthers 39-25 in the second half... four Sooners scored in double-digits including a game-high 20-point performance from Danielle Robinson... Aayrn Ellenburg scored 14 points... Joanna McFarland chipped in with 13 points and Morgan Hook had 13 off the bench.
Last Time Out Against Kansas State
The last meeting between the two teams came on Jan. 2, 2008 when the Wildcats came away with a 68-53 victory in Manhattan... Western Illinois trailed by five at the half before Kansas State pulled away with a 35-point output in the second half... the Wildcats lead the all-time series 5-0.
Scouting The Wildcats
Kansas State enters the week on a two-game winning streak... the Wildcats notched a victory over Grambling State in their season-opener by a 67-44 score at the 16th annual Wildcat Classic... K-State also pulled off an upset against then No. 14 St. Johns in the championship game of the Wildcat Classic... Mariah White posted team-highs in points (17) and rebounds (9) against the Red Storm... the Wildcats will face Indiana State on Wednesday (Nov. 17) before playing host to the Leathernecks.
Previously vs. Northern Illinois
Western Illinois led by four points twice in the first half, but Northern Illinois used a 13-0 run to take a 24-15 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the period... the Leathernecks closed the gap to four points at the break... Western cut the gap to one point on five occasions during the second half but were unable to take the lead... the Huskies led by as many as 12 points in the second half... Valencia Kelly and Sadie Webb posted career-highs with 15 and 13 points, respectively... the Leathernecks were 19-for-22 (86.4%) from the free-throw line... the free-throw percentage is the highest since the team was 16-for-17 (94.1%) at Oakland last January.
Leathernecks Picked Seventh in
Summit League
Western Illinois was
picked seventh in the 2010-11 Summit League preseason poll... the
Leathernecks return six players from last year's squad... Western tied Southern Utah for seventh place with 162 points in the
poll... Oral Roberts was picked first with 438 points and 26 first place votes... South Dakota
State was
selected second with 393 points and four first place votes... Oakland (336 points),
IPFW (285) and North Dakota State (274) rounded out the top five... UMKC was
picked sixth with 253 votes... IUPUI and Centenary were selected ninth and tenth, respectively.
Record Watch: Steals
Anne Borgertpoepping
finished last season with 64 steals... Borgertpoepping has recorded 95 steals while at
Western Illinois... she needs 42 steals this season to move in to a tie for 9th place
in program history for career-steals.
Career Days
Several Leathernecks had career-days against the Huskies... in addition to Kelly and Webb, Brittany Demery posted a career-high seven points and eight boards... Jackie Rieger tallied the second highest point total (8) of her career and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line... Michele Salvatori was also perfect from the charity stripe with a 4-for-4 performance.
Up Next
The Leathernecks will take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday before traveling to Milwaukee for a 2 p.m. tip against the Panthers on Saturday, Nov. 27.
