Barton leads Leathernecks over IUPUI, 61-50

MACOMB, Ill.- Jackie Barton scored a season-high 15 points to lead the Fighting Leathernecks over IUPUI, 61-50, Saturday afternoon inside Western Hall.

“We had a lot of really good screens and passes in the second half so I felt a lot better taking the open shots,” said Barton. “We had a lot of confidence in each other tonight. Knowing that we believe in each other is really big for us.”

After trailing 4-3 into the first two minutes of the game, Western (8-15, 4-8 Summit League) scored five unanswered points on back-to-back baskets by Jordon O'Brien to take an 8-4 lead over the Jaguars (2-21, 1-11 Summit League). The Leathernecks did not trail the rest of the game and opened up a 10-point lead (23-13) on a Barton three-point basket with 4:51 remaining in the first half. IUPUI got back within eight points with 11 seconds left in the half, but Jackie Rieger knocked down a shot at the buzzer to give Western a 29-19 advantage heading into the locker room.

The Leathernecks started the second half on a 10-2 run, taking an 18-point lead (39-21) at the 15:06 mark. IUPUI could only get within 11 points (49-38) with 7:07 left in the game before Western opened up its largest lead of the game (61-41) on another Barton three pointer with just under four minutes remaining. The Leathernecks did not score in the final 3:08, but were able to ride their lead into a 61-50 win over IUPUI.

“This was a big win for us for a lot of reasons,” said Western Illinois head coach Leslie Crane. “We secured our place in the conference tournament and we knew going in to the game that it was something we needed to do.”

O'Brien scored 10 point in the victory followed by Erica Lewis who poured in nine points. Anneloes Kodde and Ashley Lord both chipped in eight points while Anne Borgertpoepping added six points and a game-high four assists. Western out shot IUPUI by two (50-48) in the contest and shot 42 percent from the floor compared to IUPUI's 35.4 percent.

Western also went 8-for-16 from behind the arc, led by Barton's three made shots from behind the arc. The Leathernecks converted on 78.6 percent of their free throws, going 11-for-14 from the charity stripe.

Western won the battle on the glass, grabbing four more rebounds than the Jaguars (35-31). Barton and Lord led the team with five rebounds each while Kodde, O'Brien and Lunden Roberts pulled down three each.

The Leatherneck defense stepped up again forcing 16 IUPUI turnovers. Western's bench scored 26 points in the contest compared to only 12 points from the Jaguar bench.

“Right now we have confidence in everything,” said Crane. “We're confident in going to the bucket, confident in our screens and confident in our defense. We have a lot of team unity right now, everyone is settling in to a comfort zone with each other out there and are playing well together.”

The Leathernecks hit the road for their next two games, playing at Centenary on Feb. 13 and at Oral Roberts on Feb. 15.

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Players Mentioned

#24 Jordon O'Brien: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#14 Anneloes Kodde: F; 6' 0"; Junior

#33 Anne Borgertpoepping: G; 5' 7"; Junior

#50 Ashley Lord: C; 6' 4"; Senior

#12 Jackie Barton: G/F; 5' 11"; Junior

#5 Erica Lewis: G/F; 5' 8"; Junior

#42 Jackie Rieger: F; 6' 0"; Redshirt

Players Mentioned

#24 Jordon O'Brien
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#14 Anneloes Kodde
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

#33 Anne Borgertpoepping
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G

#50 Ashley Lord
: 6' 4"; Senior
: C

#12 Jackie Barton
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G/F

#5 Erica Lewis
: 5' 8"; Junior
: G/F

#42 Jackie Rieger
: 6' 0"; Redshirt
: F