MACOMB, Ill.- The Western Illinois women's basketball team will hit the road for Summit League action when it travels west for games against UMKC and Southern Utah this weekend.

The Fighting Leathernecks will face UMKC at 4 p.m. on Saturday before heading to Southern Utah for a game at 8 p.m. on Monday. The Thunderbirds will play host to IUPUI on Saturday before the Leathernecks come calling.

Western Illinois split a series against North Dakota State and South Dakota State this past weekend and currently sits in seventh place in The Summit League and has a chance to close the game between itself and the fourth-place Thunderbirds.

The Matchups
Who: Western Illinois (5-12, 3-4) at UMKC (7-11, 2-5)
When: Saturday, Jan. 22 at 4 p.m.
Location: Kansas City, Mo.
Arena: Swinney Recreation Center

Who: Western Illinois vs. Southern Utah (10-8, 4-3)
When: Monday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m.
Location: Cedar City, Utah
Arena: Centrum Center

Coverage
Radio • WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
WQMZ (104.1 FM, Macomb)
WRMS - Saturday (94.3 FM, Beardstown)
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)

Streaming Video • UMKC (subscription) & Southern Utah (subscription)

Live Stats • GoLeathernecks.com (free)
 

Previously vs NDSU: Sadie Webb scored a team-high 18 points in a 68-66 win over North Dakota State last Saturday... Webb was joined by Valencia Kelly (18) and Jackie Barton (12) as the three Leathernecks in double-digits... Western Illinois took a two point lead (28-26) with 2:17 remaining in the first half and never surrendered the lead... the Leathernecks shot 50.0 percent (14-for-28) in the second half... the game marked the fifth time this season that three Leathernecks have scored in double-figures... the win marked the first victory for Western Illinois over the Bison since the first-ever meeting between the teams on Jan. 12, 2008.

Previously vs SDSU: South Dakota State shot a blistering 56.7 percent (17-for-30) in the first half including a 7-for-11 effort from beyond the arc as the Leathernecks fell 87-59 to the Jackrabbits... Webb scored 20 points, her third-straight double-digit scoring output... Barton chipped in with 13 points... the game marked Barton's second-straight game with 10 or more points... the loss marked the seventh-straight time that SDSU has defeated the Leathernecks.

Last Time Out Against UMKC: Western Illinois suffered a 65-57 loss when they last faced UMKC on Feb. 20, 2010 in Macomb... the Leathernecks saw four players score in double-figures, led by Erica Lewis' team-high 13 points... Anne Borgertpoepping and Anneloes Kodde each scored 11 while Jackie Rieger recorded 10 points... Western Illinois shot just 32.8 percent from the floor while UMKC shot a stellar 44.9 percent... the Kangaroos also converted 13-of-16 second-half free throws.

The Series: Western Illinois holds a 21-15 edge in the all-time series between the two teams... UMKC won both games last season while the Leathernecks won both games during the 2008-09 campaign... Western's longest winning-streak in the series came from 1999-2001 when the Leathernecks defeated the Kangaroos five-straight times... the Kangaroos have recorded winning streaks of two games four times in the series.

Scouting the Kangaroos: UMKC is coming off a 98-49 win at Centenary in its last outing... the Kangaroos had five players score in double-figures against the Ladies, led by a team-high 14 points from Peyton Adamson... the Kangaroos are led offensively by Dayon Hall-Jones with 9.4 points per game... Kim Nezianya leads the team on the glass with 5.6 rebounds per game... the Kangaroos rank third in the league in scoring defense, allowing 64.1 points per game... UMKC is also ranked second in the league and 37th nationally with 4/8 blocks per game.

Last Time Out Against Southern Utah: Michele Salvatori scored a team-high 11 points in a 50-45 win over Southern Utah when the teams last met on Feb. 22, 2010 in Macomb... the Leathernecks held the Thunderbirds to just 36.7 percent from the floor and did not allow a Southern Utah player to score in double-digits... Ashley Lord recorded a team-leading six rebounds.

The Series: Western Illinois holds a 19-10 lead in the all-time series between the two teams... the teams split last year's series... the Leathernecks have twice recorded winning streaks of five games in the series... Southern Utah has won two games in a row just once in the series.

Scouting The Thunderbirds: Southern Utah is coming off a 115-75 loss to Oral Roberts on Monday... the Thunderbirds defeated Centenary by a score of 89-76 in last Saturday's contest... Challis Pascucci leads Southern Utah with 16.9 points per game and ranks 34th nationally in field-goal percentage (53.6)... she has been named as The Summit League's Player of the Week three times this year... Caitlyn Sears also averages in double-figures with 15.7 points per game... Southern Utah ranks first in the league in rebounds per game (40.8).

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... she has added 19 steals this season... Borgertpoepping has recorded 110 steals while at Western Illinois... she needs 27 more steals this season to move in to a tie for 9th place in program history for career-steals.

Webb Goes for 20: Sadie Webb scored 20 or more points for the second time in her past three games when she netted 20 against South Dakota State on Monday... Webb has scored in double-digits in nine games this season including four of the past five... the junior is averaging 10.9 points per game and 14.4 points per game in league play... she is averaging 15.2 points while shooting 55.1 percent (27-for-49) in her past five outings... she is also shooting 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from beyond the arc during that stretch.

Crane Nears Milestone: Western Illinois head coach Leslie Crane recorded her 189th victory as Leatherneck head coach with Saturday's win over SDSU... she has now won 306 games during her coaching career... Crane needs just 11 more wins to hit the 200-win mark at Western Illinois... she entered the season as the winningest coach in program history.

Defense Makse the Difference: The Western Illinois defense has proven to be a big part of the team's success this season... the Leathernecks rank fourth in the league in scoring defense (64.9 ppg) and first in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (.315)... Western also ranks third in steals total steals (157) and steals per game (9.2)

What a Game: Western's 83-35 win over Judson was big on several fronts for the Leathernecks... the 83 points scored were the most the team has recorded since an 83-37 win over Centenary on Dec. 31, 2005... the 29 turnovers by the Eagles were the most that the Leathernecks have forced since Illinois-Springfield turned the ball over 30 times on Dec. 12, 2006... Judson's 35 points were the lowest total for a Western Illinois opponent since a 60-32 win over Centenary on Feb. 5, 2007...  the 32 free-throw attempts by the Leathernecks were the most since the team shot 33 against Centenary on Feb. 14, 2009.

Turnover Parade: The Leatherneck defense has caused all kinds of headaches for opponents this season... entering the weekend, Western Illinois has forced 20 or more turnovers in ten games this season... the Leathernecks forced 20 or more turnovers just 11 times last season.

Barton Doubles Up: Jackie Barton recorded back-to-back games with 10 or more points for the second time this season this past weekend... the senior scored a season-high 13 points against SDSU on Monday after scoring 12 points in Saturday's win over NDSU... the also led the team in rebounding with eight against NDSU and tied Rebecca Henricson with a team-high five boards against SDSU.

New Look Summit League Coming: The 2010-11 look of the Summit League basketball standings will soon be changing... This season marks the finale for Centenary in the league... Southern Utah announced it is leaving for the Big Sky Conference in July 2012... In return, the University of South Dakota will officially join the Summit League next academic year in all sports.

Up Next: Western Illinois will play host to IUPUI on Jan. 29 before facing IPFW (Feb. 5) and Oakland (Feb. 7) in Macomb.