MACOMB, Ill. - The third and final game of a three-game road swing will match Western Illinois (1-2) women's basketball against Valparaiso (0-2) on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7:05 p.m.

The Fighting Leathernecks will look to end the trip on a high note after dropping games at Vanderbilt (Friday) and Northern Illinois (Wednesday). The Purple & Gold were unable to outlast the Huskies in DeKalb on Wednesday after a 50-minute, double-overtime contest and fell 91-84.

Sadie Webb turned in a career-high 31 points including a jumper with 10 seconds remaining in the first overtime period to even the score and send the game to an extra five minutes. Michele Salvatori collected 17 points and 13 rebounds for her first career double-double, both totals were career highs.

The Match Up
Who: Western Illinois (1-2) at Valparaiso (0-2)
When: Tuesday, November 22 at 7:05 p.m.
Location: Valparaiso, Ind.
Arena: Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000)

Coverage
Radio • WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)
Play-by-Play: Michael Broskowski
Color Analyst: Ryne Thorson

Streaming • Horizon League Network (Free)

Live Stats • ValpoAthletics.com (Free)

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS: Head coach Keith Freeman (Huntington College, 1986) is in his 18th season (276-226) leading the Valparaiso women's basketball program and is the winningest coach in program history. Last season, the Crusaders went 7-24 including a 4-14 (T9th/10) mark in the Horizon League. The squad returns nine letterwinners and four starters from a season ago. The roster is infused with five newcomers (three freshmen & two transfers). Valparaiso leads the all-time series 19-17 with the last meeting on Feb. 17, 2007. In that meeting the Crusaders defeated Western 58-46 in Valparaiso, Ind. The last six games have been split evenly at three victories a piece. The Crusaders began the season with a overtime loss at SIUE and are coming off a loss to Rice on Sunday (Nov. 20), 54-46.

CRUSADERS TO WATCH: Valparaiso returns its top four scorers from last season. Betsy Adams (12.6 ppg), Tabitha Gerardot (10.7 ppg), Ashley Timmerman (6.8 ppg) and Gina Lange ( 6.0 ppg). In the season opening loss at SIU-Edwardsville, freshman Shaquira Scott collected 18 points and six rebounds while fellow freshman Mallory Lad turned in a 14-points and five rebound performance. Lange scored 13 points and pulled down a team-high nine boards.

STEP ONE: The JD Gravina era officially began with a win as Western Illinois defeated Hannibal-LaGrange 87-65 on Friday night (Nov. 11). The 87 points were the most scored by a Leatherneck team since Dec. 18, 2005 (109 vs. Illinois Springfield). From the field Western shot 47 percent (31-66) for the night and was 10-16 from behind the arc (63 percent). The 10 three-pointers were the most since Dec. 12, 2009 (14 vs. UIS). Eleven Leathernecks scored on the night and Sadie Webb led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds. The Leathernecks scored 36 points off the 25 Hannibal-LaGrange turnovers including an 18-0 edge in fastbreak points.

NON-CONFERNCE SCHEDULE: Trips to Vanderbilt, Northern Illinois, Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois, Iowa, Bradley and Nebraska-Omaha highlight the road non-conference schedule. Milwaukee and Nebraska-Omaha visit Western Hall as two of the marquee home non-conference games.

NEW LOOK SUMMIT LEAGUE COMING: The Summit League has experienced a makeover in recent years. Centenary moved to Division III prior to this athletic year. Southern Utah will depart for the Big Sky Conference after this season. Nebraska-Omaha will begin Summit League competition in July 2012. South Dakota joins the Summit League for official competition this season. In October, Oral Roberts announced that it will become the Southland Conference's newest member beginning in July of 2012.

WEBB LEADING THE WAY: No surprise that after three games senior Sadie Webb leads the team in scoring (20.7). Three consecutive double-figure scoring performances was capped with a career-high 31 points against Northern Illinois. Webb was 9-for-18 from the field including 2-for-4 from long range and 11-for-16 from the free throw line. It was the first time a Leatherneck had scored 30 or more points since Kinesha Davis against Youngstown State on Jan. 19, 2008 when she had 34 points. The senior has score in double-digits in four straight dating back to last season and has reached the mark in 68 percent (21/31) of her games as a Leatherneck.

SALVATORI SEEING DOUBLE: Michele Salvatori turned in a double-double at Northern Illinois with 17 points and 13 rebounds, both career-highs. She collected the first such performance since Sadie Webb did it against Southern Utah on Feb. 19, 2011 with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Salvatori is now the second player on the roster to record a double-double.

SECOND HALF SURGES: The Purple & Gold have put together four solid second halves this season including the exhibition against Illinois Springfield. Against UIS, the Leathernecks scored 46 second-half points in the 76-69 victory. Western followed with a 48-point performance against Hannibal-LaGrange in the 87-65 win. Despite losing at Vanderbilt, 95-51, the Leathernecks only lost the second half by six, 40-34. And just recently, Western outscored NIU 33-30 to force overtime before falling in the second overtime on Wednesday (Nov. 16).

COACHING STAFF: First-year head coach JD Gravina added two new coaches to his staff. Seth Minter and Tiffany Coppage join the Purple & Gold's coaching staff. Kerry Juhlin remains with the program, from the previous staff. Minter joins Western after spending last year as head women's basketball coach at Culver-Stockton College. During the 2010-11 season, Minter led CSC to five conference wins, matching in one year the program's total from the previous three years combined. Coppage spent the 2010-11 season at Wichita State as a graduate assistant coach, part of the Shockers' WNIT squad. A member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and Black Coaches Association (BCA), she assisted with video breakdown, day-to-day office operations, practice preparation, team travel and recruiting visits.

RETURNING LEATHERNECKS: Sadie Webb (2010-11 Summit League Newcomer of the Year) leads a large group of returners that look to rebuild the Leatherneck program. The senior averaged 12.0 points per game including a high mark of 26 at Southern Utah. Webb led the team in scoring on 11 occasions in 2010-11 and also averaged 4.8 rebounds per game to lead the squad. Senior guard Valencia Kelly returns and will be important in the transition game Coach Gravina looks to run this season. Kelly averaged 10.1 points and led the team with 79 assists. She was the team's leading scorer on eight occasions a season ago. Junior guard Michele Salvatori will be asked to continue her offensive contribution after a season where she average 7.7 points per game and led the Leathernecks in scoring during four games. Brittany Demery, Tricia Coates and Rachel Evans will also add depth to the Leatherneck inside game. Saule Kontautaite will bring her long-range game to the roster after missing last season due to injury. Jackie Rieger led the team in scoring twice last season and will add some experience and a scoring threat to the roster. Rebecca Henricson and Christina Jones both saw time at point guard last season.

NEWCOMERS: Junior Karis Phillips and freshmen Martyna Kudziela and Lindsay Carroll join the Leathernecks as the three new names on the roster. Women's soccer player Laura Atkinson also was added to the roster before official practice began... Phillips brings her talents to Western Illinois after an All-American season at North Dakota College of Sciences. She averaged 13.7 points per game while handing out 4.6 assists. Phillips shot 37 percent from three-point range and collected 142 assists. Her high school career was also impressive as she was a member of sectional and state championship teams. Carroll is added to the mix after four very successful seasons with Rockton Hononegah High School. She was a three-time team captain and an All-Area and All-Conference selection in each of her first three seasons. She was named All-State Honorable Mention by the Champaign News-Gazette. Carroll averaged 14.7 points and 7.4 assists during her senior season and made 293 career three-pointers and collected 520 assists. Kudziela looks to add length and athleticism to the roster as the six-foot Brisbane, Australia native joins the program. Atkinson joins the women's basketball program and looks to be a two-sport athlete as she also plays women's soccer at Western. She is a standout goalkeeper for the Purple & Gold, Atkinson has been named to the Summit All-League and All-Tournament teams on two occasions and during her freshman season earned All-Newcomer honors. Her high school basketball career was highlighted by All-Conference selections in each of her final three years and averaged 10 points per game for her career.

UP NEXT: The Purple & Gold will return to Western Hall in Macomb for a battle against Milwaukee on Tuesday (Nov. 22) at 4:30 p.m.