MACOMB, Ill. - Leatherneck (3-5, 1-1) women's basketball continues its five-game non-conference stretch with a trip to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes (5-4) on Friday at 7 p.m.

It will be the Leathernecks fourth trip to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which was opened in 1983. Western has never won at Carver-Hawkeye and have lost the last four meetings with Iowa.

A Monday night matchup with an Eastern Illinois squad on a roll proved to be too much for Western Illinois women's basketball. The Panthers won the contest 88-55 powered by an impressive shooting display as Eastern Illinois shot over 50 percent from the field on the night.

Valencia Kelly led the Leathernecks in scoring with 14 points while Sadie Webb was held to nine points but pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

The Match Up
Who: Western Illinois (3-5, 1-1) at Iowa (5-4)
When: Friday, December 9 at 7 p.m.
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Arena: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500)

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

Streaming • Hawkeye All-Access (Subscription)

Live Stats • HawkeyeSports.com (Free)

SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES: Head Coach Lisa Bluder (Northern Iowa, 1983) is in her 12th season (216-136) leading the Hawkeye women's basketball program and in her 28th season (572-278) as a head coach. In 2010-11, Iowa went 22-9 including a 10-6 (T3rd) conference mark. The Hawkeyes return nine letterwinners and four starters from the squad that finished 25th in final AP poll. Iowa lost to Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament last season. This season, Iowa is off to a 5-4 start including wins over Harvard, Albany, UNI, St. John's and Virginia Tech. Losses came at home against UNLV in the Hawkeye Challenge, versus Texas A&M in the Bahamas and at Kansas State. Most recently the Iowa State Cyclones defeated Iowa 62-54 in Ames. Iowa leads the all-time series 6-3 with the last meeting coming on Dec. 22, 2007 in Iowa City. Iowa won that contest 70-49. Western Illinois won the first two meetings in 1973 and 1975.

HAWKEYES TO WATCH: Iowa returns Second Team All-Big Ten performer Jamie Printy who is averaging 17.0 ppg including a 25-point performance against UNLV this season. The Hawkeyes also return Honorable Mention Big Ten performer Kamille Wahlin who is averaging 8.1 ppg and 2.9 apg this season. Junior center Morgan Johnson is contributing 13.2 ppg and 5.6 rpg while collecting 2.3 bpg. The Black & Gold are shooting 40 percent from the field, 33 percent from behind the arc and 80 percent from the free throw line.

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.

WEBB LEADING THE WAY: No surprise that after eight games senior Sadie Webb leads the team in scoring (14.9). Six consecutive double-figure scoring performances this season was highlighted with a career-high 31 points against Northern Illinois. The streak of seven straight such games dating back to last season came to end against North Dakota State when she scored 8 points. At NIU, 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. 18, 1998 when she had 34 points. Against Milwaukee, Webb collected a double-double (11 points/10 rebounds) in the loss. The senior has reached double-digits in 66 percent (24/36) of her games as a Leatherneck.

SEEING DOUBLE: Michele Salvatori turned in back-to-back double-doubles at Northern Illinois with 17 points and 13 rebounds and Valparaiso with 18 points and 11 rebounds, the 18 points is a career high. 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. Brittany Demery joined the fun with 15 points and 10 boards at Valparaiso, the 15 points matched a career high and the 10 rebounds was a new high mark for the senior forward. She leads the team 8.5 rpg a game including 24 offensive rebounds this season of her 68 total boards. Salvatori was also named Papa John's Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Nov. 26 for her performance on the court and in the classroom.

$AULE: The Leathernecks received a boost from sharp shooter Saule Kontautaite on Friday night against North Dakota State.The junior missed all of last season due to injury and seemed to regain some confidence during the first half on Saturday night. Kontautaite knocked down four first-half deep balls for 12 first-half points, helping Western to a 33-23 advantage.She collected a fifth and final three-pointer in the second half and finished with a career-high 17 points. Her hot streak continued at Eastern Illinois with a 3-for-5 performance from behind the arc. tying her with Lindsay Carroll with 12 made three-point field goals.

STARTING CONSISTENCY: The Purple & Gold have started the same five in all eight games this season. Those five being Valencia Kelly, Rebecca Henricson, Sadie Webb, Michele Salvatori and Brittany Demery. Last season, through eight games the Leathernecks had used five different starting lineups. The combination of Kelly, Salvatori, Webb Jackie Rieger and Anne Borgertpoepping was used three times in that stretch.

CHARITY STRIPE: The Leathernecks are traveling to the free throw line with decreasing regularity. At Northern Illinois (2OT), Western collected 36 attempts, making 29 of those. At Valparaiso and against Milwaukee, Western shot 23 free throws. This past week against South Dakota State, Western shot 16 free throws, 13 against North Dakota State and a season-low of eight attempts at Eastern Illinois on Monday (Dec. 5).

SIGNING CLASS: First-year Western Illinois women's basketball head coach JD Gravina and his staff announced the signing of four high school athletes to join the Purple & Gold in 2012. The four include two three-star recruits and three Illinois athletes. Michelle Maher (5-9, Guard) from Park Ridge, Ill. and Maine South High School is four-time letterwinner in basketball while collecting 811 career points and helped Maine South collect a third place finish at the 2011 State Tournament. Paige Harmon (6-0, Forward) from Oswego, Ill and Oswego High School is a three-star prospect by ESPN and averaged 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game while scoring over 35 points on four different occasions and pulling down 20 rebounds on three occasions. Liz Skotowski (5-9, Guard) from Mt. Vernon, Iowa and Mt. Vernon High School is a four-time letterwinner and member and was state runner-up her junior year. Charnelle Reed (5-10, Guard) from Flossmoor, Ill. and Homewood-Flossmoor High School is another three-star recruit as ranked by ESPN and average 13.2 points as a junior while being named Honorable Mention IBCA All-State.

FRESHMAN DEAD EYE: Lindsay Carroll is shooting 48 percent (12-for-25) from behind the arc this season and knocked down four against Milwaukee (Nov. 26). Carroll collected a team-high 18 points in her 20 minutes. Her second half was a catalyst for the comeback as she collected 14 of her 18 points in the final 20 minutes. The 48 percent clip would be second all-time in program history. Currently, Michelle Nason has the record (with a min. of 50 attempts) with her 49 percent (47-of-95) in 1990-991.

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.

WHAT IS A LEATHERNECK?: Western Illinois holds the distinction of being the only non-military institution to officially have its nickname derived from a branch of the military service. The school began use of the Marine Corps' official nickname, "The Fighting Leathernecks," in 1927 when then-athletic director and head baseball, basketball and football coach Ray "Rock" Hanson was granted permission by the U.S. Navy, based on his status as a Marine hero, to use the Marine's official seal, bulldog mascot and nickname.

UP NEXT: Western Illinois returns home for a clash with soon-to-be Summit League member, Nebraska-Omaha, on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.

@wiuathletics