MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois was unable to overcome a big early deficit in a 73-54 loss to IPFW in Summit League action on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Waste Management Court.
The Fighting Leathernecks (7-14, 5-6) found themselves down by double-digits early as the Mastodons (15-6, 9-3) shot a blistering 58.7 percent (27-for-46) from the floor en route to their eighth win in nine games.
"IPFW is a very solid ball club and has everything a team needs to win the league tournament," said head coach Leslie Crane. "They're a good team on both the inside and the outside."
Sydney Weinart scored four of the Mastodons' first six points before Jackie Rieger's jumper put Western Illinois on the board (6-2) with just under 17 minutes in the first half.
Valencia Kelly's bucket with 16:08 remaining cut the lead to 9-6 but the three-point deficit was as close as the Leathernecks would get for the remainder of the game.
IPFW would use a 19-2 run over the next six minutes to jump out to a 28-8 lead on a three-pointer by Anne Boese with just over ten minutes remaining.
Western Illinois would cut the lead to 12 points on two different occasions in the final three minutes. Jackie Barton's jumper from long range made it 36-24 at the 2:38 mark and Sadie Webb's layup with just under a minute remaining made it 38-26 at the break.
Chelsey Jackson scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the first half as the Mastodons shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22) from the floor through the first 20 minutes of play.
The Leathernecks cut IPFW's lead to 10 (38-28) when Erica Lewis scored the first bucket of the second half but the Mastodons would not let up, connecting on 15-of-24 second-half shots to secure the victory.
Western Illinois trailed by as many as 21 points (71-50) with 3:32 to go in the contest before consecutive layups by Salvatori and Brittany Demery made it 71-54. Jackson's jumper with just over a minute to go made the final 73-54.
Salvatori led the Leathernecks with 15 points and eight rebounds while Sadie Webb scored 11 points and grabbed five boards. Anne Borgertpoepping dished out a team-high four assists in her first action in over a month.
"It was great to be back and finally get to play a game," said Borgertpoepping. "I've been practicing all week and it just really good to get back out there."
As a team, Western Illinois shot 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the floor, including 11-for-18 from the charity stripe. The Leathernecks grabbed 34 rebounds and committed 18 turnovers.
The Mastodons went 8-for-13 from beyond the arc and 11-for-15 from the line. Stephanie Rosado scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Anne Boese finished with 11 points. Erin Murphy and Jordan Zuppe also finished with 10 points apiece.
"Give IPFW a lot of credit", said Crane. "They've got great shooters and some good inside players. I think our team played hard but we just didn't see the result tonight. This is a tough two week stretch with IPFW and Oakland coming in before we head to the Dakotas."
Western Illinois will return to action when it plays host to Oakland at 7 p.m. on Monday. The game will feature a special deal on tickets as fans can purchase two general admission tickets for $7.
