MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois Women's Basketball team was outshot 20-2 at the free throw line in a 56-47 loss to Oakland on Monday, Feb. 7 at Waste Management Court.
The Fighting Leathernecks (7-15, 5-7) dropped their second-straight Summit League contest despite leading the Golden Grizzlies (16-8, 10-3) by as many 11 points early in the game.
"You are not going to win many ballgames by only shooting two free throws," said Western Illinois head coach Leslie Crane. "They started attacking and we quit attacking the basket. You win and lose ballgames by getting inside and playing good defense."
Western Illinois looked poise for an upset early in the game as five different players combined for the Leathernecks' first 17 points to help build a 17-6 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half.
Sadie Webb scored six of her team-leading 17 points in the first 12 minutes of play, but Oakland slowly chipped away at the lead and mounted a 12-4 run over the final six minutes to make the score 21-18 at the break.
"We played good enough defense to win tonight, we just did not get enough shots to fall," said Crane. "Offensively I thought we started to settle a little bit too much for long jumpers and three-point shots instead of getting the ball inside where we had success early."
The Leathernecks held Oakland to just 25.0 percent (8-for-32) from the floor in the first half including just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc and limited the Golden Grizzlies to just two free throws through the first 20 minutes.
Western Illinois would build on the halftime lead as Webb's three-pointer to open up the second half made it 24-18 but Oakland would keep it close before grabbing their first lead (33-32) on a pair of free throws by Bethany Watterworth with 13 minutes remaining.
Jackie Barton hit two-straight shots, a three-pointer and a jumper, to push the Leathernecks back in front (41-39) with just over seven minutes to play, but the Golden Grizzlies would tie it on Sharise Calhoun's jumper at the 6:54 mark.
Oakland would score eight of its final 15 points from the charity stripe to seal the deal and win its second-straight game. The Golden Grizzlies went to the line 18 times in the second half and connected on their final 15 free throws.
Webb finished the game with 17 points on 8-of-19 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds. It was the eighth game in a row in which she has scored in double-figures.
Rachel Evans tied a career-high with seven rebounds while Valencia Kelly scored 10 points. Rebecca Henricson dished out four assists while Anne Borgertpoepping had three assists and three steals.
Watterworth paced Oakland with 17 points while Calhoun finished with 16 and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Zakiya Minifee snagged seven boards and scored six points.
The Leathernecks shot 33.8 percent (22-for-65) from the floor but went just 2-for-19 from beyond the arc. Western Illinois pulled down 39 rebounds and committed 17 turnovers.
The Golden Grizzlies shot 34.6 percent (18-for-52) for the game and were 17-for-20 from the charity stripe. Oakland grabbed 38 rebounds and committed 15 turnovers.
Western Illinois will see its next action at South Dakota State on Saturday at 5 p.m. before traveling to North Dakota State for a 7 p.m. game on Monday.
