MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball (6-11, 3-4) will look to solidify its postseason picture this weekend with a Summit League road trip beginning in Vermillion, S.D. for the first ever meeting between Western and South Dakota (10-6, 2-5). The Coyotes are in its inaugural season in The Summit League after leaving The Great West Conference.

The Purple & Gold had a 40-39 halftime lead on Monday night but Oral Roberts (11-7, 5-2) was able to slow the Leatherneck offensive attack in the second half enough to corral the 78-66 victory inside Western Hall on Monday night.

Western collected six first half three-pointers and shot 48.6 percent from the field as the offense was firing on all cylinders. Three Leathernecks finished in double-digits led by Sadie Webb with 21, her eighth career 20-point game.

Joining Webb in double-digits were Saule Kontautaite with 13 points and Michele Salvatori with 12. Valencia Kelly finished with eight points and set a new career high-mark with seven assists. Western used 23 assists to collect 27 field goals on the night.

The Match Up
Who: Western Illinois (6-11, 3-4) at South Dakota (10-6, 2-5)
When: Saturday, January 21 at 5 p.m.
Location: Vermillion, S.D.
Arena: DakotaDome (10,000)
Coverage
Radio • WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)
Play-by-Play: Michael Broskowski Color Analyst: Ryne Thorson
Streaming • CoyoteVisionTV (Subscription)
Live Stats • USDCoyoyes.com (Free)

SCOUTING THE COYOTES: Head Coach Ryun Williams (South Dakota, 1992) is in his fourth season (63-45) leading South Dakota women's basketball team. Last season, the Coyotes went 20-12 with a 10-2 mark in The Great West Conference and earned a spot in the Women's Basketball Invitational Postseason Tournament. This season, its first in the Summit League, USD 10-6 with two Summit League victories. The 2011-12 campaign began with four straight victories including an overtime victory over Creighton. League wins came over Oakland and Southern Utah. Most recently, USD lost both this past weekend at North Dakota State and South Dakota State. This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.

COYOTES TO WATCH: Senior forward Amber Hegge is pouring in 18.1 points (4th in league) and pulling down 8.4 rebounds (2nd in league) per game. Hegge was named Second Team All-Summit League in the preseason. Senior guard Anne Roche is contributing 8.7 points per game while junior guard Tempesst Wilson is chipping in 8.6 points per game. Junior guard Alexis Yackley is dishing out 5.1 assists per game (2nd in league) while senior center Jodie Boss is averaging four blocks a game (1st in league).

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.

STEP ONE: The JD Gravina era officially began with a win as Western Illinois defeated Hannibal-LaGrange 87-65 on 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.

WEBB LEADING THE WAY: No surprise that halfway through the season senior Sadie Webb leads the team in scoring (14.6/6th in Summit League). Six consecutive double-figure scoring performances to start the season was highlighted with a career-high 31 points against Northern Illinois. 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. Webb returned to form against Nebraska Omaha with a 22-point performance while also pulling down nine rebounds. In the win over Southern Utah, Webb led four Leathernecks in double-digits with 20 points and went 11-for-14 from the line. Against ORU, Webb had 18 first-half points and finished with 21. The senior has reached double-digits in 68 percent (30/45) 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. She leads the team with 7.6 boards (3rd in Summit League) per game including 46 offensive rebounds this season of her 130 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. Salvatori also was the key in the 14-point second half comeback at IUPUI on New Year's Eve as she turned in her third double-double with 17 points and 11 boards. Salvatori scored seven points in the final minute including a three-pointer to give the Leathernecks the lead with 44 seconds remaining.

$AULE: The Leathernecks received a boost from sharp shooter Saule Kontautaite on 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 Dec 2. 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. Kountautaite is second on the the team with 28 made three-pointers behind Sadie Webb (29). Kontautaite was another key member of the comeback at IUPUI as she knocked down three key triples inside The Jungle. She set a career-high mark in scoring vs. Southern Utah with 19 points and matched her high-mark with five rebounds.

EFFICIENCY: Western was extremely effective and efficient against William Woods (Dec. 27) with its offensive execution. The Purple & Gold used 24 assists on 31 field goals to power its way to the 73-52 victory. It was the most assists since the Leathernecks recorded 25 at Centenary on Jan. 21, 2008. Western was again executing effectively against ORU, with 23 assists on 27 field goals.

LIVE & DIE: The Purple & Gold need to be able to knock down the shots from behind the arc in order to be successful as Summit League play continues. In the emotional victory at IUPUI, Western was 9-for-19 from three including a 6-for-8 performance in the second half. Michele Salvatori and Saule Kontautaite both collected three triples while Valencia Kelly, Rebecca Henricson and Sadie Webb all knocked down one apiece. Western has made 114 triples this season, which is already ninth all-time in program history. The most in a season is 155 in 2007-08.

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.

BITS & PIECES: Western Illinois collected a 20-2 advantage in second chance points against UNO on Dec. 20. That game featured 14 lead changes and six ties. It was the first time the Leathernecks dropped a game after leading at halftime and were tied with just five minutes remaining. The Mavericks used 25 bench points and 26 points in the paint to power its 40-point second half to overcome a halftime disadvantage. The Leathernecks made only four trips to the free-throw line against William Woods (Dec. 27), making half of those. At IUPUI, the Leathernecks used 12 second-half Jaguar turnovers to collect 20 points to steal the New Year's Eve victory. At IPFW, the Mastodons lead by as many as 21 and the closest the Leathernecks would get in the second half would be five at 36-31 with 16:44 left in the game. Most recently, Western could not seem to get closer than four points at Oakland. The Leathernecks cut the OU advantage to just four on four different occasions including the final, 75-71. In the home victory over SUU, Western hit 34-of-44 free throws while Valencia Kelly knocked down 12 (tied for eighth most all-time). The 18 points by Sadie Webb against ORU was the most she had scored in a half in her career.

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.

UP NEXT: The Purple & Gold will complete its final Summit League road trip of the month with a trip to Kansas City, Mo. on Monday for a battle with UMKC at 7 p.m.

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