MACOMB, Ill. - The Summit League schedule will cycle around as teams play for the second time and have sights fixed on the postseason. Western Illinois women's basketball (7-12, 4-5) will attempt to take a massive step in the right direction on Saturday night as IUPUI (8-13, 3-6) comes to town.

The Leathernecks and Jaguars played a close game in Indianapolis on New Year's Eve, a game that the Leathernecks took 65-60. Western trailed 38-24 at half but stormed back and took the lead at the six-minute mark in the second half and eventually secured the road win.

The Match Up
Who: IUPUI (8-13, 3-6) at Western Illinois (7-12, 4-5)
When: Saturday, January 28 at 4:30 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Arena: Waste Management Court at Western Hall (5,139)
Coverage
Radio • WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)
Play-by-Play: Michael Broskowski Color Analyst: Ryne Thorson
TV • wiutv3
Play-by-Play: Drew Hoffman Color Analyst: David Mitchell
Streaming • Rocky Vision (Subscription)
Live Stats • GoLeathernecks.com (Free)

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS: Head Coach Austin Parkinson (Purdue, 2004) is in his second season (12-37) at the helm. IUPUI is 8-13 overall including a 3-6 mark in Summit League action. League victories over North Dakota State, Southern Utah and a most impressive 72-48 win over Oral Roberts have the Jaguars fighting for a postseason berth. In that win over ORU, IUPUI never trailed while shooting 42 percent from the floor. The Jags held two-time Summit League Player of the Year Kevi Luper to just six points. IUPUI is coming off a loss at South Dakota on Monday night. The Jags' offensive attack was supplemented by 16 points off 16 Coyote turnovers. It was not enough as USD's standout Amber Hegge went off for 30 points and 12 rebounds. The all-time series belongs to the Leathernecks 24-7, including the last six meetings.

JAGUARS TO WATCH: IUPUI is led in scoring by Kerah Nelson with 15.8 per game while also pulling down 5.5 rebounds per game. Katie Comello is averaging 10.5 points per game while tied for the team lead with 70 assists (3.3 per game). Nevena Markovic is at 9.4 points per game and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game with just six starts to her name. Markovic led IUPUI with 12 points in its previous meeting with Western. Sophomore guard Dawn Luster is averaging just 5.9 points per game but turned in a career-high 24-point performance at South Dakota (1/23/12).

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 (14.4/6th in Summit League). Six consecutive double-figure scoring performances to start the season were 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 66 percent (31/47) 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 7.7 boards (3rd in Summit League) per game including 50 offensive rebounds this season of her 139 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. Valencia Kelly recorded her first career double-double at UMKC with 15 points and 12 rebounds including two late free throws to give Western the victory.

$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 now leads with 33 made three-pointers after hitting three at UMKC. 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.

SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON: Saturday will be the second meeting between sisters Karis and IUPUI guard Emily Phillips. Karis and the Leathernecks took round one but Emily finished with two points and two assists in her 19 minutes while Karis played just three minutes but were never on the court together. Both played at South Bend Washington with Notre Dame All-American Skylar Diggins.

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 129 triples this season, which is already tied for fourth all-time in program history. The most in a season is 155 in 2007-08. The most attempted was 457 in 2008-09, the Leathernecks have 416 attempts this season. The best percentage was 40 percent in 1990-91, Western is shooting 31 percent from behind the arc.

COMPLETE GAME: In the win over UMKC in Kansas City, Mo. the Leathernecks played its most complete game this season. The Purple & Gold led for all but just six minutes. Despite trailing at the midway point, Western quickly tied it at 35-35 after a three-point play from Sadie Webb. UMKC hung around but a Michele Salvatori layup at 15:26 gave Western the lead for good.

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). Western is shooting 73 percent from behind the line, which would be tied for fifth all-time. The best free throw clip was 76 percent in 2007-08. The win over UMKC was ranked by Omni Rankings the best upset by a Summit League team this season and ranks seventh nationally.

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 would become the Southland Conference's newest member beginning in July of 2012.

UP NEXT: The Purple & Gold will attempt to avenge a Dec. 20 loss against Nebraska Omaha as the Leathernecks will travel to Omaha for 7 p.m. UNO is transitioning into the Summit League and will begin a full slate of league competition in July of 2012.

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