OMAHA, Neb. – The Western Illinois women's basketball team received double doubles from Sadie Webb and Valencia Kelly and held Nebraska Omaha to 29 percent shooting in a comfortable 70-59 road victory Monday night (Jan. 30) inside Sapp Fieldhouse.

Western Illinois (8-13) shot 39 percent (25-of-64) from the field and out-rebounded UNO (12-10) 50-44.  The Fighting Leatherneck defense held UNO starting guard Jamie Nash (12.7 ppg) to just eight points on 2-of-17 shooting from the field and forced her to commit six turnovers.

Webb poured in a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds. Meanwhile Kelly posted her second double-double in three games with 15 points and 11 boards. Saule Kontautaite hit five of 12 three pointers to tally 15 points.

Both teams shot well early but the Leathernecks sprinted to an 8-6 lead with 17:22 on the clock powered by two quick triples. Western would hold onto that lead for the first 7:50 until two free throws from UNO gave the Mavericks an 11-10 lead.

Kontautaite was sharp early and a triple at the 10:55 mark gave Western a 17-13 advantage. Karis Phillips knocked down a long two-point jumper to give Western a 24-20 lead just before the under-eight media timeout.

Consecutive easy baskets from Michele Salvatori and Jackie Rieger gave Western a 30-24 lead at the 3:32 mark. Kelly gave Western its biggest lead up to that point with a mid-range jumper at 34-27 with 1:25 on the clock.

At the midway point, Western used a 49 percent shooting clip to power its way to a 38-27 lead. Webb led all scorers with 12 while Kelly poured in 10 points. UNO turned the ball over on 10 occasions in the first half, which led to 14 Leatherneck points.

Two triples from Kontautaite extended the Leathernecks' lead to 45-30 within the first two minutes of the second half. Webb knocked down her second deep ball to give Western a 54-37 lead at the 14-minute mark.

UNO went on a 12-0 run to cut into the deficit and trailed 60-52 at the 8:01 mark. Kontautaite's fifth three-pointer of the night snapped the run and gave Western a 63-52 lead with 6:20 left.

Heather Pohl was the key member of the Maverick comeback as she knocked down a triple to bring UNO within eight, 65-57, with 4:54 on the clock. Kelly quieted the home crowd at the three-minute mark with a huge three-point basket to give Western a 68-59 lead. Webb then knocked down two free throws with 57 seconds left to cap the scoring.

The Leathernecks will return to Western Hall on Saturday (Feb. 4) night as Oakland rolls into town for a 4:30 p.m. tip. The Golden Grizzlies and Leathernecks met on January 9 and Western dropped a 75-71 road decision inside The O'rena.

Oakland lost 61-51 to South Dakota State at home Monday night. The Grizzlies, who received 25 points from Bethany Watterworth against SDSU, are 10-10 overall and 6-5 in conference play.

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