MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball wraps up its Summit League road swing with a matchup against IUPUI in Indianapolis on Saturday (Jan. 5) beginning at 2 p.m. (3 p.m. EST). Each team brings a conference mark of 1-1 into the game, while the Leathernecks are 7-6 overall and the Jaguars are 7-7 on the season.

The Leathernecks fell at Fort Wayne 80-49 in their last competition on (Dec. 30). Ashley Luke led the team in points with 12 and was joined in double figures by Saule Kontautaite who posted 10 points. Pulling down a team high four rebounds were Luke and Michele Salvatori.

THE BREAKDOWN

THE MATCHUP
Who: Western Illinois (7-6 Overall, 1-1 Summit) at IUPUI (7-7 Overall, 1-1 Summit)
Where: Indianapolis, Ind. • The Jungle (1,215)
When: Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. (3 p.m. EST)
Series History: Western leads 24-8

LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois women's basketball dropped its last contest at Fort Wayne 80-49... The loss evened the squad's conference record 1-1 and brought its overall record to 7-6... Ashley Luke led the Leatherneck offense with 12 points and was joined in double figures by Michele Salvatori who netted 10 points... Luke and Salvatori paced the squad in rebounds with four apiece... Western shot 27.9 percent from field goal range, 33.3 percent from three-point range and 73.1 percent from the free throw line compared to Fort Wayne's 49.2 percent from the field, 52.4 percent from long range and 91.7 percent from the line.

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS: IUPUI defeated Fort Wayne in its Summit League opener 79-74 on Friday (Dec. 28) and dropped its next conference game on Saturday (Dec. 30) at Oakland 68-59... The team brings a 7-7 overall record into the Saturday (Jan. 5) afternoon game... DeAirra Goss leads the squad in scoring with 196 points (14.0 ppg) and is followed by Katie Comello with 145 points (10.4 ppg) and Kerah Nelson with 137 points (13.7 ppg)... Akilah Sims leads the team in rebounds with 64, 37 of which came on the offensive side of the court... Comello paces the squad in assists with 34 and steals with 28... The Jaguar roster consists of four freshmen, five sophomores, five juniors and two seniors... IUPUI is coached by third-year head coach Austin Parkinson.

UP NEXT: Western Illinois women's basketball returns to Western Hall in Macomb for a nonconference tilt against Chicago State on Tuesday (Jan. 8)... The Leathernecks return to Summit League action on Saturday (Jan. 12) afternoon when they play host to Omaha.

LEAGUE ROUNDUP: The Leathernecks occupy the fourth spot in the conference standings with a 1-1 Summit League mark and a 7-6 overall record... South Dakota State and South Dakota occupy the number one and two spots with 2-0 records, respectively... Omaha is third with a 2-1 record in conference play... Western ranks first in threes made (103) and assists (15.3 apg) and second in points (65.8 ppg) and blocks (3.9 bpg).

NATIONALLY SPEAKING: As of Jan. 3, Western Illinois women's basketball ranks 15th in threes per game (7.9), 40th in personal fouls per game (14.1), 53rd in assists per game (15.3), 71st in three-point field goal percentage (33.1), 90th in assist to turnover ratio (0.84) and 90th in field goal percentage (41.0)... Saule Kontautaite is 71st in three-pointers made per game (2.31), Michelle Maher is 82nd in threes made per game (2.23) and Rebecca Henricson is 93rd in assist to turnover ratio (1.57).

SUMMIT LEAGUE STAT LINE: Saule Kontautaite is second in field goals per game (5.7) and three-pointers per game (2.3), third in points per game (15.4) and sixth in field goal percentage (45.1)... Rebecca Henricson is fifth in assists to turnover ratio (1.6), sixth in assists (47) and ninth in steals (24)... Charnelle Reed is second in three-point percentage (46.2) and 10th in field goal percentage (43.9)... Karis Phillips is third in assist to turnover ratio (2.4)... Michelle Maher is fourth in three-pointers made per game (2.2)... Rachel Evans is sixth in blocks (11)... Ashley Luke is ninth in blocks with 10.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Western is a perfect 5-0 when playing games on Waste Management Court in Western Hall... The home stand includes a 85-35 win over Clarke, a 69-55 victory over Valparaiso, a 70-53 win against William Woods, a 70-68 win over Eastern Illinois and a 92-81 victory over Bradley... These are five of the six top scoring efforts recorded by the Leathernecks this season... The last two wins at home, against Eastern Illinois and Bradley, were come from behind victories.

THREE-POINT PULSE: After netting two from beyond the arc against Fort Wayne, Saule Kontautaite is now tied for sixth in the Western Illinois record book in three-pointers made in a career with 97... She is five '3s' away from the No. 5 mark of 102 held by Doshia Woods (2000-01)... Michele Salvatori remains ninth in the rankings with a total of 83 threes made.

DOUBLING UP: Freshman Ashley Luke became is the first Leatherneck women's basketball player to record a double-double this season against Bradley (Dec. 21) with 10 points and 12 rebounds... The last time Western had players record double-doubles was on Jan. 30, 2012 against Omaha when now graduates Valencia Kelly recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds and Sadie Webb posted 24 points and 10 rebounds.

LEATHERNECK LEADERBOARD: Saule Kontautaite leads the squad in points with 200 (15.4 ppg), field goals made with 74, minutes with 404 (31.4 min/g) and three-pointers made with 30... Rebecca Henricson paces the team in steals with 24 and assists with 47... Rachel Evans has a team-high 11 blocks, Ashley Luke has pulled down a team-most 77 rebounds and Jackie Rieger has a team-high 28 free throws made.

THREE-POINT RECORD MATCHED: Earlier this season, and the second time in JD Gravina's tenure, Western Illinois set a program record hitting 15 three-point field goals... Western drained 15 in the home-opening win verses Clarke, matching the total set last year against Oakland.

MORE FROM LONG DISTANCE: A balanced attack from long range is the main reason why Western is the nation's 15th team shooting the three-pointer this season (through stats on Jan. 3)... Saule Kontautaite leads the squad averaging 2.31 threes per game, followed closely by Michelle Maher who averages 2.23 per game... Nine of the 13 Leathernecks that have attempted a three this year have hit at least one... After setting the season record last year for most threes, Western's current three-point total of 103 is now just two shy of tying for 10th place on the 'Top 10' list.

LEATHERNECKS IN THE OLYMPICS: Two women's basketball alums have appeared in the two most recent Olympic Games for their home country... Zane Teilane (2003-06) played in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing for Latvia... Tugba Palazoglu (2002-03) represented Turkey in the 2012 Games held in London.

SUMMIT LEAGUE ADDS NEW MEMBER FOR 2013-14: The Summit League announced the decision to add the University of Denver to the league starting in 2013-14... That brings the total membership to 10... Western Illinois is the only charter member of the Summit League (Mid-Continent Conference) remaining.

KONTAUTAITE PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE, WESTERN PICKED SEVENTH: Western Illinois senior guard Saule Kontautaite earned a spot on the preseason All-Summit League selections, while the Leathernecks were picked to finish seventh in the poll, announced by the league office. Head coaches, sports information directors and select media members voted in the poll... Last year, Kontautaite was voted as the league's 'Newcomer of the Year', and this year earned a spot on the preseason Second Team. She averaged 9.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, while setting a program record hitting 67 three-point field goals. The senior guard started in 12 of her 31 games played... South Dakota State received 22 of the 25 first-place votes and was picked to repeat receiving 330 points. Kansas City, the tournament runner-up last year, received a first-place vote and tallied 260 points. Oakland (234) and North Dakota State (221) went third and fourth, respectively. IUPUI earned a first-place vote with 213 total points for fifth... South Dakota registered 151 points, just ahead of Western's 138 points. Fort Wayne got the other first-place vote and recorded 96 points, while Omaha's 43 points rounded out the preseason poll.

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