MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball opens Summit League action on Saturday (Jan. 11), traveling to Omaha for a 2 p.m. contest
The Leathernecks (8-7) will take on conference rival Mavericks (8-6), as each team looks to start league action on a winning note.
Western Illinois will next play its conference home-opener on January 16 against the defending conference champions, South Dakota State, at 7 p.m.
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LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois women's basketball sprinted past St. Francis in the final nonconference game of the season inside Western Hall on Wednesday night (Jan. 8), winning 121-52... Western's 121 points were the second-most in program history (132 at Maryville in 1977), and the Leathernecks exceeded 100 points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history... Tori Niemann scored 31 points in just 21 minutes of game action on 13-of-15 shooting, marking the first time a Leatherneck reached the 30-point mark this season... Michelle Maher posted her first career double-double, scoring 11 points and dishing out a career-high 14 assists, which ranks tied for third in program history and is the most for any player in more than 10 years... Ashley Luke added her 11th double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and pulling down a career-high 17 rebounds... Just days after dishing out a program-record 39 assists (tied for sixth in NCAA history), Western finished with 37 assists, which ranks tied for 12th in NCAA history.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: Omaha enters the game with an 8-6 overall record... This game is the Summit League oener for both the Mavericks and Leathernecks... Ericka House leads UNO in scoring, averaging 18.0 ppg... The Mavericks have been streaky so far, losing two straight to open the year, followed by three consecutive wins, then three losses in a row; most recently, Omaha's five-game winning streak was snapped with a 68-48 loss to Milwaukee, UNO's first home loss of the year (6-1)... Milwaukee is the only common opponent so far between Western and Omaha; WIU defeated the Panthers 99-86... Taijhe Kelly leads the Summit League in blocks (50), also tops on the team in rebounding (7.3 rpg).
SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks and Mavericks are tied in the all-time series, 2-2... The teams have split each of the two season series since Omaha joined the Summit League before the 2011-12 season... Last year, Western Illinois won at home, 71-44, before falling on the road, 63-55... Ashley Luke and Michelle Maher led WIU with 12 points apiece in the win, as Western held the Mavericks to 30.8 percent shooting from the field.
THIS DATE IN HISTORY (Jan. 11): Western Illinois is 4-3 on this date all-time, including 4-2 in conference action... The Leathernecks have won three straight, most recently defeating Chicago State 60-51 in 2005... WIU has also defeated Valparaiso (2003), Chicago State again (1997) and Bradley (1992).
'NECKS IN THE NATION (as of Jan. 10): Rebecca Henricson leads NCAA Division I with a 4.32 assist-to-turnover ratio... Ashley Luke sits in a tie for fifth place in the country with 11 double-doubles... Luke is also 18th in the nation in rebounding, pulling down 11.1 boards per game... Luke ranks 50th in steals per game (2.53), 47th in points per game (19.3) and 55th in field goal percentage (52.9 percent)... Henricson (81st - 2.33) and Tori Niemann (120th - 2.13) are also in the top 125 in steals per game... Henricson (42nd - 5.5) and Michelle Maher (53rd - 5.1) both rank in the top 60 in assists per game... As a team, the Leathernecks rank in the top 100 in: assists per game (ninth - 19.5), fewest fouls committed per game (13th - 15.2), scoring (17th - 82.5 ppg), assist-to-turnover ratio (17th - 1.28), field-goal percentage (31st - 45.0%), turnover margin (34th - +4.27), steals per game (36th - 10.4), 3-pointers per game (51st - 7.3), scoring margin (53rd - +11.4) and fewest turnovers per game (93rd - 15.3).
IN HER OWN WORLD: Ashley Luke is the only player in the country averaging at least 19 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
PROTECTING THE ROCK: After finishing 15th in the nation with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio last year, Rebecca Henricson has tallied 82 assists while committing just 19 turnovers so far in 2013-14, the best ratio in the Summit League... She has committed one turnover or less in eight of the first 15 games this season, committing more than two turnovers just once... She is yet to have more turnovers than assists in a game... As a team, Western Illinois has finished with more assists than turnovers in nine of the past 14 contests... The Leathernecks have the best turnover margin in the Summit League.
ATOP THE SUMMIT: Ashley Luke leads the conference with 11 double-doubles and 11 double digit rebound games... She also leads the league with 11.1 boards and 2.5 steals per game... Rebecca Henricson is first in assist/turnover ratio (4.3) and also leads in assists per game (5.5)... The Leathernecks have four of the conference's top six in steals: Luke is first (2.5), Henricson is third (2.3), Tori Niemann is fourth (2.1) and Michelle Maher is sixth (1.9)... Luke, Maher and Niemann are all in the conference's top seven in scoring; Luke is second (19.3 ppg), Niemann is sixth (13.7 ppg), and Maher is seventh (13.2 ppg)... As a team, Western Illinois is atop in the league in scoring, averaging 82.5 points per game... The Leathernecks also lead the league in assists per game (19.5), steals per game (10.4), turnover margin (+4.0), assist/turnover ratio (1.3), scoring margin (+11.4) and fewest fouls committed per game (15.2)
70 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: In head coach JD Gravina's tenure, the Leathernecks are 25-7 when scoring at least 70 points, including 8-4 this season... When scoring 69-or-fewer points, Western is 9-35 over the same timespan.
SPREAD THE WEALTH: All nine Leathernecks who have seen game action have had a game scoring at least seven points, while eight have had at least one game scoring 16 points or more... Six different Leathernecks have led the team in scoring on a given night... Individual Leathernecks have scored in double figures 54 times already this year.
WHAT DOES MAHER DO?: When Michelle Maher scores at least 13 points this season, the Leathernecks have a 7-1 record... When she puts up 12 points or less, WIU is 1-6... Though her shooting percentages are down this year compared to her freshman campaign, she has improved her averages in assists (2.4 to 5.1), steals (1.0 to 1.9) and rebounding (3.4 to 4.0).
MILESTONE WATCH: Ashley Luke scored her 600th career point in Western's win over St. Francis... Rebecca Henricson became the seventh Leatherneck to reach 300 assists in a career by tallying six at UMKC, and became the ninth player in program history to notch 150 steals in her career with two at Missouri... She scored the 400th point of her career against Culver-Stockton... Michelle Maher is 10 points away from scoring 500 in her career, and tallied her 100th career assist in the win over SLU... Tori Niemann also reached a century mark in that contest, scoring her 100th career point against the Billikens... Paige Harmon scored her 100th career point at UMKC and Marley Hall recorded her 100th career point against SIU-Edwardsville, while Sophie Reichelt and Liz Skotowski each scored the 100th points of their careers against Culver-Stockton.
SUMMIT'S ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS: As of Jan. 6, Rebecca Henricson is the Summit League's career leader in assists with 312, 62 ahead of the next-closest (IUPUI's Dawn Luster - 250)... As just a sophomore, Ashley Luke already ranks in the top five in both rebounding (third - 365) and scoring (fifth - 587) in her career.
IN THE RPI: Western Illinois' official weekly NCAA RPI ratings are below (347 NCAA Division I programs):
• Preseason: 248
• Week 1 (Jan. 6): 229
BEATING OTHER MID-MAJORS: In the nonconference portion of its schedule, Western Illinois defeated opponents from several different conferences, including the Atlantic-10, Conference USA, Horizon, Ohio Valley and the WAC... The Leathernecks' win over Saint Louis was the conference's only victory against an A-10 opponent... By defeating UAB, WIU also picked up the league's only win versus a C-USA team; the remainder of the league went 0-4.
NONCONFERENCE SUCCESS: Western Illinois women's basketball posted eight nonconference wins for just the fourth time in program history... The achievement is also the first time Western has reached that mark since the 2005-06 season... That year, WIU went 23-7 and finished 13-3 in conference action.
RECORDS ARE FALLING: Against Culver-Stockton (Jan. 2), Western Illinois shattered a 35-year-old program record for assists (34), dishing out 39... That total also broke the Summit League record of 37 set by Youngstown State in 1998... The mark of 39 assists also ranks tied for sixth in NCAA Division I history, and is the most in more than a decade, bettering UNC's previous 2013-14 season high of 34... After recording 37 assists against St. Francis, Western Illinois holds the two highest single-game assist totals in NCAA Division I in the past 10 years... The total of 37 is tied for 12th-most in NCAA history... The Leathernecks have also broken the single game 3-pointer record twice this season... Before this year, the single game record was 15, set twice in 2012... This season, Western sank 16 against William Woods, before bettering that mark again with 17 against St. Francis.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION: A trio of Leathernecks received preseason recognition... Ashley Luke was projected as 'First Team All-Summit League' through voting of conference coaches, media members, and sports information directors, as well as by College Sports Madness... Luke was the only underclassman to be named to either the First or Second Team by the conference... Additionally, Michelle Maher was tabbed as 'Second Team All-Summit League' and Mallory Boyle was projected to be 'Summit League Freshman of the Year' by College Sports Madness... The conference preseason poll projected Western Illinois to finish sixth in the Summit League in 2013-14... The Leathernecks received 146 points in the poll, just behind Denver (169) and Fort Wayne (179)... South Dakota State received the majority of the first-place votes (27 out of 30) in the poll and led the pack with 319 points.
STRONG RETURNERS: The Leathernecks welcome back eight returners from the 2012-13 roster... Rebecca Henricson is the lone senior and serves as the team captain, also serving as the floor general as the point guard... Ashley Luke is the reigning Summit League 'Newcomer of the Year' and was the lone All-Summit League honoree a year ago... Michelle Maher is back for her sophomore campaign after averaging in double-figure scoring her freshman season... Liz Skotowski, Paige Harmon and Sophie Reichelt all enter their sophomore seasons after shooting 38 percent or better from beyond the arc off the bench their first season... A pair of transfers will see their first action in Purple & Gold after sitting out games last season to meet transfer requirements: Marley Hall, a junior forward, and Tori Niemann, a junior guard.
FRESH FACES: In addition to the eight returners, the Leathernecks also welcome four newcomers in 2013-14... Mallory Boyle was an ESPN 3-star recruit and is expected to make an impact as a true-freshman... Michelle Farrow also enters from the high school ranks after picking up All-Area accolades during her prep career... Western also brings in two more transfers from four-year programs who will have to redshirt the upcoming season to meet transfer requirements: junior Faith Lois, a 5-11 guard who spent her first two seasons at Nevada-Reno, and Ciara Marlow, a 5-7 sophomore guard who averaged double-figure scoring in her rookie season at Division III Aurora University.
HISTORY BEFORE THE TIP: For the first time in program history, the women's basketball team will be playing 15 home games inside Western Hall in 2013-14... Last year was the first time the team had ever played 14 contests in Macomb in one season... Of the eight nonconference games at home, five are Division I programs: Florida Atlantic (Nov. 20), Loyola-Chicago (coached by WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes - Nov. 23), Saint Louis (Nov. 30), Southeast Missouri State (Dec. 7) and SIU-Edwardsville (Dec. 19)... Playing at home should bode well for the Leathernecks; last year, Western finished 10-4 inside Western Hall compared to 4-12 on the road and at neutral sites.
WESTERN SIGNS ONE FOR 2014-15: On the first day of the 2013-14 early signing period (Nov. 13), Emily Clemens signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Western Illinois women's basketball family for the 2014-15 season... Clemens, a 5-4 point guard from Muscatine H.S. (Iowa), is a two-time All-State honoree... She averaged 12.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 steals her junior year after totaling 12.5 points, 7.0 assists, 3.7 steals and 2.9 rebounds per contest her sophomore season... She has also shot better than 41 percent from beyond the arc each of her past two seasons.
THREE STRAIGHT: Ashley Luke was named the 2012-13 Summit League 'Newcomer of the Year', marking the third straight season a Leatherneck received the honor... Saule Kontautaite was the 2011-12 recipient, while Sadie Webb earned the recognition in 2010-11... Luke earned the honor by averaging 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in her redshirt-freshman season... She was also named 'Second Team All-Summit League' and to the 'Summit League All-Newcomer Team'.
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