Box Score MACOMB, Ill. - Ashley Luke recorded her first double-double of the season and Michelle Farrow tallied a career-high 17 points Saturday afternoon but Western Illinois dropped an 85-77 decision against North Dakota inside Western Hall. The Leathernecks fall to 3-3 on the season while UND, a NCAA Tournament team a season ago, improved to 5-1.

"We got off to a really bad start in each half. If you add the two runs they had to start each half, it was 18-2," said head coach JD Gravina. "When things weren't going well, we took bad shots and we didn't defend. We became a whole different team if we hit a few two three-pointers in a row. We would get after it, we would get after the boards and have some fire to it. I think the main thing is, if we want to be a really good team, you have to buckle down even harder defensively when things aren't going well offensively. We have to keep our composure offensively and move the ball and get good shots."

North Dakota stormed out of the gate, as it led 7-2 after 1:45 of game action. Western would take its first lead of the game at 13-11 on a Faith Lois three-pointer, but the lead wouldn't last long in what would become a see-saw first half. In a half in which there were six ties and eight lead changes, North Dakota took its biggest lead of the half at 27-20 on the heels of a 9-2 run. Western Illinois countered with a quick 8-2 run and forced a timeout by North Dakota.

Luke got the run started with a pair of free throws, and ended the half with 12 points. The 12 points marks Luke's 43rd consecutive game in double-figures. Farrow then took the stage and hit a pair of three-pointers, with a UND layup squeezed in-between, forcing a timeout by the visitors. Shortly after, a Michelle Maher three-pointer from beyond the arc knotted the game up at 31. 

Emily Clemens would tie things up at 38-all in the final two minutes of the first half as she knocked down a pair from the charity stripe. Both teams would get a good look at the basket in the final seconds, but the teams headed to the locker room tied up at 38. Western kept itself alive in the first half thanks to the long ball, as they knocked down 6-of-11 shots from deep, while holding UND to 1-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

North Dakota took control of the game in the opening minutes of the second half, using an 11-0 run in the first 2:07 to jump out to a 49-38 lead, forcing a Leatherneck timeout. UND looked like it was in position to run away with the game, eventually extending the lead to 19 (71-52), but Western would counter.

First, Tori Niemann knocked down a jumper in the lane to get the run started. Three straight jumpers by Farrow, two from beyond the arc, trimmed the lead to nine at 71-62 with just under five minutes left in the game. The Leathernecks would continue to battle, as they got the deficit to as small as five points on four different occasions. However, North Dakota would convert free throws down the stretch and close out the 85-77 decision.

Luke recorded her first double-double of the season in the losing effort, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Farrow, who entered the game with 13 career points, netted 17 on the afternoon. Maher also finished with 17 while Niemann dropped 10. Maher dished out five assists and Luke recorded three blocks. North Dakota held a sizable advantage in the paint, outscoring the Purple and Gold 42-24.

Western Illinois returns to action on Tuesday (Dec. 3), as the Leathernecks travel to Cape Girardeau to face Southeast Missouri State. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m.