FORT WAYNE, IND. - Trailing by 14 points in the second half, Western Illinois used a key 28-5 run to storm back against Fort Wayne en route to a 98-85 women's basketball victory Friday (Jan. 2) evening. Five Leathernecks scored in double-figures as the team moves to 1-0 in league play, 9-5 overall. The Mastodons fell to 6-8 (0-1) with the loss.

In the opening minutes of the second half it looked like Fort Wayne would run the Leathernecks out of the building, as the Mastodons opened the half on a 7-0 run to give extend the Fort Wayne lead to 54-40. The run forced head coach JD Gravina to replace all five starters with his top five bench players, and the bench squad did their part. With 16:34 left in the half, Michelle Farrow knocked down a three to end the Fort Wayne run. Farrow, who scored four points in the opening half, proved to be a key contributor in the second half as she was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes. 

"What a terrific win, especially after being down 14," said Gravina. "I'll be honest, that group of five that came in during the second half won us the game. In the NFL, the quarterback often buys the offensive line a dinner, and our starters owe those kids a dinner tonight. That's a thankless job (coming in off the bench), and we've talked about our team depth and our rotation has gotten a little bit shorter with the start of conference. Those kids came in and did a heck of a job, not only bring us back and cutting into the lead, but they got our intensity going and our starters responded to that."

After getting some momentum its way, the Western Illinois starters would start to roll and cut into the Mastodon lead, getting the deficit down to five after a pair of Ashley Luke free throws. Rachel Rinehart, who scored a career high 31 points in the losing effort, hit a layup to push the Fort Wayne lead back up to seven with 11:34 left to play. From there, it was all Leathernecks, as the team would go on a 28-5 run over the next 7:32 to take the lead.

Farrow got the game-changing run started with another three, and Luke followed with an old-fashioned three-point play to give Western its first lead since 9-8 in the first half. Three-pointers from Tori Niemann, Michelle Maher, and Farrow all aided to the Leatherneck run while freshman Emily Clemens added four points during the spurt. A Niemann layup capped the run and Western was suddenly ahead by 10 points, 73-83, with just over four minutes left in the game.

Down the stretch, Fort Wayne would force the Leathernecks to the free throw line, and Western Illinois responded almost flawlessly. The final 15 points for Western Illinois all came from the charity stripe, and the team was 15-of-16 from the free throw line during the final four minutes. Clemens was a perfect 6-for-6, Luke hit all four of her attempts, Niemann added a pair, and Maher was 3-of-4. Western was 23-of-26 from the free throw line in the second half, and was 35-of-40 for the game (87.5%).

In the second half, the Leathernecks were hot, shooting 53.8% from the field (14-26) and 63.6% (7-11) from three. Entering the game, Western Illinois was sixth in the country in three-point field goals made per game, averaging nine made triples per game. When the final buzzer went off, the Leathernecks hit 11 shots from beyond the arc, going 11-18 from deep for the game.

The impressive second half came after a first half where the Leathernecks led early before Fort Wayne took control of the half. Western struggled to stop the duet of Haley Seibert and Rinehart in the half, as the two combined for 27 of the team's 47 first-half points. Seibert added 17 points in the second half to aid her career day, while Seibert was held somewhat in check with nine second half points. 

Luke, who battled early foul trouble, recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds. The 20-point effort marks the 51st consecutive game in which Luke has scored in double figures. Luke was joined by four other Leathernecks in double figures, as Farrow (16), Niemann (14), Clemens (13), and Maher (13) each had stellar games. The duo of Clemens and Maher took care of the ball, as the two combined for seven assists and two turnovers.

Mallory Boyle was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line after entering the game 1-of-8 from the charity stripe to start the season.

Western Illinois picked up its second ever win on the road against the Mastodons, having won its first time ever in Fort Wayne back on Feb. 23, 2008.

The Leathernecks return home for their home conference opener this Sunday, Jan. 4, as they play host to Omaha. The Mavericks fell to South Dakota State, 64-48, in its conference opener Friday night. Tip off has been moved up an hour and will begin at 3:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the WIU men's game against Omaha.