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Western Illinois University Athletics

WBB_IPFW_FP
WIU Visual Productions Center
55
Fort Wayne IPFW 8-14 (2-7)
59
Winner Western Illinois WIU 14-8 (6-3)
Fort Wayne IPFW
8-14 (2-7)
55
Final
59
Western Illinois WIU
14-8 (6-3)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Fort Wayne IPFW 30 25 55
Western Illinois WIU 27 32 59

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Late Free Throws Push Leathernecks Past Fort Wayne, 59-55

Western Illinois collects first regular season sweep of Mastodons in program history

MACOMB, Ill - Junior Ashley Luke hit a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining to help lead the Leathernecks past Fort Wayne, 59-55, Saturday (Jan. 31) afternoon. The Leathernecks, who improved to 14-8 overall (6-3 Summit League) with the victory, collected their first regular season sweep of the Mastodons (8-14, 2-7) in program history.

Luke (26 points, 10 rebounds) and junior Sophie Reichelt (12 points, 11 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles for Western, and in the process closed out a four-game home stand with three consecutive victories.

"We have a lot of different ways we can win the game and tonight I thought we did it by getting to the free throw line and knocking them down, which was huge," said head coach JD Gravina. "Defensively, in the second half I thought we played a really good half. They hit some tough shots to get to 25 points. I was proud of the way that even though we weren't shooting the ball well we ground it out defensively a little bit, and for the most part we had a good effort on the boards out-rebounding them by 12. So we did what we needed to do to find a way to win but there's a lot of things we have to get better at. I think that can help us. We've played better after losses and a lot of times losses kind of reset us. I think we can kind of get that from this game. My dad always said it's a lot better to learn from a win than learn from a loss. I'm glad we're able to do that."

With 28 seconds remaining in the game, and the score tied at 55-all, Luke was fouled as she went to the hoop. The Oak Creek, Wisconsin, native clamly knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Purple and Gold a two point lead. After the Mastodons called timeout with eight seconds remaining, Fort Wayne's Kamilah Carter drove into the lane to attempt the game-tying jumper. Luke stood in the way, blocked the shot, picked up her 10th rebound of the game, and was fouled by Fort Wayne with two seconds left. Luke hit the pair from the charity stripe to secure the Leathernecks' four-point victory.

Luke would finish the game a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line. The effort marks the second-best free throw showing in program history, with Luke's 17-of-17 performance against Southeast Missouri last season (12/7/13) being the only performance better. Western would finish the game 22-of-26 from the free throw line with 14 of its final 16 points coming from the charity stripe.

In a defensive battle which featured six ties and 10 lead changes, Fort Wayne looked to be in a position to steal a win on the road with a 9-0 run midway through the second half to take a seven-point advantage. Western responded with an 11-2 run over 4:22 to regain the lead by two points. Michelle Maher got the run started with a three-pointer, and then Luke followed with a layup and four consecutive free throws. Reichelt ended the run with a pair from the line as well.

The Mastodons held the lead going into halftime, as they ended the first 20 minutes of play on an 11-2 run to claim a 30-27 lead. The comeback effort from Western marks the second time this year that the Leathernecks have won after trailing at the intermission. Both comeback victories came against Fort Wayne, with the Purple and Gold erasing a 14-point second half deficit back on January 2 on the road.

Luke's 26 points extended her streak of consecutive games in double-figures to 59 straight. She recorded her third consecutive double-double and 12th in the last 14 games (13 double-doubles overall this season). Reichelt collected her third double-double of the season and in her career.

After playing four consecutive games at home, the Leathernecks kick-off a stretch of three straight away from Western Hall. Western Illinois heads north to take on North Dakota State this Thursday, February 6, at 7 p.m.
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