MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois women's basketball team improved to 2-0 in Summit League play Sunday (Jan. 4) afternoon, as the Leathernecks defeated Omaha by a 71-56 final. The victory marks the first 2-0 conference start since the 2007-08 season. Western Illinois improves to 10-5 (2-0) while the Mavericks dropped to 5-9 (0-2) on the season. 

Junior Ashley Luke recorded her second-straight double-double, and seventh this season, as she finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds, while adding five assists. The Oak Creek, Wisconsin, native recorded her 52nd consecutive game in double figures, while her 17 boards matched a career-high. Redshirt freshman Michelle Farrow matched a career-high as she scored 17 points. Farrow was 6-of-7 from the field including a 5-of-6 effort from deep, matching a career-best five made triples.

"I am really proud of our team. I think the big difference between this year's team and last year's, is last year when things weren't going perfectly on offense we kind of struggled," said head coach JD Gravina. "I think last year this game would have been a really close, grind it out game and we may have lost. So to have a 15-point win when we kind of struggled to get things going offensively, I think says a lot about our improvements -- our improved depth, our improved defense. A lot of our kids will step up when things aren't going well. Ashley didn't have one of her best finishing days but she had 17 rebounds and that's a ton of rebounds. I thought Michelle Maher, again not her best shooting day, she steps up, makes free throws and probably has her best defensive game in a long time and still had four assists on one turnover. I like that some of our kids can step up and find a way to contribute when things aren't going perfectly."

The opening eight minutes featured a back-and-forth affair, with neither team being able to build a large lead. Luke would change the course of the first half, as her jumper in the paint would spark an 8-0 Leatherneck run to extend their lead to nine points. The run was aided by jumpers by Tori Niemann, Sophie Reichelt, and Farrow.

Western Illinois would extend the lead to as many as 16 points in the first half after the Purple and Gold used a 10-2 run over 2:44, forcing a Maverick timeout.  At the buzzer, the Leathernecks led by a 35-22 margin. At the break, Farrow had already notched 11 points while Luke had collected 10 rebounds. The Leathernecks stifled the Omaha attack, as the Mavs made just eight field goals while shooting at a 23.5 percent clip (8-of-34).

In the second half, Western struggled shooting the ball, but was able to maintain its 12 point advantage thanks to a strong effort from the free throw line. In a 7:28 stretch where the Leathernecks were unable to make a field goal, the team went 10-of-13 from the charity stripe. Niemann was a key player during the FT stretch, as she hit five of her six attempts. Niemann would end the game with 14 points, and has scored in double figures in 11-of-15 games this season.

Four straight free throws by Maher would seal the victory. Maher, the league leader in assists and assist to turnover ratio, had another stellar game running the offense as she ended with four assists and one turnover. The Leathernecks as a team committed two turnovers in the second half, and only turned the ball over six times in the game. The six turnovers is tied for the second-fewest turnovers in program history, falling one turnover shy of the program record (five set at IUPUI, 1/26/02).

After playing four games in the span of a week, the Purple and Gold will have nearly a week off as their next contest comes Saturday (Jan. 10), playing host to South Dakota on January 10. Tip-off between the Leathernecks and Coyotes is set for 4:30 p.m. inside Western Hall.