MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois women's basketball team hits the road for the first time Thursday, November 19, as the Leathernecks travel to Iowa. Western Illinois has opened the season 2-0 for the first time in 10 years as WIU looks to move to 3-0. The Hawkeyes (2-0), who advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 a season ago, are currently receiving votes in the AP Top-25 and are ranked 23rd in the Coaches Poll (Nov. 17). Tip-off between the Leathernecks and Hawkeyes is set for 7 p.m. inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

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Radio: 94.3 WRMS FM (online at wrmsfm.com)
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SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES: The Iowa Hawkeyes enter Thursday's contest at a perfect 2-0, picking up victories over North Dakota and Tennessee-Martin in their annual Hawkeye Challenge. Ally Disterhoft was named Tournament MVP while Kaili Peschel and Megan Gustafson each garnered All-Tournament honors. The victory over UT-Martin was the 20th consecutive home victory for the Hawkeyes, which includes a perfect 16-0 mark a season ago. Three Hawkeyes average 10 or more points on the year, led by Disteroft (15.5), Peschel (12) and Gustafson (11). Peschel is nearly averaging a double-double on the year, having brought in 19 boards over two contests. Lisa Bluder is in her 16th season at the helm of the Hawkeyes, and is the winningest coach in program history. Iowa has advanced to the postseason 14 times (12 NCAA and two WNIT) including a Sweet 16 appearance last year. 

SERIES HISTORY: Thursday will mark the 11th meeting all-time between the Hawkeyes and Leathernecks, with Iowa holding a 7-3 advantage. The two teams last met in 2011, Gravina's first season with WIU, with Iowa taking a 98-45 decision in Iowa City. Western last defeated the Hawkeyes in the 1980-81 season, a 83-81 victory in Western Hall.

LAST TIME OUT: The Western Illinois women's basketball team held off a late surge from SIU-Edwardsville Sunday afternoon (Nov. 15), defeating the Cougars by a 78-74 final. Michelle Maher became the program's 15th 1,000-point scorer during the contest, as Western Illinois moved to 2-0 on the season. Western was forced to grind out a fourth quarter with the Cougars after letting a 16-point halftime lead slip away Sunday inside Western Hall. With 4:11 remaining in the final quarter of play, Western and SIU-E were tied at 67-all following a Donshel Beck layup. On WIU's next trip down the court the team would take the lead for good following a personal foul followed by a technical foul on CoCo Moore of the Cougars, fouling her out of the game. Maher would hit both free throws, and Michelle Farrow would get a jumper in the paint to fall on the ensuing possession, to spring Western's lead up to four in a matter of seconds.

1,000-POINT CLUB: In Western Illinois' 78-74 victory over SIU-Edwardsville, senior Michelle Maher became the 15th 1,000-point scorer in program history when she connected on a 3-pointer with 5:08 remaining in the first quarter. Maher currently sits in 14th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,014 career points.

NEWCOMERS SHINE IN DEBUT: In Western Illinois' season opener against Central Methodist, three Leathernecks made their Purple and Gold debut. Freshman Taylor Higginbotham came off the bench to shine, as she led all scorers with 25 points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc and 9-of-12 shooting from the field. After sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules, sophomore Taylor McClintock stepped onto the court for the first time against Central Methodist, finishing with 10 points in 20 minutes of action. Junior Jasmine Patrick transferred to Western following two seasons at Grossmont College, and she made an impact with 10 points and matching the game-high in rebounds with nine.

MAHER EARNS PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Senior guard Michelle Maher earned preseason accolades leading up to the start of the season, as she was named Preseason Second Team All-Summit League. Maher enters her final season in the Purple and Gold as Western's all-time leader in three-point field goals. As a junior, Maher led the team in assists (122) and minutes per game (30.5). A three-year starter for Western, Maher ranks eighth in program history in career assists with 313.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: As a team, the Leathernecks led The Summit League in three different categories a season ago, ranking first in steals per game (8.4), fewest turnovers per game (14.0) and fewest fouls per game (15.1). Individually, Maher ranked second in the league in assist/turnover ratio with a mark of 1.7.

IMPROVEMENT UNDER GRAVINA: In his first four years at the helm of the women's basketball program, head coach JD Gravina has been on of the most successful coaches in program history, as his 57 career wins in four seasons at Western are tied for the most of any coach over their first three seasons in charge. As Gravina enters his fifth season, he sits in fourth place for career wins, four victories shy of moving into third place. Gravina's 2014-15 squad ended the season with a 10-4 mark inside Western Hall, which ranked as tied for the second-most home victories since the 2004-05 team posted a perfect 12-0 mark at home.

LEATHERNECKS INK TWO: Head coach JD Gravina announced the signing of guards Sam Pryor and Andi Pierce on Thursday, November 12. Pryor and Pierce, who will both wrap up their prep careers this spring, will join the Leatherneck family in the fall of 2016. Pryor, a 6'0" guard, is a native of Elgin, Illinois. A member of Burlington Central High School, Pryor was an All-Conference selection as a junior and an All-Area honoree the past three seasons. As a sophomore, Pryor was named Second Team AP All-State, and Third Team IBCA All-State. As a junior, she repeated as a Second Team AP All-State selection, while also being named to the IBCA Second Team All-State team. Pierce, a 5'11" guard, is a native of Garber, Oklahoma. As a junior for Garber High School, Pierce averaged 23.4 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per contest for the Wolverines. Pierce shot 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. Pierce also made a team-high 50 3-pointers, while also leading the team in steals and assists.

ROSTER ADDITIONS: The Leathernecks welcome four new members to the roster for the 2014-15 season. Junior Jasmine Patrick joins the team following two seasons at Grossmont College (Calif). A five-year active member of the U.S. Navy, Patrick will be immediately eligible. Juniors Olivia Braun (Toledo) and Morgan Blumer (Florida Gulf Coast) transfer into the program with two years of eligibility remaining, and will sit out the entire 2015-16 season to fulfill NCAA transfer requirements. Western signed one player to a National Letter of Intent in freshman Taylor Higginbotham. Higginbotham, a native of Germantown, Wisconsin, went 51-8 last year with the Wisconsin Lakers AAU 'White' Team. She led the team in three-point field goals her last two seasons with the Lakers and was a four-time USJN All-Pool selection.

STAFF ADDITIONS: Head coach JD Gravina announced prior to the start of the 2015-16 season the Sydney Crafton had been added to the staff as an assistant coach. Crafton, a four-year standout at Missouri, was a college teammate of former Leatherneck Tori Niemann. She appeared in 96 career games, making 63 starts, and started in 27 of Mizzou's 30 games her senior season. A captain her final season in Columbia, Crafton led the team in field goal percentage (53.4) while finishing third on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.3 rpg).

WHAT IS A LEATHERNECK?: Western Illinois holds the distinction of being the only non-military institution to officially have its nickname derived from a branch of the military service. The school began use of the Marine Corps' official nickname, "The Fighting Leathernecks", in 1927 when then-athletic director and head baseball, basketball and football coach Ray "Rock" Hanson was granted permission by the U.S. Navy, based on his status as a Marine hero, to use the Marine's official seal, bulldog mascot and nickname.