MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois women's basketball team returns home on Saturday, November 21, as the Leathernecks play host to Chicago State. Tip-off between Western Illinois and the Cougars is set for 7 p.m. inside Western Hall. Fans who attend the WIU football game against South Dakota State at 1 p.m. on Saturday can present their football ticket for free admission to the basketball game. Western Illinois (2-1), who pushed No. 23 Iowa to overtime its last time out, looks to return to its winning ways against Chicago State (0-3).

BROADCAST INFORMATION: 
Video: Leatherneck All-Access (online at goleathernecks.com/watch - subscription required)
Radio: 92.5 WKXQ FM (online at wkxqfm.com)
Live Stats: Goleathernecks.com

SCOUTING THE COUGARS: Chicago State heads to Macomb with a 0-3 record this season following a 65-56 loss at Western Michigan its last time out. The Cougars have also dropped in-state contests to Illinois (36-67) and UIC (47-51, OT). Jasmine Sanders paced Chicago State against Western Michigan, as she ended the game with a team-high 16 points, while also tallying five rebounds, five assists, a blocked shot, and a steal. Kaylee Allen leads the team this year as she averages 12.7 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY: Western Illinois has dominated the all-time series against Chicago State, owning a 32-2 advantage over the Cougars. The Leathernecks rebounded from a 2013 defeat to the Cougars last season with a 90-55 victory in Chicago on November20. All 13 players who dressed scored in the victory over Chicago State, as the Purple and Gold moved to 2-1 on the year.

LAST TIME OUT: The Western Illinois women's basketball team hit the road for the first time this season, as the Leathernecks took on the 23rd ranked Iowa Hawkeyes out of the Big Ten Conference. Down 18 in the closing minutes of the first half, the Purple and Gold stormed back to take a late lead on the Hawkeyes. But an Iowa 3-pointer in the closing seconds would send the game to overtime, where Iowa emerged with a 96-81 overtime victory. Trailing by 15 after the first half, a rejuvenated Leatherneck squad slowly began to chip away at the Iowa lead. Ciara Marlow came in off the bench and connected from beyond the arc to pull Western within 12 at 59-47. Marlow's triple would spark a 16-2 Western run over 3:22 to trim the Hawkeye advantage to just a single point. Taylor McClintock and Michelle Farrow would tally back-to-back 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter scoring, and Sophie Reichelt would get a layup to fall as the Leathernecks took the lead at 70-65 with six minutes left in the game. The Hawkeyes kept the game within reach and with four seconds left tied things up at 78-all following a 3-pointer from Whitney Jennings in the corner. The two teams headed to overtime, where the Leathernecks were unable to get anything going. The Purple and Gold were outscored 18-3 in the overtime period.

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. Higginbotham leads all Leathernecks this season, averaging 18.7 points per game.

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.