Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Sophie Reichelt
WIU Visual Productions Center
67
Western Illinois WIU 6-4
78
Winner North Dakota UND 3-5
Western Illinois WIU
6-4
67
Final
78
North Dakota UND
3-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Western Illinois WIU 15 14 18 20 67
North Dakota UND 12 20 22 24 78

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

Leathernecks Drop Road Contest at North Dakota

Reichelt tallies team-high 17 points in the effort

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – A key 15-2 run late in the second-half proved to be the difference maker Tuesday (Dec. 8) evening, as the Leathernecks dropped a 78-67 decision to North Dakota. Sophie Reichelt tallied a team-high 17 points for the Leathernecks, who fell to 6-4 on the season.
 
"I think North Dakota is a good team and their size clearly bothered us, not just their height but their physicality," said head coach JD Gravina. "Especially Mia Loyd, I think she's a heck of a player. I asked the girls in the locker room, 'who was the scrappier team?', and our girls knew that they were. If we go into the locker room and ask ourselves that and say that it's the other team we will lose 95% of our games. This was the type of game where if we got outrebounded by 15 or 16 we will be in trouble and we were outrebounded by 22."
 
Western Illinois and North Dakota (3-5) matched each other shot-for-shot throughout the first three quarters of the game before the Fighting Hawks were able to pull away late. After trailing by three points at intermission, UND came out to score the first four points of the second half to take a seven point lead on the visiting Leathernecks. The Purple and Gold responded with back-to-back triples from Reichelt to pull WIU within one as the team looked to take the lead.
 
North Dakota extended their advantage to seven in the closing minutes of the the third, but it was once again time for Western to respond. With 1:38 remaining in the quarter, McClintock connected on a 3-pointer, one of three in the game for the sophomore, to pull Western within four. On the ensuing possession, Emily Clemens picked the pocket of Makailah Dyer and took the ball the length of the court for the fast break layup to cut the deficit to just two points with 1:24 remaining in the third.
 
The Fighting Hawks put an end to Western's comeback effort as the hosts tallied the final five points of the quarter to lead by seven heading into the fourth. The 5-0 run kick-started an eventual 15-2 North Dakota run that spanned 5:10 of game action put WIU down by 15. The Leathernecks fought until the very end, as the Purple and Gold tallied the final eight points of the game. The run was not enough as the Leathernecks would drop an 11 point decision.
 
Western Illinois used a 7-0 run late in the first quarter to take a three point lead, the largest lead for the Leathernecks on Tuesday. Higginbotham notched a triple to get the run going before Reichelt connected with a long ball of her own. Mallory Boyle capped the run as she picked up a point from the charity stripe.
 
A trio of Leathernecks tallied five rebounds (Boyle, Clemens, Michelle Maher) to lead the effort on the glass, but Western was ultimately outrebounded by 22 on the night. Western, one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, continued its hot shooting from beyond the arc against North Dakota, as the team tallied 11 triples Tuesday. North Dakota shot a blistering 50% from the field (29-of-58) to counter WIU's attack from long range.
 
Western returns home for an in-state battle on Saturday, December 12, as the Purple and Gold host Illinois-Chicago. Tip-off, part of doubleheader with the WIU men's team, is slated for 4:30 p.m.
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version