FARGO, N.D. - The Western Illinois women's basketball team secured a regular-season sweep of North Dakota State on Friday (Feb. 6) evening, as the Leathernecks held off the Bison for a 66-60 victory. Western has now won four consecutive games in Summit League play, and sit in sole possession of second place in the league with a 7-3 record (15-8 overall). The regular season sweep of the Bison, the second ever in program history, drops NDSU to 9-13 overall (5-5 Summit League).

Sophie Reichelt, who had a career-day the last time the two teams met back on Jan. 24, continued her stellar play against the Bison as she recorded her second consecutive double double (18 points, 11 rebounds). She was joined in the double double category by Ashley Luke who recorded a career-high 19 rebounds while adding 17 points.

"We know that Summit League games will be close, especially with so many of our remaining games being on the road," said head coach JD Gravina. "To come out with a gutsy victory on the road means a lot and shows where this team is at. I thought that our defensive pressure down the stretch in those final few minutes won us the game."

In a game where neither team led by more than six points at any point, it was the Leathernecks who held the final advantage. With the Bison holding a slim 53-50 lead following a Brooke LeMar floater in the paint, the Leathernecks made their move. Michelle Farrow came down on the next possession and knocked down a three that would spark a mini 6-0 run. A few possessions later, Luke would convert the old-fashioned three point play, as she was fouled while easing in a layup. The spurt gave Western a narrow three point advantage, a lead the team would not relinquish in the final 8:40 of the game.

The Bison would make things interesting, as they cut the deficit to 62-60 with just under two minutes remaining after LeMar (who led all scorers with 25 points) made one of two free throws and Holly Johnson hit a pull-up jumper in the paint.

With 54 seconds remaining in the game, a Western pass was deflected out of bounds, leaving three seconds left on the shot clock. Tori Niemann was left wide open for an easy lay-in to push the Purple and Gold lead back up to four at 64-60. After the Bison came up empty on their final three possessions, Emily Clemens sealed the victory with a fast break layup with two seconds remaining to secure the 66-60 victory.

The two teams battled in the first half, with Western leading at the break, 35-32. With 3:56 remaining in the half, and with the Leathernecks trailing by five, Western went on a 10-2 run to close the half. Reichelt hit a pair of free throws and a jumper from beyond the arc to get the run started, Michelle Maher followed with a pair from the charity stripe, and Reichelt ended the run with a triple with 46 seconds left in the half.

It was a defensive battle Friday night, as neither team shot over 36% from the field. Western held a sizable advantage in the paint, as 32 of its 66 points came down low, compared to just 18 points for the Bison. Western also won the free throw battle, as the team was 10-15 from the charity stripe, while NDSU only attempted three free throws in the entire game (1-3).

Luke's 17 points extends her streak of games in double figures to 60 consecutive games, while her streak of 20 consecutive free throws made came to an end Friday evening. The 20-straight for Luke ranks as the ninth longest streak in Western Illinois history.

The 15 wins surpasses the team's number of wins from a season ago, and marks the most wins in a season under head coach JD Gravina. The total also ranks as the most wins in a season since the 2005-06 team that went 23-7.

The Purple and Gold head to Omaha next for a date with the Mavericks. After picking up back-to-back season sweeps of Fort Wayne and NDSU, Western looks to make it three-straight on Sunday, February 8. Tip-off between Western Illinois and Omaha is set for 2 p.m. inside Sapp Fieldhouse.