WIU Visual Productions Center

Box Score

IUPUI IUPUI 15-15

Western Illinois WIU 17-13

IUPUI IUPUI

15-15

Final

Mar. 08, 2015

Western Illinois WIU

17-13

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
IUPUI IUPUI	34	32	66
Western Illinois WIU	25	34	59

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | Sunday, March 08, 2015 | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Fall to IUPUI in Summit League Quarterfinals

Women's Basketball storm back from 19-point deficit before falling in final minutes in opening round of the Summit League Tournament

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Western Illinois women's basketball team squared off against IUPUI in the opening round of The Summit League Tournament on Sunday, March 8. After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half, the Leathernecks mounted a comeback before ultimately falling in the closing minutes of the game, 66-59. The Leathernecks, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, move to 17-13 on the season while IUPUI (the No. 5 seed), improved to 15-15. IUPUI will now face top-seeded South Dakota in the Semifinals.

"Obviously I'm broken-hearted for our players," said head coach JD Gravina. "The last couple of years we have had some heartbreaks and this one may not have seem like that, but this one is just as heartbreaking for our team. I wanted it so badly for our team."

Western found itself in a major hole early, as the Jaguars opened with the game's first 11 points and led by a 25-6 margin with 8:32 left in the opening half. The Leathernecks struggled offensively, going 2-of-20 from the field to open the game. Sophie Reichelt and Michelle Farrow contributed the only two buckets during the stretch, as each of them knocked down 3-pointers.

Slowly Western Illinois was able to climb back into the game and used a 7-0 run to cut the Jaguar lead to single digits. A pair of free throws from Ashley Luke and Tori Niemann, followed by a triple from Michelle Maher, contributed to the Leatherneck scoring run which cut the deficit to 29-20 with 2:35 remaining in the half. The two teams would trade baskets in the final minutes, with IUPUI holding a 34-25 lead going into the intermission.

A rejuvenated Leatherneck squad emerged from the locker room, as the team stormed out to 10-2 run to cut IUPUI's lead to one point. The run, which spanned the first 3:51 of the second half, featured four straight points from Luke to start things off, back-to-back layups from Niemann, and an Emily Clemens layup. Consecutive baskets by Reichelt and Luke gave Western the 39-38 lead with 14:37 remaining, the first lead of the game for the Purple and Gold.

IUPUI looked poised to pull away with the contest with seven minutes left, as the Jaguars used a 5-0 run to take a 51-46 lead. Western had other plans, and answered a 7-0 run of its own to regain the lead. Luke split a pair of free throws before Farrow and Maher connected on back-to-back triples to give WIU a 53-51 lead. Maher ended the game 4-of-9 from behind the arc while Farrow finished 3-of-9.

The momentum in a see-saw game would tilt back in favor of IUPUI for good, as Nevena Markovic single-handedly led her team on a 7-0 run to put IUPUI up five with just over two minutes remaining. A perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw would seal the Jaguar victory.

"I'm really proud of where these girls have taken the program. From a seven-win team to a 17-win team and a contender in the league. I think there are some years in the league where I think we would have been the two or three seed. This year I think was one of our conference groups and unfortunately it didn't go our way."

Luke, The Summit League 'Player of the Year', paced Western on Sunday as she recorded a double-double with a team-high 20 points and game-high 12 rebounds. The Oak Creek, Wisconsin, native has now tallied double-doubles in 11-straight contest (20 this season) and extended her streak of games in double figures to 67 consecutive contests. The 20-point effort also moved Luke into second place on Western Illinois' all-time scoring list, surpassing Robin Hasemann. Luke, who now has 1,531 career points, needs 17 more points to become Western's all-time leading scorer as she only trails Zane Teilane for the all-time record.

Maher ended the game as the only other Leatherneck in double figures, as her four triples gave her 12 points for the game while adding four assists and three steals. Reichelt notched 10 rebounds, the sixth time this season in which Reichelt has brought in double-digit rebouds. Niemann and Farrow each contributed nine points Sunday afternoon.

Western Illinois now awaits to see if it has been selected for a postseason tournament, as the Leathernecks are eligible for both the WNIT and WBI. Both tournaments unveil their brackets on Monday, March 16th.

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