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Western Illinois University Athletics

Mallory Boyle
87
Fort Wayne IPFW 5-18 (1-9)
88
Winner Western Illinois WIU 13-10 (6-4)
Fort Wayne IPFW
5-18 (1-9)
87
Final
88
Western Illinois WIU
13-10 (6-4)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Fort Wayne IPFW 21 23 24 19 87
Western Illinois WIU 27 17 22 22 88

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

Buzzer-Beater Sends Western Past Fort Wayne, 88-87, in Thriller

Mallory Boyle's putback layup with less than a second remaining sends Western to one-point victory

MACOMB, Ill. – Mallory Boyle's buzzer-beating layup with one second remaining propelled the Western Illinois women's basketball team past Fort Wayne, 88-87, Thursday (Feb. 4) evening inside Western Hall. Western Illinois improved to 13-10 overall and 6-4 in The Summit League with the victory over Fort Wayne, who fell to 5-18 (1-9).
 
The Leathernecks trailed by one with 4.6 seconds remaining, and had the ball to inbound at midcourt. With Taylor Higginbotham inbounding, the freshman found Michelle Maher in the lane on the entry pass. Maher's layup was no good, but a tip-out put the ball in the hands of Boyle, her eighth offensive rebound of the game. The New Sharon, Iowa, native banked in the putback with less than a second remaining to put Western ahead by a point. Fort Wayne was unable to get a shot off at the buzzer, securing the season sweep for the Leathernecks over the Mastodons.
 
"I knew we needed to score, and I knew I had to crash the boards and get a rebound," said Boyle. "When she (Michelle Maher) missed it, I had the opportunity and I put it back in."
 
Boyle's buzzer-beater capped of a hectic fourth quarter which featured six ties and 13 lead changes. The junior ended the night with six points, 11 rebounds (eight offensive), five assists, and a pair of blocks. The 11 rebounds mark the second time Boyle has eclipsed the 10 rebound mark this season, and the five helpers are a new season-high.
 
Three Leathernecks scored in double figures Thursday evening, led by Reichelt's 25 points and nine rebounds. Reichelt's 25-point effort is the second-highest this season for the senior and extends her streak of double-figure scoring efforts to nine-straight games. The tone was set early by Reichelt, as she tallied 10 of WIU's first 17 points over the opening 5:15 of action in the first quarter.
 
Higginbotham fell one point shy of matching her career-high of 25, as she ended the night with 24 points and seven rebounds. Maher rounded out the trio of Leathernecks to top 10 points as she finished the night with 16 points and five rebounds.
 
Western, who built a lead as big as 11 midway through the second quarter, were able to hold off a feisty Mastodon squad thanks to a strong rebounding effort. For the second consecutive game, Western outrebounded its opponent, as the Leathernecks owned a 44-29 edge on the glass. WIU outrebounded Fort Wayne on the offensive boards, 16-12, which converted into a 20-10 advantage on second chance points.
 
"We could not stop them (Fort Wayne) to save our lives, we could not stop them," said head coach JD Gravina. "You have to give them a lot of credit. I'm pretty disappointed with our defensive effort. I hoped we would take the momentum that we had in the Omaha game and bring it defensively and we really could not keep them in front of us. The good thing about our team is that we can put up enough points to give us a chance to win in those games. I think we did a really good job getting to the free throw line in the second half, and that probably ended up being the difference maker in this game."
 
On a night where both teams shot very similarly from the field and from beyond the arc, it was Western's ability to get to the line that made the difference. WIU was able to convert 23-of-31 attempts from the charity stripe, while Fort Wayne was only able to attempt 23 free throws (17-of-23).
 
The Leathernecks begin a stretch of four-straight games away from Western Hall this Saturday, February 6, as Western squares off against IUPUI (15-7, 6-3). WIU will be looking to even up the season series with the Jaguars, with tip-off set for 2 p.m. (CT). 
 
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