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Western Illinois University Athletics

WBI FP
97
Southern Illinois SIU 20-13
99
Winner Western Illinois WIU 16-15
Southern Illinois SIU
20-13
97
Final
99
Western Illinois WIU
16-15
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
Southern Illinois SIU 22 14 25 23 13 97
Western Illinois WIU 20 15 24 25 15 99

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

Buzzer-Beater Sends Leathernecks to WBI Overtime Victory over Southern Illinois

Leathernecks secure first Division I postseason victory with 99-97 thriller over Salukis

MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois women's basketball team made school history Thursday (March 17) evening, as the Leathernecks defeated Southern Illinois, 99-97, in overtime, in the opening round of the 2016 WBI. With the win, the Leathernecks collect the first postseason victory in Western Illinois Division I basketball history, men's or women's. The No. 4 Leathernecks improve to 16-15 on the year while No. 5 Southern Illinois closes its season at 20-13.
 
Western will advance to the quarterfinals of the WBI, where it will travel to South Carolina to take on the Spartans of USC-Upstate. The eighth-seeded Spartans knocked off top-seeded Northern Kentucky in the opening round of WBI action.
 
With time winding down in overtime, a driving Emily Clemens found Mallory Boyle along the baseline. Boyle was fouled with .3 seconds remaining, but got the basket to fall, putting Western ahead 99-97. The junior couldn't convert the three-point play, but time ran out on the visiting Salukis, sending Western, in its fourth-ever postseason appearance, to victory.
 
"I told the girls in the locker room that it may be the WBI but that is March Madness," said head coach JD Gravina. "The drama of the game, the big shots, the big calls, the drama of every one getting here over Spring Break, they rewrote the story of our season tonight."
 
Michelle Maher scored a team-high 26 points while Taylor Higginbotham netted a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Higginbotham's 25 points matches a career-high which she set in her WIU debut and the double-double is the third for the freshman. All five scorers scored in double figures for the Purple and Gold as Clemens tallied 19 points and nine assists while Sophie Reichelt and Boyle added 10 points each.
 
Western was able to force overtime after Maher tallied a layup with two seconds remaining in regulation to knot things up at 84-all. The senior recorded 10 of her 26 points in the final quarter, as the Purple and Gold made its first postseason appearance in 10 years (2006 WNIT).
 
It was a back-and-forth affair, as there were 19 ties and 18 lead changes Thursday inside Western Hall. Neither team was able to pull away from its in-state foe, as Western held the largest advantage of the night at seven points just over two minutes into the game. The Leathernecks' victory breaks a 20-game losing streak to the Salukis, although the two teams hadn't met since 1992.
 
Western stormed out of the gate, opening up to a 9-2 lead, forcing a SIU timeout. Higginbotham hit a pair of triples before Michelle Farrow connected to long range, forcing the Salukis to burn a timeout. From there, the two teams would battle to the wire. The Purple and Gold used a similar run to open the overtime period, outscoring SIU 8-2 over the first 2:14 of the overtime frame to build a six-point advantage.
 
"I knew Macomb would support us, but I was shocked by the crowd with it being spring break and St. Patrick's Day and March Madness. I told our players I don't know how many people are going to be there but the people that are going to be there really care, and they were the difference in the game," added Gravina. "It's kind of a program changing victory which is really special because these girls sacrificed so much to be here. "To be a 21 year old kid and be on the beach in Georgia, or in California, or an hour from a flight to Mexico, and to turn around and come back to be with your team and to give a great effort like that is just special."
 
The Purple and Gold will face off against USC-Upstate, who improved to 21-11 on the year, on Saturday, March 19. Tipoff in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is set for 6 p.m. (CT).
 
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