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Western Illinois University Athletics

Leathernecks vs. Fort Wayne
WIU Visual Productions Center
51
Fort Wayne FW 5-23, 2-13
77
Winner Western Illinois WIU 22-6, 12-3
Fort Wayne FW
5-23, 2-13
51
Final
77
Western Illinois WIU
22-6, 12-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Fort Wayne FW 22 10 13 6 51
Western Illinois WIU 23 12 18 24 77

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

Leathernecks Down Fort Wayne, Clinch Share of Summit League Title

Western Illinois defeated Fort Wayne to clinch a share of The Summit League regular season title.

PHOTO GALLERY 

JD GRAVINA POST-GAME INTERVIEW

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

MACOMB, Ill. -  A second half surge lifted the Western Illinois women's basketball team to a 77-51 victory over Fort Wayne Wednesday night (Feb. 22) in Western Hall.

With the win, Western Illinois (22-6 overall, 12-3 Summit League) clinches at least a share of The Summit League regular season championship following South Dakota's loss at IUPUI.

The win also gives the Leathernecks 12 regular season home wins, which ties for the most in program history (2002-03, 2004-05 seasons with 12 home wins).

The Mastodons (5-23, 2-13) kept the game to within one possession, which was capped off by a first quarter buzzer-beater. Western Illinois went into the locker room with a 35-32 lead at halftime.

When the third quarter came around, the Leathernecks never looked back. Back-to-back baskets by Mallory Boyle made it a 39-35 game with under nine minutes to play in the third. The lead increased to seven following an Emily Clemens putback layup at the 3:15 mark, which preceded an and-1 by Morgan Blumer. After three quarters of play, the Purple and Gold found some breathing room with a 53-45 advantage.

"I'm really happy with the way our team locked down defensively over the last three quarters," said head coach JD Gravina. "We missed some easy shots in that second quarter, so you can force things. I thought we did a really good job in the third quarter, and when your defense plays well, it can help your offense come around."

The Leathernecks pressed the gas pedal in the fourth quarter and sparked a 14-6 run to force a Fort Wayne timeout. Olivia Braun recorded a huge rejection, and then outletted a long pass to Clemens, who was there for the fast-break score. That play gave Western a 58-47 lead with 7:32 to play.

A pair of 3-pointers by Michelle Farrow and Clemens made it a 64-49 game with just under six minutes to go. Over a 6-minute span in the fourth quarter, the Leathernecks outscored the Mastodons 19-4, capped off by a Taylor Higginbotham three to go up 69-51 with 3:34 to play. The Leathernecks recorded their largest lead of the game with 1:31 remaining—26 points—and closed out the game for their 22nd regular season win.

Emily Clemens led the way with her seventh-career double-double of a game-high 25 points and 12 assists on only three turnovers. Morgan Blumer followed with 18 points and seven rebounds and Olivia Braun rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks.

The pair of Rachel Rinehart and Anna Lappenkuper each recorded 11 points, while Selena Lozada had 10.

Western Illinois now sets its focus to this Saturday (Feb. 25) with a crucial home matchup to close out the regular season. With a win, the Leathernecks clinch the outright Summit League Regular Season Championship and a No. 1 seed in the league tournament. It will also mark Senior Day for players Mallory Boyle and Jasmine Patrick, who will be honored at the game.

"It's pretty neat to be locked into a share, but we started on this journey seven games ago, when we knew we'd have a chance to win the outright league championship," said Gravina. "That's what our focus is right now, and we know South Dakota will come in fired up and focused."

PROGRAM NOTES:
-The win gives the Leathernecks a share of the regular season league title... its first since the 2005-06 season and fifth regular season title in program history…
-22 wins marks the second-most in program history (23-7 in 2005-06)… 22 regular season wins are the most in program history…
-12 home wins ties for the most in program history for the third time…
-12 Summit League wins are the most since 2007-08 (12-6)…
-Leathernecks now on a 7-game win streak, the most consecutive wins since 2005-06…

PLAYER NOTES:
-Emily Clemens' 25 points and 12 assists marks her seventh-career double-double…25 points marks her 15th 20-plus points game this season (career 18th)… 12 assists is one shy of her career-high (13 at South Dakota, Jan. 28, 2017)… also marks her 19th career five-plus assist game (career 34th)… 12th game this season as the scoring leader (career 15th)… 12 assists also brings her to 401 in her career, just five shy of surpassing Rebecca Henricson (2011-14) for third all-time… 195 total assists this season are second-all time in program history… 11 shy of breaking Jolene Hanig's (1989-90) program record for the most in a single season… also recorded her first-career block this season…
-Olivia Braun's 12 points marks her seventh-career double-digit scoring game… 8 rebounds marks her ninth-career game as the rebounds leader… seven blocks are two shy of her career-high…
-Morgan Blumer's 18 points mark her 25th career double-digit scoring game…
-Taylor Hanneman set a new career-high with two steals… 
 
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