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Western Illinois University Athletics

Jinda Guidinger
Larry Dean
71
Western Illinois WIU 1-5
81
Winner Southeast Missouri SEMO 1-3
Western Illinois WIU
1-5
71
Final
81
Southeast Missouri SEMO
1-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Western Illinois WIU 14 18 15 24 71
Southeast Missouri SEMO 20 15 31 15 81

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Turnovers Plague Leathernecks on the Road

Western fell at SEMO behind a season-high 28 turnovers.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – A season-high 28 turnovers plagued the Western Illinois women's basketball team on the road Tuesday (Nov. 20) where it fell 81-71 to Southeast Missouri. 

The visiting Leathernecks concluded the game with four in double figures, led by Taylor Higginbotham's 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds. 

"That was a really frustrating game. I know we can be a good team, but we're just not there yet," said head coach J.D. Gravina. "We put five kids on the floor that can be good ballhandlers, good decision makers, but it's just coming down to us being punished for having Emily Clemens the last four years. No one could press us because she would just get the ball and break the press. When you graduate all those kids that handle the ball and do all that stuff, there's just a big learning curve there." 

As the lone senior on the Leathernecks' 2018-19 roster, Higginbotham put on a show at the Show Me Center with eight of the Leathernecks' first 10 points. The Germantown, Wis., native was sent to the line on her first shot attempt, where she went a perfect 2-for-2 before adding a pair of three-pointers.

Western held the Redhawks scoreless through the stretch to force a timeout, and a re-energized SEMO team came out of the break. 

The home side went on a 16-0 run, pressuring the Leathernecks in the backcourt for 10 turnovers, before crowning the quarter up, 20-14. SEMO never trailed in the second frame, despite three ties. The final stalemate sat at 32-all and swung back in favor of the Redhawks with a three-pointer just before the half. 

SEMO opened the second half with an 8-0 run that was interrupted by a quick layup by freshman Jinda Guidinger. In a similar fashion of her senior teammate, Guidinger embarked on a scoring stretch of her own, with five straight points to pull Western back within single digits, 47-39, with 6:03 on the clock. 

Despite outscoring SEMO, 25-14, in the final quarter, the point difference stuck at 10-plus through the last 12 minutes of the game. 

"I told the girls 'We've just got to keep working.' In the fourth quarter, when we started pressing, it's not really what we do, but it changed the game mentally for us, and then offensively we just started attacking them and getting a lot of wide-open looks."

Guindinger capped action with a career-high 17 points while Olivia Kaufmann added 16 and Grace Gilmore 14. 

Following the three-game road swing and Thanksgiving Break, the Leathernecks return to Western Hall Monday for a 7 p.m. tipoff against William Woods. 
 
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