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Western Illinois University Athletics

Higginbotham
Kellyn Whitlow
72
Western Illinois WIU 3-9
84
Winner UNIV TEXAS EL PASO UTEPW 3-8
Western Illinois WIU
3-9
72
Final
84
UNIV TEXAS EL PASO UTEPW
3-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Western Illinois WIU 19 17 19 17 72
UNIV TEXAS EL PASO UTEPW 19 20 28 17 84

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

Higginbotham Climbs the Record Book as Western Illinois Falls to UTEP

Taylor Higginbotham now ranks third on the Leatherneck women's basketball all-time scoring list after an 84-72 loss.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Taylor Higginbotham climbed to third on the Western Illinois women's basketball all-time scoring list, but the Leathernecks (3-9) saw their late rally fall short in an 84-72 loss to UTEP (3-8) in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on Thursday (Dec. 20).
 
"The progress was tremendous in this game especially offensively," head coach JD Gravina said. "It's sometimes hard to see the progress in the final score. We're going to have to figure out something defensively in the post. We have to think of some creative ways to keep the other team out of the post. We had a good week of practice and I think we took some huge steps forward today."
 
Both teams took a few minutes to feel each other out at the beginning of the game. Higginbotham drained a wing three-pointer to knot the game 9-9 with 3:23 left in the first quarter. Defense turned into offense when Krya Washington ripped away a steal and swished a right-side triple on the other end for a 17-12 lead in the final minute of the opening frame. UTEP closed the first quarter on a 7-2 run capped off by a Jordan Alexander three in the waning seconds for a 19-19 score after one.
 
Higginbotham drove inside for a layup put Western back in front, 31-30 with 6:17 to go in the second quarter. A minute later, Zuzanna Pucz helped put the Miners ahead and drilled an open trey for a 35-31 lead at the 4:25 mark. The Leathernecks trailed at halftime by a score of 39-36.
 
At the halfway point of the third quarter, Higginbotham hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one point at 47-46. The two free throws also propelled the senior guard past Robin Hasemann for fourth on the all-time scoring list. The Miners gained some separation on an 8-0 over the next two minutes and led Western Illinois 67-55 through three quarters.
 
UTEP led by as many as many as 20 points after back-to-back threes by Ariona Gill with 7:21 left. The Leathernecks put together a late 12-0 run finished off by an Olivia Kaufmann layup as Western trailed 77-69 with 2:18 remaining in regulation before the comeback effort fell short.
 
Higginbotham currently has 1,135 career points and passed Ashely Luke for third on the all-time scoring list at Western Illinois after a 24-point performance. Kaufmann tallied 13 points with four assists while Grace Gilmore paced the squad with eight rebounds.
 
The Leathernecks conclude their portion of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic at South Point Arena against Furman with a 4:30 (CT) tip-off. 
 
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