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Western Illinois University Athletics

Elizabeth Lutz
Larry Dean
61
Western Illinois WIU 3-8
86
Winner Northern Illinois NIU 4-4
Western Illinois WIU
3-8
61
Final
86
Northern Illinois NIU
4-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Western Illinois WIU 9 15 28 9 61
Northern Illinois NIU 19 21 23 23 86

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

Leathernecks Conclude Appearance in Inaugural Compass Challenge

Western took on Eastern and Northern Illinois in the two-day tournament.

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Western Illinois' women's basketball team wrapped its appearance at the inaugural Compass Challenge Saturday (Dec. 8) in an 86-61 setback against Northern Illinois. 

The two-day tournament, hosted on the campus of Southern Illinois, saw the Leathernecks take on Eastern Illinois Friday in a matchup that sat tied at 60-all with 36 seconds remaining before the Panthers used free throws to cement a 64-62 final score. 

 "It may be hard to see in the stat line, but I think we took a small step forward today," said head coach JD Gravina. "We played harder, rebounded a little harder, and honestly, offensively, we got a ton of good shots, especially early. 

"When you have a ton of open threes but don't hit any of them, that kind of lets the defense keep playing the way they are. What you want to do is get them out chasing you around everywhere; that can open up some more things at the basket. I will give our girls credit, they battled a little bit more." 

Though the Huskies led the entire contest, Western made things interesting in the second quarter when Taylor Higginbotham hit a jumper with 5:28 on the clock to close the deficit to 24-19. The basket capped a 7-0 Leatherneck run but marked the closest point difference for the rest of the afternoon. 

The Huskies entered halftime with a 40-24 edge, and Western outscored its northern counterpart, 28-23, in the third quarter but was unable to pull within single digits. 

Olivia Kaufmann led the Leathernecks with 18 points and six rebounds while Elizabeth Lutz recorded 11 points. The team will conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic (Dec. 20 – 21) with games against Texas-El Paso and Furman. 
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