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Western Illinois University Athletics

Grace Gilmore
Kellyn Whitlow
70
Omaha OMAHA 6-11, 1-4
78
Winner Western Illinois WIUWW 7-12, 3-3
Omaha OMAHA
6-11, 1-4
70
Final
78
Western Illinois WIUWW
7-12, 3-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Omaha OMAHA 16 16 8 30 70
Western Illinois WIUWW 22 18 22 16 78

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Third Quarter Magic Helps Leathernecks to First Home Win of the New Year

Western outscored Omaha, 22-8, in the third quarter.

MACOMB, Ill. – Stifling defense and hot shooting paved the way for the Western Illinois women's basketball team's 78-70 victory over Omaha Wednesday (Jan. 16) night. The Leathernecks (7-12, 3-3 Summit League) limited UNO to eight points in the third quarter while shooting 61.5 percent from the floor (8-for-13) en route to their first home success of the new year. 

"We played really well, and that's kind of the next step of this team - to take care of business," said head coach JD Gravina. "I would have liked to do that a little bit better and put the gas pedal down, but with as big as they are, we still rebounded really well, and for three and a half quarters, we put up a lot of good shots." 

Spot on from the floor, with a perfect 3-for-3 effort, Annabel Graettinger accounted for half of Western's points by the first media timeout. The Leathernecks led 14-7 at the 4:28 mark of the opening quarter, and stretched their advantage to double-digits, 27-16, on an old-fashioned 3-point play with 9:26 to go in the second. 

The point differential marked the largest of the half, as the second quarter saw Western narrowly outscore the Mavs, 18-16. Taylor Higginbotham pushed the advantage in the Leathernecks' favor with a midrange jumper just before the buzzer, and at the half, Western managed a 40-32 edge. 

The senior kicked off the third period with back-to-back 3-pointers as things began to run on all cylinders. 

Defensively, the home side limited Omaha to just three points in nearly seven minutes of play, while offensively, it jumped out to a 56-35 lead. The Mavericks finished the third with eight total points to trail 62-40 at its end. 

Tides turned in the final stanza, where Omaha posted 30 points, 25 from the hands of Kalen Phillips, while Western recorded 16. Despite the momentum shift, Western remained in the driver's seat. 

In back-to-back games, Olivia Kaufmann nearly pulled out a double-double with 17 points and nine assists while also adding six rebounds. Higginbotham poured in a team-high 20 points with seven rebounds while Graettinger contributed 19.

The Leathernecks continue their homestand Saturday in a 4:30 p.m. tip against Purdue Fort Wayne.  
 
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