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Western Illinois University Athletics

Danni Nichols
59
Purdue Fort Wayne PFW 4-14, 0-6
73
Winner Western Illinois WIUWW 8-12, 4-3
Purdue Fort Wayne PFW
4-14, 0-6
59
Final
73
Western Illinois WIUWW
8-12, 4-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Purdue Fort Wayne PFW 16 8 20 15 59
Western Illinois WIUWW 26 9 20 18 73

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Leathernecks Grit Out Third Consecutive Win

Western defeated Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday afternoon inside Western Hall.

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois women's basketball held off a threatening Purdue Fort Wayne team Saturday afternoon (Jan. 19) to post its third consecutive win. Four Leathernecks scored in double-digits in the 73-59 Summit League decision. 

"Overall I liked the game when it got close," said head coach JD Gravina. "We really attacked their pressure. That's something that we took away from the Omaha game that we did a lot better of, and when they brought their pressure to try to get back into the game, we attacked and got some easy baskets." 

Hannah Albrecht knocked down a corner triple to cement a 13-9 PFW advantage with 4:53 to go in the first quarter, but her team was in search of offense through the remainder of the frame as the Leathernecks embarked on a 17-3 run. 

Olivia Kaufmann capped the stretch with an old-fashioned 3-point play to end the quarter up, 26-16, and Western's margin hovered around double-digits for the rest of the half where it led, 35-24. 

 After Annabel Graettinger picked up the hoop and the harm, Western owned its largest lead at 42-24 with 8:40 left in the third quarter. The Leathernecks held on to a 55-44 edge after three, but the deficit dwindled to as little as 58-54 on a triple by De'Jour Young with 7:12 remaining in regulation. 

Danni Nichols continued her stellar outing with back-to-back layups as Western Illinois got a little breathing room at the 3:51 mark with a 62-54 lead. She finished the afternoon with a team-high, career-high 21 points with five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. 

"She (Danni Nichols) just has a whole new confidence about her. It's crazy how you can see it. The staff was talking about it, even just looking at her face and the way she makes eye contact and moves, just has a whole new confidence and that's fun to see. She played tremendously." 

Washington connected on a wing trey to put the game out of reach with only 2:17 left on the clock.

Three Leathernecks joined Nichols in double-figures: Taylor Higginbotham (16), Annabel Graettinger (14), and Kaufmann (13). 

Western will hit the road to visit South Dakota at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 26).
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