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Western Illinois University Athletics

Olivia Kaufmann
Sarah Twidwell

Trekking to Tulsa

Western continues Summit League play Saturday at Oral Roberts.

Western Illinois (5-10, 1-1) at Oral Roberts (8-7, 1-1)                      
Date/Tipoff: Jan. 5, 2019 / 2 p.m. 
Location: Tulsa, Okla. 
Site: Mabee Center 
Radio: Ryan Kent Jr. (WRMS)

Series History: Oral Roberts possesses a slight 23-22 edge in the all-time series, but Western has been victorious in each of the last four meetings. 

Jan. 7, 2017 | 76-72 (OT) / H
Feb. 1, 2017 | 76-62 / A
Jan. 6, 2018 | 56-49 / H
Feb. 3, 2018 | 85-63 / A 

Western's Last Outing: The Leathernecks capped the calendar year with a pair of stellar performances, but only one resulted in victory. 

Opening Summit League play with the reigning champions, Western trailed South Dakota State by as many as 12 points before pulling within five at the start of the fourth quarter. Back-to-back scores by Kyra Washington saw the Leathernecks behind, 83-77, with 4:59 remaining, but margin marked the closest through the final horn as SDSU walked away with a 93-84 decision.  

A few days later, the Leathernecks closed their Summit League-opening weekend with an 87-78 win over Denver. Western led the majority of the contest and held a 22-point advantage at the end of the first stanza. 

Lights Lutz Out: Coming off the bench, freshman Elizabeth Lutz recorded a game-high, career-high 28 points – the most by a Leatherneck this season – in the team's Summit League opener against SDSU. She finished the game with six made 3-pointers and 10 total field goals, which also sit atop Western's 2018-19 single-game highs. 

Lutz has appeared in every game this season, with five starts, and has scored in double-figures eight times. 

Boards & More: Averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, Taylor Higginbotham is the most active Leatherneck on the boards. She currently ranks fifth in the Summit League in the category and has pulled down 10 or more in three games this season, finishing with a double-double in each of the contests. 

Austin Peay: 12 rebounds, 14 points
Furman: 12 rebounds, 16 points
Denver: 17 rebounds (career-high), 23 points

The Leathernecks are also 3-0 in games where Higginbotham posts a double-double. 

Running Point: Western Illinois has a new floor chief, and her name is Olivia Kaufmann. She's the Leathernecks' primary ball handler with a team-high 46 assists and is also the team's leading scorer with 14.8 points per game. 

The junior became the Leathernecks' starting point guard this season and has seen the most action on the floor with 451 minutes played.  

The Lone Ranger: Taylor Higginbotham is the lone senior on the Leathernecks' 2018-19 roster, and she sits second all-time on Westerns' career scoring list after passing Ashley Luke (2013-15) and Robin Hasemann (1988-91) in the team's 85-78 victory over Furman. 
 
Higginbotham currently has 1,580 points while also ranking fifth in steals (218) and sixth in rebounds (698).  Her former teammate and current assistant coach Emily Clemens became the program's all-time leading scorer a season ago, finishing her career with 1,699 points.  
 
Top 3: The Leathernecks sit 'Top 3' in The Summit League in several categories:
 
Free-Throw Attempts – 316 (2nd SL / 6th in the NCAA)
Free-Throws Made – 231 (2nd / 3rd)
Scoring Offense – 75.3 PPG (3rd / 52nd)
Steals – 177 (1st / 2nd)
Three-Point Attempts – 462 (1st / 3rd)
Three-Points Field Goals Made – 145 (2nd / 4th)
Turnovers Forced – 23.60 PG (1st / 8th)
 
*national marks as of Jan. 3

The Long Ball: Western sits second in the nation with 145 made 3-pointers. As a team, WIU has made 10 or more treys in six games this season including a program-record 28 against MacMurray College (Nov. 12) which also set an NCAA Division I record. 

Taylor Higginbotham leads the charge with 29 treys while Elizabeth Lutz adds 26 and Kyra Washington 21. 

Saving Grace: Grace Gilmore has started off her sophomore campaign on the highest of notes. She was inserted into the starting lineup this season, appearing in every game so far, and has already surpassed several of her 2017-18 stats.
 
2017-18: Minutes (169), Rebounds (36), Steals (7), Points (77)
2018-19: Minutes (407), Rebounds (76), Steals (20), Points (132)

Scouting the Golden Eagles: The Golden Eagles (8-7, 1-1 Summit League) powered through the month of December with five wins, capped by a 71-56, league-opening decision over Omaha. Lakota Beatty paces ORU in scoring (14.9 PPG), rebounding (5.1 PPG) and assists (3.4 APG) while Maya Mayberry, a Summit League All-Newcomer selection a season ago, averages 12.3 PPG. 
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