North Dakota x2; Leathernecks Prepped for Play against Bison, Fighting Hawks

Wednesday, January 09, 2019

Western continues its three-game road swing at North Dakota State and North Dakota.

Western Illinois (5-11, 1-2) at North Dakota State (4-11,1-2), North Dakota (7-9, 2-1)
Date / Tipoff:	Friday, Jan. 11 \| 7 p.m. (NDSU)
Date/Tipoff:	Sunday, Jan. 13 \| 2 p.m. (ND)
Locations:	Fargo, N.D. \| Grand Forks, N.D.
Site:	Scheels Center \| Betty Englestad Sioux Center
Radio:	Ryan Kent Jr. (WRMS)

Series History: Western seeks its 10th consecutive win over the Bison in a series where the Purple & Gold hold a 14-9 edge. Two of the last five meetings saw WIU eclipse 100 points – a 100-89 success in 2016 and a 110-81 decision in 2017- and a season ago, the team nearly reached the mark in a 97-72 outcome.

Sunday's game at North Dakota will serve as the first Summit League bout between the two programs. NDU was previously a member of the Big Sky before joining the Summit League at the start of the 2018-19 season.

NDU is currently 2-0 in the all-time series against Western.

Western's Last Outing: The game sat locked at 58-58 in the final five minutes of play, but a last second 3-pointer paired with a forced turnover allowed Oral Roberts to take a 68-64 decision at home.

There were three lead changes in the fourth quarter, and Western's final advantage sat at 64-63 with 29 seconds left after six unanswered points by Taylor Higginbotham.

~~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 South Dakota State. 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 six starts, and has scored in double-figures eight times.

Ring the Bel: On a roster that includes six freshmen, South Dakota State transfer Annabel Graettinger helped bolster the Leathernecks veteran leadership ahead of the 2018-19 season. The redshirt-junior is one of four on the team with Summit League Championship experience as she won the title with SDSU in 2016. (Olivia Kaufmann, Sam Pryor, and Taylor Higginbotham are the only three remaining from Western's 2017 championship run.)

In 13 starts this season, Graettinger has scored in double-figures eight times, and her minutes have drastically increased in the last month, with 30-plus in each of the previous five games.

Boards & More: Averaging 7.6 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 four 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
Oral Roberts: 10 rebounds, 16 points

The Leathernecks are also 3-1 in games where Higginbotham posts a double-double.

Running Point: Western Illinois has a new floor chief, and her name is Olivia Kaufmann. She is the Leathernecks' primary ball handler with a team-high 50 assists, which ties for sixth in the Summit League, while also guiding the offense 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 486 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's former teammate and current assistant coach Emily Clemens became the program's all-time leading scorer a season ago where she finished her career with 1,699 points.

Career Rankings
Points | 1,596 (Second All-Time)
Field Goals | 554 (Sixth)
3-Point Field Goals Made | 218 (Second)
Free Throws Made | 270 (Seventh)
Steals | 220 (Fifth)
Rebounds | 708 (Sixth)
Minutes | 3,205 (Seventh)

Top 3: The Leathernecks sit 'Top 3' in The Summit League in several categories:

Free-Throw Attempts – 335 (2nd SL / 11th in the NCAA)
Free-Throws Made – 247 (7th / 3rd)
Steals – 186 (1st / 5th)
Three-Point Attempts – 485 (1st / 3rd)
Three-Points Field Goals Made – 151 (3rd / 8th)
Turnovers Forced – 23.38 PG (1st / 6th)

*national marks as of Jan. 9

The Long Ball: Western sits third 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 32 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 (432), Rebounds (78), Steals (23), Points (134)

Scouting the Bison: North Dakota State (4-11, 1-2 SL) will look to break a two-game losing skid when it plays host to Western on Friday.

Iowa State transfer Sofija Zivaljevic has started all three Summit League games this season and is second on the team in scoring with 9.0 points per game. Michelle Gaislerova leads the Bison with 14.9 PPG while Maria Fernandez is active on the boards with a team-high 5.4 rebounds per game.

Scouting the Hawks: North Dakota (7-9, 2-1 SL) lost its first Summit League matchup in an 87-66 against Denver. The team will meet Omaha Wednesday night before taking on the Leathernecks. Lexi Klabo leads the league with 18.9 PPG while also ranking second in rebounds (8.3).

Jill Morton is the Hawk's second-leading scorer with 10.4 PPG.

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