Sarah Twidwell

The Golden Showdown: Leathernecks Honor its Golden Senior vs. Golden Eagles

Thursday, February 21, 2019

The Leathernecks will honor senior Taylor Higginbotham in its final home regular season game against Oral Roberts.

Western Illinois (12-14, 8-5) vs. Oral Roberts (15-12, 8-6)
Date / Tipoff:	Saturday, Feb. 23 \| 4:30 p.m.
Location:	Macomb, Ill.
Site:	Western Hall
Radio:	Ryan Kent Jr. (WRMS)

Happy Birthday Rocky: University Housing and Dining Services is sponsoring Senior Night this Saturday with several festivities planned for the men's and women's basketball games.

The day includes: in-game contest giveaways, a birthday party for Colonel Rock III and Colonel Rock IV with free cupcakes and stickers, a prize sponsored by the Inter-Hall Council for the first 250 students to attend each game, and a $50 bookstore giveaway for res hall students who earned a 3.0 grade point average last semester.

The Leathernecks will be honoring senior Taylor Higginbotham in a pre-game recognition ceremony prior to the 4:30 p.m. tip.

Series History: The all-time series is tied at 23-23, and before the 68-64 meeting earlier this season, Western held a four-game winning streak against the Golden Eagles.

Jan. 5, 2019 | 68-64 L / A
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: Playing host to its second 'Top 25' program this season, the Leathernecks welcomed No. 25 South Dakota to Western Hall last weekend, and dropped the decision by a score of 83-61.

The opening quarter featured a pair of runs from both sides – an 8-0 stretch by the Coyotes and an 8-2 spree by WIU – before ending in a 16-15 edge for the home team. Danni Nichols pushed Western to its largest lead of the afternoon, 22-17, on a layup with 7:27 to go until halftime, and her team recorded its final advantage at the 4:47 mark of the second quarter.

At the Line: Western has made more free throws than any Summit League team this season and currently sits ninth in the nation in the category. The team is shooting 75.8 percent at the line (405-534) and has a notched a pair of WIU single-game, all-time marks.

Olivia Kaufmann | 13-for-14 at Furman (Dec. 21) | T-10 in free throws made
Annabel Graettinger | 11-for-11 vs. South Dakota (Feb. 16) | 6th in free throw percentage

The Streak: Prior to the decision versus USD, the Leathernecks were in the midst of a four-game winning streak. They have won seven of their last nine contests with both setbacks coming against the Coyotes.

North Dakota (111-90) | Marked the second time Western has eclipsed the century mark this season and the second most points scored on the year

North Dakota State (82-70) | Four scored in double-figures, guided by Taylor Higginbotham's season-high 27 points

at Purdue Fort Wayne (90-61) | 29 points marked Western's second-largest winning margin of the season and best in Summit League play

at Omaha (79-67) | Three scored 20-plus points guided by Olivia Kaufmann's 24

The Freshman: Danni Nichols has become a regular fixture in WIU's starting lineup, and has made the most of the opportunity by averaging 16.28 points per game in her last seven starts. Nichols has scored 15+ in eight games this season including a season-high 22 at Omaha (Feb. 9).

There Can Only Be One: Taylor Higginbotham became Western's all-time leading scorer Sunday (Feb. 3) in the team's 82-70 win over North Dakota State, and currently possesses 1,743.

She eclipsed Emily Clemens' career record in the 8:43 mark of the third quarter en route to a season-high 27 points. Clemens graduated from Western a year ago with 1,699 points.

Summit League Players of the Week: Western has garnered the league's weekly award three times this season.

Taylor Higginbotham | Moved to second on WIU's all-time scoring list at Las Vegas Hoops Tournament (Dec. 22)
Olivia Kaufmann | Averaged 15 points, 8.5 assists, six steals and 5.5 rebounds in wins over Omaha and Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 21)
Taylor Higginbotham | Became Western's all-time leading scorer; helped Leathernecks to wins over North Dakotas with back-to-back, 20-point games (Feb. 1)

Ten Makes: Danni Nichols joined Olivia Kaufmann, and Elizabeth Lutz atop the list of Western's single-game highs with 10 made field goals at Purdue Fort Wayne (Jan. 19). All three have hit the mark at some point this season, and it currently sits as the most made in the 2017-18 season.

Lutz vs. MacMurray College (Nov. 12) | 23 points
Kaufmann vs. North Dakota (Jan. 13 & Feb. 1) | 28 points (career-highs)
Nichols at Purdue Fort Wayne | 21 points (career-high)

The Long Ball: Western sits 16th in the nation with 228 made 3-pointers. The team has made 10 or more treys in seven games this season including a program-record 28 against MacMurray College (Nov. 12) which also set an NCAA Division I record.

After a seven-game hiatus of converting less than 10, the Leathernecks' 3-point stroke returned with 15 against North Dakota State (Feb. 1).

Running Point: Olivia Kaufmann is the Leathernecks' primary ball handler with a team-high 98 assists, and she also guides the offense with 16.0 points per game, ranking second and third in the Summit League, respectively.

The junior became the Leathernecks' starting point guard this season and has seen the most action on the floor with 805 minutes.

New Kyra on the Block: Kyra Washington joined the Leathernecks at the start of the 2018-19 season after transferring in from Parkland College. She's been an absolute spark off the bench, shooting a team-high 47.4 percent from beyond the arc, where she has swished 36 of her 47 field goals. Washington is second on the team in made threes and averages 6.0 PPG.

She has made three or more 3-pointers in six games, highlighted by a perfect 4-for-4 performance at South Dakota State.

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 23 starts this season, Graettinger has scored in double-figures 16 times to average 11.8 PPG.

On the Verge: Olivia Kaufmann has been on the edge of capturing her first career double-double three times this season.

at Oral Roberts (Jan. 5) | 14 points, 9 rebounds
at North Dakota State (Jan. 11) | 13 points, 9 rebounds
Omaha (Jan. 16) | 17 points, 9 assists

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), Assists (15), Steals (7), Points (77)
2018-19: Minutes (668), Rebounds (111), Assists (38), Steals (30), Points (182)

Boards & More: Averaging 7.6 rebounds per game, Taylor Higginbotham is the most active Leatherneck on the boards. She currently ties for third in the Summit League in the category and has pulled down 10 or more in six games this season, finishing with a double-double in all but one of the contests.

Austin Peay: 12 rebounds, 14 points
Furman: 12 rebounds, 16 points
Denver: 17 rebounds (career-high), 23 points
at Oral Roberts: 10 rebounds, 16 points
at North Dakota State: 10 rebounds, 21 points
at Omaha: 10 rebounds, 5 points

The Leathernecks are 3-2 in games where Higginbotham posts a double-double.

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