GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The Western Illinois women's basketball team (11-10, 5-3) nearly erased a 20 point deficit as Danni Nichols set another career-high (26 points) in a 77-71 loss to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (13-8, 4-4) on Sunday (Jan. 26).
"Getting off to a bad start was the worst possible thing we could do," said head coach JD Gravina. "We let them (North Dakota) rush us and we struggled with poise, playing really fast. We just have to do a better job of playing who we are."
The Fighting Hawks owned its largest of the game by 20 points to start the fourth, and the Leathernecks fought back and made it a six-point game twice (66-72) and (71-77) from deep three-pointer by Olivia Kaufmann and a Carla Flores jumper. However, North Dakota used the free-throw line to snap the Western win streak and hold on.
"Our girls aren't one to give up, and they are going to keep fighting and perhaps making the mistake of trying a little too hard. I am encouraged how our team wanted to fight back, and I am told them in the locker room that you got to play very well on the road to win in this league."
In back-to-back road games, Nichols set a new career-high with a 26 point performance. She also tied her season-high in field goals (9) as she hit two threes and got to the free-throw line 10 times.
Kaufmann (18) and Grace Gilmore (10) both finished in double-digits, and each sunk six buckets form the line. Kaufmann was only two rebounds shy of a double-double as on the other side of the ball, Gilmore set a new career-high with five steals.
The Purple and Gold entered the league matchup second in the nation in free-throw attempts. WIU made 41 total visits with Elizabeth Lutz finishing a perfect 4-4.
Shooting woes, fouls and trips to the line was the script of the first half. Neither side shot over 30 percent while there was 28 total fouls and 32 total trips to the free-throw line while Western trailed by nine (25-34).
The matinee in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center totaled 58 fouls and 66 trips to the free-throw line.
Western Illinois drops it's first game since Jan. 4 and returns home for the second go-around in Summit League play against South Dakota State on Thursday (Jan. 30) and North Dakota State Saturday (Feb. 1).
