CHARLESTON, Ill. - Elizabeth Lutz and Anna Deets combined for 29 points off the bench for Western Illinois (0-3) in a 88-74 loss to Eastern Illinois (2-2) on Sunday (Dec. 6)
"This has been a tough stretch on the road," head coach JD Gravina said. "We aren't going to win many games when the other teams shoot the way NIU and EIU did. We need to get better at challenging trees and not overthinking our zone. Offensively, we are seeing some encouraging things but just haven't been able to put a full game together."
The Leatherneck bench combined for 39 points compared to the opponent's 15. Lutz tossed in a team-high 16 while Deets scored a career-high 13, finishing 3-5 behind the arc and a perfect 4-4 at the free-throw line.
In the Compass Challenge finale, the Panthers opened up the first quarter on a 12-5 run. Sam Pryor got the offense moving for the Leathernecks as she nailed two three-pointers to make it a three-point game (16-13) at the 4:13 mark. The senior ended with three total treys as EIU held onto a 23-19 at the end of the first.
WIU earned its first advantage (24-23) of the game with a Deets three at 9:13 in the second quarter. The in-state rivals traded blows, with the lead switching six separate times. The third annual tournament's host secured momentum and began another 12-5 to enter half, up 51-40.
Eastern used that surge to maintain at least a 10-point lead throughout the remainder of the game while forcing 10 Western turnovers to take the contest.
Eleven of the 12 players who appeared for the Purple and Gold scored, with freshman Maddie Mock scoring her first career points with a third-quarter layup.
Western Illinois concludes the three-game stretch at Indiana State on Monday (Dec. 7).
