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Leathernecks Ready for First Summit Road Series at SDSU

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois heads to South Dakota State on Friday (Jan. 8) and Saturday (Jan. 9), both games are set for 5 p.m.

GAMES 11 & 12 
 
Who | Western Illinois (2-8, 1-1) at South Dakota State (7-2, 0-0)
When | Friday (Jan. 8) and Saturday (Jan. 9) at 5 p.m.
Where | Brookings, S.D. - Frost Arena
TV | Jackrabbit All-Access 
Social Media | Twitter + Facebook #TRADITIONofTOUGH

Tip-Off | After splitting the opening Summit League series with North Dakota State at home, Western Illinois heads to South Dakota State for its first league road series of the season. 

The weekend action will serve as the Jackrabbits conference opener. 

Headlines 
  • Western Illinois split the opening Summit League series versus NDSU, 77-65 and 60-93. 
  • Four Leathernecks are averaging double-digit performances in Summit League play - Grace Gilmore (14.5), Danni Nichols (13.0), Evan Zars (12.5), and Elizabeth Lutz (11.0) - the second most behind Kansas City who has five. 
  • Overall, Western is the only team in the Summit to have three players averaging double-digit nights - Grace Gilmore (10.9), Evan Zars (10.7), and Danni Nichols (10.6).
  • Head Coach JD Gravina won his 150th game in the conference opening victory (77-65) on Saturday (Jan. 2), becoming the second coach in program history to achieve the mark. He owns the program's all-time winning percentage at .521. 
  • WIU trails 2-26 all-time in the series and won the inaugural meeting 67-60 on Jan. 14, 2008, in Macomb. The Leathernecks look to win their first game ever in Brookings. 
  • Senior Grace Gilmore is second in the conference with 31 assists and sits 10th in free throw attempts (65) and 12th in free throws made (48) nationally.
  • Elizabeth Lutz continues to lead the conference in steals (21) and steals per game (2.1). The 21 total swipes pace her 36th in the country. 
  • Both Senior Sam Pryor and Freshman Anna Deets have hit a three in all 10 games this season, Pryor is third in the league with a team-leading 21 threes, and Deets is tied for fifth at 16.   
  • Last year's Summit League Newcomer of the Year, Evan Zars, tied her career-high with five blocks against NDSU (Jan. 3), the most by a league player this season. She is 18th in blocked shots (19) and 60th in blocks per game (1.9). 
Scouting the Jackrabbits | SDSU owns a 7-2 record with wins over No. 15 Iowa State, No. 18 Gonzaga, and No. 20 Missouri State… in the midst of a four-game win streak, head coach Aaron Johnston owns a career record of 499-168 in 22 years at South Dakota State…they were picked second in the preseason poll with receiving 11 first-place votes and currently ranked No. 2 in the Mid Major poll.  

Summit Schedule Format | The 16-game slate will be conducted in a single-site format, with teams playing back-to-back, no break between days. The men's and women's league schedules also mirror each other, with each date featuring a doubleheader.

Western Illinois 2020-21 League Schedule
Jan. 2-3 | North Dakota State
Jan. 8-9 | at South Dakota State
Jan. 15-16 | Kansas City
Jan. 22-23 | South Dakota
Jan. 29-30 | at North Dakota
Feb. 6-7 | at Omaha
Feb. 12-13 | Denver
Feb. 27-28 | at Oral Roberts

Last Time Out |  Western Illinois (2-8, 1-1) and North Dakota State (6-2, 1-1) split the opening Summit League season series as the Bison won 60-93 on Sunday (Jan. 3). 

The win for NDSU marked just the third victory ever inside Western Hall and the first since 2014. Danni Nichols (13) and Grace Gilmore (15) finished in double figures in back-to-back games. Evan Zars tied her career-high with five blocks and added nine points.  

In the second game of the series, it was NDSU this time that got off to a quick start. The Bison shot 60 percent (9-15) from the field and closed on a 9-0 run to lead 23-12 at the end of the first quarter. Gilmore and Nichols helped pace the offense in the second quarter as they combined for 13 of WIU's 17 points. They brought the game back to single digits (38-29), but a buzzer-beater three pushed North Dakota State ahead 41-29 into half.  

The visitors opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run to eventually take a 19 point lead (48-29) at the 8:30 mark. Freshman Mallory McDermott brought the deficit to 11 (56-45) at 2:05 with a corner three, but another Bison run to start the fourth quarter helped secure the series split.
 
Up Next | Western returns home to host back-to-back series against Kansas City (Jan. 15-16) and South Dakota (Jan. 22-23).  
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