MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois women's basketball was in action Monday night (Nov. 1), hosting Division-II side Quincy in a preseason exhibition at Western Hall. Fueled by a strong second quarter, WIU came out victorious, winning 63-48.
"This game had a similar feel to our first exhibition. I thought our defensive effort was really good and offensively we just never got in a rhythm, but made enough plays to control the game," head coach JD Gravina said. "I definitely think these two exhibitions helped prepare us for our regular season which is why we scheduled quality opponents."
After coming off the bench last week against Columbia College, both Zareia Chevre and Mallory McDermott started the game as Western's offense struggled off the tip. In the first quarter, WIU shot 3-14 from the field and made all four attempts at the free throw line, while limiting the QU offense to just 4-22 shooting; the teams were tied after one. Western took control in the second quarter, coming out of the break and going on an 11-0 run that saw McDermott hit two shots from range. Both teams would trade buckets the rest of the period as WIU outscored Quincy 21-10 and took a 31-20 lead into half.
The free throw line hurt Western in the third quarter, hitting 2-7, as both teams traded buckets and ended the period separated by 10 points. Western Illinois opened the final period on a 9-2 run that saw Alissa Dins and Jada Thorpe score along with two more McDermott threes to build a 52-35 advantage. WIU's lead would grow to as much as 20 with 3:40 to go in the game after an Addi Brownfield layup, and the game went final as a 63-48 Western Illinois victory.
McDermott led all scorers with 19 points on 7-13 shooting (4-8 from three), also grabbing seven rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Jada Thorpe finished with 11 points and three steals while Elizabeth Lutz had eight points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Brownfield scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds while fellow freshman Allie Meadows scored five on a perfect 2-2 shooting (1-1 from deep).
Anna Deets paired two points with eight rebounds in 20 minutes on the floor while Alissa Dins had two points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes of action; Kennedy Flanagan finished with two rebounds, a block and two steals in 20 minutes and Madison Allen made a three and grabbed one rebound while playing just over three minutes.
As a team, WIU hit 34.9% of field goal attempts, making eight shots from deep and 11 at the line while out rebounding Quincy 52-48. The Leatherneck defense limited QU to 16-65 shooting (24.6%) and 3-22 from distance (13.6%) while blocking one shot and forcing 18 turnovers – 10 of which were steals. The bench came up big, scoring 23 points, while the Leathernecks controlled the paint at a 24-12 scoring advantage.
Tuesday's game marked the end of the preseason for Western Illinois women's basketball, as the regular season starts next Monday (Nov. 7) on the road against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Tip-off in Minneapolis is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
