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Western Illinois University Athletics

team
Rachael Keating
87
Winner Kansas City KC 18-5,8-4 Summit League
85
Western Ill. WIU 12-10,3-8 Summit League
Winner
Kansas City KC
18-5,8-4 Summit League
87
Final
85
Western Ill. WIU
12-10,3-8 Summit League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
Kansas City KC 27 16 12 24 8 87
Western Ill. WIU 35 13 18 13 6 85

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Fall in Overtime

Team’s 16 made three pointers not enough, will face North Dakota in Grand Forks on Thursday (Feb. 10).

MACOMB, ILL. – The Western Illinois University Fighting Leatherneck women's basketball team played on Saturday (Feb. 5), falling 85-87 to the Roos of Kansas City in a game that went to overtime. Western Illinois is now 12-10 on the season with seven games remaining in the regular season.
 
"It was emotion-driven, we just wanted to come out guns blazing and be ready to battle. Kansas City is one of the top teams in the league and it forced us to play at a high level," head coach JD Gravina said. "We did a good job of getting going… and gave ourselves a good chance to win."
 
Both teams shot lights out from the opening tip, combining to shoot 14-18 (77.8%) from behind the arc and 24-37 from the field (64.9%) in the game's opening ten minutes as Western held a 35-27 advantage. Both teams cooled off a bit in the second quarter, but Western Illinois still held a 48-43 advantage when the halftime buzzer sounded. Jada Thorpe broke out in a big way with 17 first half points, more than she has scored in any Leatherneck game since scoring 16 against SIUE on Dec. 7.
 
Western's defense came to play in the third quarter, holding Kansas City to just 4-17 (23.5%) from the field as the Leathernecks outscored UMKC 18-12 and carried a 66-55 lead into the final period of play. The Roos would respond, and eventually made a last-second three pointer to send the game into overtime. Despite holding Kansas City to 25% shooting (2-8) from the field, Western Illinois trailed with 11 seconds left. Off a missed Roo free throw and ensuing timeout, WIU lined up an open shot from behind the arc that was just off, and Kansas City left Western Hall as 87-85 victors.
 
"I thought we did a really good job attacking on that final play. We ran what we wanted and had a two-on-one situation with Danni for a lay in or the kick out for three and I thought we had a really good look," Gravina said. "We got a good look so it's hard to complain."
 
Jada Thorpe led Western's attack with 22 points, finishing the game with three rebounds, four assists and three steals. Danni Nichols scored 19 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks, and Elizabeth Lutz scored 16 points on 5-12 shooting (3-5 from deep). Anna Deets scored 13 points in 32 minutes of action off the Leatherneck bench, while Evan Zars paired six points with 16 rebounds and one block.
 
As a team Western Illinois shot 30-66 (45.5%) from the field, making 16-29 (55.2%) from deep and nine shots from the free-throw line. The Leathernecks grabbed 33 rebounds (six offensive), scoring seven second-chance points and 26 in the paint. The defense finished with nine steals and forced 22 Kansas City turnovers, coring 23 points off turnovers and nine in transition.
 
The Leathernecks are back in action on Thursday (Feb. 10) in Fargo, N.D. Tip-off against the Bison is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
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