Who | Western Illinois (14-14, 5-12) versus South Dakota (24-5, 17-1)
When | Saturday (March 5) 3 p.m. CT
Where | Denny Sanford PREMIER Center (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Social Media | Twitter + Instagram + Facebook + #TRADITIONofTOUGH
Western Illinois women's basketball heads to Sioux Falls, S.D., for the annual Summit League basketball tournament (March 5-8). The seven-seeded Leathernecks will battle versus two seed South Dakota Coyotes in the first round.
Regular Season Accolades | The Leathernecks had three athletes honored in the postseason awards list. Danni Nichols was named second team All-Summit, Evan Zars was an honorable mention and Elizabeth Lutz made the All-Defensive team.
Nichols was named Second Team All-Summit League after starting each of the team's 28 games this season, holding averages of 15.7 points per game on 53.1% shooting from the field while aloso averaging 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks. Her scoring led the team and ranked fifth in the Summit League, and she scored in double figures 22 times while finishing with seven games of 20 or more points. Nichols scored a career-high 27 points twice, leading Western Illinois in victories against Southern Illinois (Dec. 4 Omaha on (Dec. 22), and tied her career-best mark for rebounds in a 19-point, 10-rebound performance in a victory against Denver on Dec. 22.
Zars has started every single game for three-straight seasons at Western Illinois, and has been named All-Summit Honorable Mention for the second-straight season. A forward from Shawnee, Kan., Zars led the Summit League in rebounding at 9.0 per game, and the 2021-22 season marked her third-consecutive year of starting every single game while averaging at least nine rebounds. She paired a season-high 18 rebounds with 13 points in an 85-73 road victory against North Dakota on Feb. 12, and scored in double figures 15 times while recording at least two blocks in 12 different games.
Lutz's naming to the All-Defensive Team is her first time earning recognition from the Summit League. In her fourth season as a Leatherneck Lutz led the entire league in steals, averaging 2.2 per game. Against Oral Roberts on Feb. 14, Lutz tied a career-high with seven steals and finished the season with 10 games of three or more steals and six games with four or more. She also finished second on the team in rebounding at an average of 4.7 per game, and finished the season as the team leader in minutes played. Lutz' inclusion on the All-Defense team is a first for the program since Zane Teilane earned Mid-Con Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2004-05 and again in 2005-06.
Winning Basketball | Western Illinois ended the regular season with a 14-14 overall record to end the year right at .500; the Leathernecks have finished at least .500 in four of the past six seasons.
Sharp Shooters | Western enters the tournament as the top three-point making team in the Summit League, averaging 8.8 triples per game and holding the third-best percentage from distance in the Summit League.
Lots of steals | Western Illinois ended the season with three players in the top 10 in steals per game in the Summit League. Elizabeth Lutz's 2.2 steals per game gave her the best average in the conference, while Jada Thorpe finished in second with 2.1 per game and Danni Nichols finished sixth with 1.6 per contest.
Efficient Shooters | Western Illinois travels to Sioux Falls with two of the best shot makers in the Summit League. Evan Zars shot 53.6 percent this season for the league's third-best field goal percentage and Danni Nichols ended the year with the fourth-best field goal percentage at 53.1 percent.
Seven Seed Success | This tournament marks just the second time Coach Gravina comes in as the seven seed, but he has previous success in the Summit League tournament with that ranking as Western Illinois upset two-seed Oral Roberts 83-71 back in 2012. That game marks the last time a seven-seed advanced to the second round.
