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Western Illinois University Athletics

JP
Daytona Dooley
94
Winner Oral Roberts ORU 6-11,3-3 Summit League
90
Western Ill. WIU 6-12,1-6 Summit League
Winner
Oral Roberts ORU
6-11,3-3 Summit League
94
Final
90
Western Ill. WIU
6-12,1-6 Summit League
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Oral Roberts ORU 24 10 34 26 94
Western Ill. WIU 10 37 21 22 90

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

Deets, Thorpe Score Career-Highs in Loss to ORU

Leathernecks score 37 points in the second quarter, host Kansas City on Saturday.

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois women's basketball played on Thursday (Jan. 12), falling 90-94 in a contest against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at Western Hall. The result puts WIU's season record at 6-12 with a home matchup against Kansas City scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
"It was a wild game, especially with both teams having a 35-point quarter. (Oral Roberts) got off to that really good start but I was proud of the way we fought back," head coach JD Gravina said. "We struggled to defend on the side away from our bench and got passive. They attacked hard and got deep before being picked up and it's almost counterintuitive – we have to stay more aggressive and play good, early help defense. I'm proud of our fight, saw some good things, but at the end of the day we've just got to do some things better."
 
After ORU came out firing and took a 24-10 lead in the first quarter, Western exploded during the second with 37 points in just 10 minutes of game time. After the Golden Eagles hit a pair of free throws to take a 28-16 advantage with just over seven minutes to go in the half, WIU finished the quarter on a 32-6 run that was fueled by a stifling defense that limited Oral Roberts to just 2-13 shooting and an offense that shot 4-8 from deep and 14-16 at the line. It was a season-high for single-quarter scoring and put the score in favor of WIU at half, leading 47-34. 
 
"For a while we were getting stop after stop but couldn't score. I thought we were getting good shots in the first quarter too and they weren't' falling so I just really emphasized to keep getting good shots and keep doing what we were doing," Gravina said. "Once shots started to fall we wore them down a bit, got them into foul trouble and got to the free throw line."
 
The Golden Eagles responded with their own 34-point quarter in the third, setting the stage for a crucial fourth quarter that began with both teams all knotted up at 68. Western kept fighting after ORU built a seven-point lead with just over two minutes remaining, turning a Jada Thorpe block into a fast-break layup by Carla Flores that cut the lead to just five. Thorpe then drained a triple with 31 seconds remaining that brought Western within four points but WIU was unable to overcome the deficit and fell, 90-94.
 
Thorpe would lead all scorers with 28 points, hitting 10 shots from the line and adding three rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block. Anna Deets scored 24 on 7-13 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for her second double-double in the last three games, while Addi Brownfield paired 14 points with three rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Alissa Dins finished with six points, six rebounds and three steals while Carla Flores scored five points to go along with three rebounds, four assists and two steals. Elizabeth Lutz led the team in assists with five, also scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in 27 minutes on the floor. Kennedy Flanagan had three points, four rebounds and one block. Both Deets and Thorpe's scoring totals set new career-highs. 
 
"I've been really impressed with Anna's rebounding and that's crucial for us. For her to be able to get in there and go up, grab boards and be strong just gives us that other threat, especially if Alissa's having to spend a lot of her efforts boxing out someone like Tirzah Moore," Gravina said. "Anna's had two really good games and rebounding games in Omaha and tonight so that's encouraging… She's one of our veterans, one of our go-to players."
 
As a team, Western Illinois shot assisted on 14 of its 26 field goals and hit 30 of 37 free throw attempts, good for 81.1% at the line, while forcing 22 Golden Eagle turnovers. Those turnovers were converted into 18 points off turnovers and 21 on the fast break, while WIU score 36 points in the paint and converted nine offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.  
 
The Leathernecks are back in action Saturday afternoon, hosting Kansas City at Western Hall. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
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