Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Mal
Rachael Keating

Game 20 Preview: Taking on the Tommies

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Leatherneck women’s basketball heads up to the Twin Cities for a single game this weekend.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Western Illinois women's basketball continues its Summit League slate this week with a single game at St. Thomas. Tip off against the Tommies is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 21), with the game streaming on Tommies All-Access.

GAME 20 INFO:
Who: Western Illinois (7-12, 2-6) at St. Thomas (7-11, 2-6)
When: Saturday (Jan. 21) – 1 p.m.
Where: Schoenecker Arena – St. Paul, Minn.


SOCIAL MEDIA: @WIUWBB (Twitter + Instagram + Facebook)
 
Quick Hitters:
  • The Leathernecks and Tommies have only matched up twice in program history, both coming last season. UST got ahead with a 66-64 double-overtime victory at Western Hall but the Leathernecks went to St. Paul and got the victory on Jan. 29, winning 82-67.
  • The Leathernecks are coming off a split weekend, scoring a season-high 90 points in a four-point loss against Oral Roberts on Thursday before defeating Kansas City 78-68 on Saturday.
  • Anna Deets was named Summit League Player of the Week on Monday (Jan. 16) after averaging 29.5 points, nine rebounds and one steal across both games.
 
Scouting the Tommies
St. Thomas is 7-11 on the season, holding a 2-6 record against Summit League opponents and winning its last two games against Kansas City (63-60) and Oral Roberts (76-75). Maggie Negaard leads the Tommy offense at 11.9 points per game and is joined by Jade Hill (10.8) in double-digits, with Negaard averaging 21.5 points per game in both victories this past weekend. UST's defense has been a strength this season, allowing 62.1 points per game – good for the best mark in the Summit League.
 
Player of the Week
Anna Deets was named TicketSmarter Summit League Women's Basketball Peak Performer of the Week after averaging 29.5 points, nine rebounds and one steal per game against ORU and UMKC. The Mason City, Iowa, native set a new career-high with 35 points against UMKC and was a perfect 11-11 at the line, marking the first time a Leatherneck has scored 30 or more points in a game since Grace Gilmore's 46-point outburst at Omaha on Feb. 6, 2021. Deets' recognition also extended the team's streak to 11-consecutive seasons with at least one student athlete earning Player of the Week honors.
 
Super Scoring
Entering last weekend with an average of 66.8 points per game, Western Illinois poured in a season-high 90 against Oral Roberts and adding 78 in a victory over Kansas City, which increased the team's scoring by nearly two points per game to 68.6. The Leathernecks now rank sixth in the Summit League for scoring, half a point ahead of Omaha (68.1) and 2.3 behind fifth-place South Dakota (70.9)
 
Stout Defense
Carla Flores has been a key piece of the WIU rotation this season, starting seven games and averaging 16.6 minutes of action. This past weekend, Flores held averages of seven points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals while earning the praise of head coach JD Gravina for her defensive effort against UMKC, who described her as one of the best defenders on the team.
 
Starting to Click
A constant in the Leatherneck rotation this season, true freshman Addi Brownfield has started each of the team's last five games and is coming off arguably her best weekend of play this season. After pairing 14 points with three rebounds against ORU, Brownfield went for 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals in 32 minutes of action during Western's victory on Saturday. Brownfield now ranks third on the team in scoring (7.9) and fourth in rebounding (3.2) while shooting 38.4% from the field and 73.1% at the line.
 
Cementing Her Legacy
Elizabeth Lutz achieved something that only 19 players in the history of Leatherneck women's basketball have achieved this weekend, scoring her 1,000th career point while wearing a Leatherneck uniform. The California, Mo., native took a first-quarter feed from Carla Flores and finished, and was met by a standing ovation from those in attendance at Western Hall.
 
"You see a lot of kids do it in high school but it's just so hard to do in college. To score that many points, I think it cements her name in our program and that's big because she's meant so much to us from a leadership and personality perspective," coach Gravina said. "Her attempts this year are down and it says a lot about her character that she's willing to go in there and embrace her role. She's our third-leading rebounder, had four assists against Kansas City, and it's just neat for her to get that milestone."
 
Ball Movement
Western Illinois moved the ball around early and often against the Golden Eagles and Roos, finishing the weekend with 30 assists on 50 made baskets, which is good for 60% of the team's makes. It's the team's most assists in a two-game stretch since the beginning of Summit League play and marks the second time this season that WIU has recorded 30 or more assists in a two-game span, after combining for 33 in back-to-back games against Eureka (20) and SEMO (13).
 
At the Line
After sinking a combined 51 free throws this past weekend, WIU's run as the top free throw shooting team in the Summit League continues, as the team's 360 makes is 70 more than second-ranked South Dakota State; the 360 makes lead all schools at all levels of the NCAA while Western's average of 25.26 attempts per game is third behind LSU's 26 and Arkansas' 25.5 per game. The Leathernecks rank second in the country for total attempts (480) while leading all Division-I schools in average makes per game (18.95).
 
Up Next
The Leathernecks face South Dakota (Jan. 26, 7 p.m.) and South Dakota State (Jan. 28, 2 p.m.) on the road next week.
 
Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Now Playing:

Related Stories