Rachael Keating

Games 21 & 22 Preview: See You Soon, South Dakota

Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | By: WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks face Coyotes, Jackrabbits this week.

VERMILLION/BROOKINGS, S.D. - Western Illinois women's basketball will look to continue its winning ways this week, heading North to face South Dakota and South Dakota State on their home floors. Streams will be available on each respective host's website with game updates being provided at @WIUWBB on Twitter.

GAME 21 INFO:
Who: Western Illinois (8-12, 3-6) at South Dakota (10-10, 6-3)
When: Thursday (Jan. 26) – 7 p.m.
Where: Sanford Coyote Sports Center – Vermillion, S.D.

GAME 22 INFO:
Who: Western Illinois (8-12, 3-6) at South Dakota State (16-5, 9-0)
When: Saturday (Jan. 28) – 2 p.m.
Where: Frost Arena – Brookings, S.D.

SOCIAL MEDIA: @WIUWBB (Twitter + Instagram + Facebook)

Quick Hitters:

The Leathernecks and Coyotes have met 23 times in program history. Though South Dakota holds a commanding lead in the all-time series, Western Illinois earned a 76-67 victory earlier this season at Western Hall that was fueled by double-digit scoring from Anna Deets (23), Alissa Dins (13) and Carla Flores (13).
South Dakota State won, 85-63, earlier this season, to continue its lead in the all-time series. Mallory McDermott scored 16 points in that game while Elizabeth Lutz (10) and Addi Brownfield (10) joined her in double-figures.
Western Illinois is coming off a successful weekend in St. Paul, Minn., defeating the University of St. Thomas 77-75 for the team's second-consecutive victory. The team shot a season-high 50% from the field and finished with 14 steals, which ties for the second-highest single-game total this season.

Scouting the Coyotes
South Dakota is 10-10 and has won its last two games, defeating Omaha and Denver over the weekend. Grace Larkins continues to pace the Coyote offense at 17.9 points per game while the defense is holding opponents to 40.9% from the field – good for third-lowest mark in the Summit League. Larkins also leads her team in rebounding (6.9), assists (4.4), steals (2.0) and blocks (0.6).

Scouting the Jackrabbits
SDSU holds a 16-5 record this season and is unbeaten in conference play, entering this week's games in the midst of a nine-game winning streak that dates back to Dec. 19; the Jackrabbits' last loss came on Dec. 15 to the top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. Forward Myah Selland ranks fifth in the Summit League with an average of 16.1 points per game while also leading SDSU with 6.1 rebounds and 31 total steals. The Jackrabbits host St. Thomas on Thursday before Saturday's contest with Western Illinois.

Starting Fast
One thing head coach JD Gravina has stressed all season long is the importance of getting out to good starts in games, and it's something the team did against St. Thomas on Saturday. Western connected with 10 of its first 20 attempts from the field, shooting 5-9 from deep and hitting the only attempt at the line. Thanks to this start, Western built a 15-point lead (26-11) with 8:30 remaining in the second quarter.

"Getting off to a good start is really important for us and we did that," Gravina said. "We got up but didn't quite put the pedal to the metal and go like sharks to blood, but it was nice that we reacted to that pretty well. In the third quarter when they made that run, especially being on the road, it would have been easy to fall off… we made some big plays."

Game-Winning Bucket
Carla Flores hit the biggest shot of Saturday's game, banking in a layup on the low block with 0.9 seconds remaining to give Western Illinois a 77-75 road victory. A senior from Barcelona, Spain, Flores has started each of her last seven appearances and has been a pivotal part of the Leatherneck defense while shooting a team-leading 36.1% from three point range this season (minimum 35 attempts).

Efficient Scoring
Saturday's effort against St. Thomas was one of the best scoring games of the season for Western Illinois, who shot a season-high 50% from the field while making 40% of three-point attempts – good for second-best in a game this season. With the Tommies allowing just 62.8 points per game (lowest mark in the Summit League), Saturday's 77-point effort marked just the second time this entire season that St. Thomas has allowed more than 75 points in a single game.

Clutch Plays
Outside of Flores' game-winner, Mallory McDermott hit arguably the two most important shots of the Saturday's game for Western Illinois. In the middle of the fourth quarter with WIU tailing 66-58, McDermott sank back-to-back triples to cut an eight-point deficit to just two with 5:05 remaining in the game.

"I thought Mal was someone who put in a good performance," Gravina said. "Coming in, it's hard – she was sitting on the bench for a little longer maybe than she's used to but she still came in and hit two huge threes."

Finding a Rhythm
A constant in the Leatherneck rotation this season, true freshman Addi Brownfield has started each of the team's last six games and has really found a groove across the team's last three games, averaging 16 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.0 steals while shooting 58.6% from the field and 42.8% from deep. She now ranks fifth on the team in minutes played (415), third in scoring (8.3), third in rebounding (3.2) and third in total steals (24).

Deets Does it Again
One week after earning TicketSmarter Summit League Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors, Anna Deets completed her third-consecutive game with 20+ points, scoring 21 points and grabbing five rebounds in WIU's victory over St. Thomas. With the effort, Deets solidified her place with the team-lead for scoring average at 12.9 per game.

Make Your Free Throws
Several Leathernecks are having career years at the free throw line, as Elizabeth Lutz (90.4%), Alissa Dins (82.1%) and Anna Deets (81.4%) are all shooting above 80% at the line to lead a team that currently leads the nation in average free throw makes per game (18.75). Among Summit League players to attempt at least 58 shots at the line, Deets' percentage ranks third-best while Jada Thorpe's 74.8% is ninth; Thorpe also ranks second in the league for total makes (89).

Up Next
Western Illinois is back in Macomb for its next two games, hosting Denver (Feb. 2, 6 p.m.) and Omaha (Feb. 4, 2 p.m.) at Western Hall.

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