Rachael Keating

Games 16 & 17 Preview: The Mountain Time Zone

Tuesday, January 03, 2023 | By: WIU Athletic Communications

Leatherneck women’s basketball heads west to face Omaha and Denver this week.

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball continues its 2022-23 campaign on the road this week, visiting Omaha, Neb., and Denver, Colo., for more Summit League action. The Leathernecks will face off this Thursday (Jan. 5) and then the Pioneers on Saturday (Jan. 7), before returning home next week.

GAME 16 INFO:
Who: Western Illinois (6-9, 1-3) at Omaha (6-7, 1-1)
When: Thursday (Jan. 5) – 7 p.m.
Where: Baxter Arena – Omaha, Neb.

GAME 17 INFO:
Who: Western Illinois (6-9, 1-3) at Denver (5-8, 1-1)
When: Saturday (Jan. 7) – 1 p.m. MT / 2 p.m. CT
Where: Hamilton Gymnasium – Denver, Colo.

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

Quick Hitters:

Thursday's game marks the 25th meeting between Western Illinois and Omaha, with the Leathernecks holding an 18-6 overall record that includes a 77-70 home victory last season. Against Denver, Western is 15-4 and split the season series last year with a 72-56 home victory and 55-77 road loss.
Western split its series against the South Dakota schools last weekend, falling 63-85 to South Dakota State before defeating South Dakota 76-67 at Western Hall.
Against South Dakota, Western forced twice as many turnovers (19) as it committed (nine), moving the team into the top spot in the Summit League for turnover margin.

Scouting the Mavericks
Omaha currently holds a 6-7 record on the season and is 1-1 when facing Summit League teams after defeating Kansas City 75-64 last Saturday (Dec. 31). Though the team is averaging 66.2 points per game, the Mavericks boast two double-digit scorers in Elena Pilakouta (12.1) and Aaliyah Stanley (11.5); Stanley is coming off a 34-point, five-rebound performance against Kansas City.

Scouting the Pioneers
The Denver Pioneers are 5-8 this season and coming off a split weekend at Kansas City (W, 73-60) and Oral Roberts (L, 88-70). One of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the league with 107 makes in 13 games, the Pio offense is led by four players that are averaging 10+ points per game while defensively coming off a game against Kansas City in which Denver recorded 10 blocks and nine steals. The Pioneers host St. Thomas on Thursday before Saturday's contest.

A Hard-Fought Victory
Western Illinois earned arguably its most important victory of the season in the last game against South Dakota, defeating the Coyotes for the first time since 2017 in a wire-to-wire victory that saw the Leathernecks lead for 39:18 of 40 minutes. Anna Deets came alive offensively with 23 points (6-13 FG, 3-7 3PT, 8-9 FT) while Western held the Coyotes to 18-55 (32.7%) from the field and 8-30 (26.7%) from deep. Saturday's victory also marked just the second time since that 2017 Western Illinois victory that USD fell in the regular season to a team not named South Dakota State.

Career Highs
Saturday's performance saw several Leathernecks set or tie new career-best marks in multiple statistical categories. Anna Deets set a new personal best in minutes played (39) while tying her previous career-best in points (23), and Alissa Dins' 13 points and five assists were both new career-best marks. Mallory McDermott's six boards set a new career-high, surpassing the five she grabbed against Eureka on Dec. 3. Addi Brownfield played more minutes (37) than she has in her young career while tying her best mark for assists (three). Carla Flores' 13-point outburst also was the most she's scored since putting 13 on the board against Denver on Feb. 12, 2021.

The First of Many
Addi Brownfield made the first start of her collegiate career against the Coyotes, finishing with six points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 37 minutes of action. A true freshman from Boonville, Mo., Brownfield has played in every game this season and ranks sixth in minutes played (19.3) while averaging 7.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game.

Flipping the Switch
One of the big stories from Saturday's win was the resurgent performance of Carla Flores, who finished with 13 points and three rebounds on 5-8 shooting from the field. The 13-point performance was the most points she's scored since putting 13 on the board against Denver on Feb. 12, 2021, and head coach JD Gravina noted that Saturday's performance saw Flores flip a figurative switch.

"It's crazy because Carla and I had a good, long talk a week or two ago, and she finally flipped that switch," Gravina said. "It's hard coming back from such a tough injury and so for her to finally flip that switch, gain some confidence and bring that grit and toughness, it paid off."

Let it Fly
WIU's identity as a team in recent years centering around the three-point shot, and that trend has continued during the 2022-23 season with a near-identical average of 26.3 attempts from deep per game. The Leatherneck offense continued to let it fly this past weekend, sinking 10 triples against both the Jackrabbits and Coyotes, marking the first time this season that the team has finished with double-digit threes in consecutive games. After those performances, Western now ranks second in the Summit League for threes made (108) and third in average per game (7.2).

No Margin for Error
After finishing with a combined 19 turnovers across last weekend's games, Western Illinois ranks among the Summit League's elite at forcing turnovers while simultaneously maintaining possession. The team's 15.7 turnovers per game ranks third-lowest in the league while forcing opponents into 19.5, which is second-most and translates into a turnover margin of 3.8 that ranks as the best in the Summit League.

History Beckons
Elizabeth Lutz has been a staple in the program over the last five years, making over 120 appearances and earning Summit League All-Defensive honors after averaging 2.2 steals last season. Offensively, Lutz is close to a huge milestone for any collegiate player: 1,000 career points. Entering this week's games against Omaha and Denver, Lutz is at 987 career points – meaning she's just 13 away from becoming just the 21st player in program history to score 1,000 points in a Leatherneck uniform.

Up Next
Leatherneck women's basketball is back in Macomb next week, hosting Oral Roberts (Jan. 12, 6 p.m.) and Kansas City (Jan. 14, 2 p.m.) at Western Hall.

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