Rachael Keating

Games 23 & 24 Preview: Returning Home

Tuesday, January 31, 2023 | By: WIU Athletic Communications

After playing its last three on the road, Leatherneck women’s basketball will host a pair of games at Western Hall this week.

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball returns to Macomb for a pair of Summit League contests this week, hosting Denver and Omaha at Western Hall. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and live game updates will be provided at @WIUWBB on Twitter.

GAME 23 INFO:
Who: Western Illinois (8-14, 3-8) vs Denver (8-14, 4-7)
When: Thursday (Feb. 2) – 6 p.m.
Where: Western Hall – Macomb, Ill.

GAME 24 INFO:
Who: Western Illinois (8-14, 3-8) vs Omaha (9-13, 4-7)
When: Saturday (Feb. 4) – 2 p.m.
Where: Western Hall – Macomb, Ill.

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

Quick Hitters:

Western Illinois enters Thursday's game with a 15-5 all-time record against the Denver Pioneers, having won three of the last five. Against Omaha, WIU holds an 18-7 record dating back to the first matchup on Dec. 20, 2011.
Both Denver and Omaha played host to the Leathernecks earlier this season; WIU fell in both contests; Anna Deets recorded the first double-double of her career (16 points, 15 rebounds) against the Mavericks while Mallory McDermott came up with a big game off the bench against the Pioneers, scoring a team-high 13 points and grabbing six rebounds.
Addi Brownfield had a strong weekend of play against both South Dakota and South Dakota State, starting things off with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists while shooting 6-11 from the field against the Coyotes. Against South Dakota State, Brownfield had nine points and a career-high eight rebounds, helping a Leatherneck offense that held multiple leads and cut the deficit to just four points early in the fourth quarter.

Scouting the Pios
Denver is 8-14 on the season and holds a 4-7 record against Summit League opponents. Led by Emma Smith (12.2 ppg) and Ally Haar (10.2 ppg) on the offensive end, DU boasts the top shot-blocker in the conference in Mikayla Minett, who's swatting 2.3 shots per game. The Pioneers split their two games at home last weekend, falling 93-83 to Oral Roberts before defeating Kansas City, 69-60, on Saturday.

Scouting the Mavericks
For Omaha, the team holds a 9-13 record this season and is also 4-7 when playing Summit League competition. The team has lost its last four games, with Saturday's home game against ORU being a close, 90-94 result. Elena Pilakouta continues to be a strong low-post presence for the Mavs, leading her team in scoring (14.3), rebounding (6.7) and shot blocking (0.5). Omaha will face St. Thomas on Thursday before Saturday's game in Macomb.

Disrupting Their Rhythm
The Jackrabbits boast one of the best offenses in the entire conference and entered Saturday's matchup averaging nearly 77 points per game, which ranked second-best behind Oral Roberts. With a goal of disrupting the SDSU offense, Western Illinois held their opponents to just 49 points in the first three quarters – something that head coach JD Gravina was proud to see.

"It was nice we could take them out of rhythm a little bit in the first half. South Dakota State really tries to get on you early and blow you out, but I thought our team did a really good job of fighting and rebounding early," Gravina said. "Even in that third quarter, right at the beginning of the fourth, we cut it to four and then they just wore us down. They post so hard and then start hitting the offensive glass, shots start falling - it can happen… I think the game was a little closer than maybe the score would suggest."

Bench Scoring
Jada Thorpe finished with double-figure scoring in both of this weekend's games, going for 10 points (4-11 FG, 2-4 3PT) against the Coyotes before adding 12 points (5-11 FG, 2-5 3PT) against South Dakota State, also providing four steals across the two games. Having made 21 appearances this season, Thorpe ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game and has finished in double-figures 13 times, twice going for 20+ and scoring a career-high 28 against Oral Roberts on Jan. 12.

From Mid-Court
With just over three seconds remaining in the third quarter of Thursday's game at South Dakota, Allie Meadows caught the ball near the Coyote three-point line, took two dribbles and uncorked a shot from behind the half-court line that went in as the third-quarter buzzer sounded. The shot cut USD's lead down to 10 with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Not in Our Paint
The team leader in blocks this season, Alissa Dins excelled at protecting the rim against South Dakota State on Saturday. The Rosendale, Wis., native tied a career-high with three blocks against the Jackrabbits, increasing her average to 1.2 per game this season which leads the team and ranks fifth in the Summit League.

Finding Her Groove
A constant in the Leatherneck rotation this season, true freshman Addi Brownfield has started each of the team's last eight games and has found her groove in recent games, finishing with double-figure scoring in four of the last five. Against South Dakota, Brownfield led the team with 16 points and six rebounds, and now ranks third on the team in both scoring (8.7) and rebounding (3.5) average while shooting 41% from the field.

Let it Fly
The three-point shot has long been a key component of Gravina-led Leatherneck teams, and Saturday's performance saw the team do something its only done in four games this entire season: make 10 triples in a game. Elizabeth Lutz (2-5), Jada Thorpe (2-5) and Carla Flores (2-2) led the way with Anna Deets, Addi Brownfield, Mallory McDermott and Allie Meadows also hitting shots from beyond the arc.

Make Your Free Throws
Western Illinois leads the nation in made free throws per game, averaging 17.77, while ranking second in total makes (391) and fourth in attempts (524). Among players with 25-plus attempts this season, Elizabeth Lutz continues to lead the team in free throw percentage with a career-high 88.9% conversion rate and is joined by Alissa Dins (82.1%) and Anna Deets (81.8%) in the 80% range while Jada Thorpe's 74.2% would be a career-high if the season ended today.

Up Next
Western Illinois heads back on the road for the final time this regular season, facing Kansas City (Feb. 9, 7 p.m.) and Oral Roberts (Feb. 11, 2 p.m.).

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