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Game 27 Preview: Beginning of the End

Friday, February 17, 2023 | By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois women’s basketball hosts St. Thomas to begin a three-game homestand that wraps up the 2023 regular season.

MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball returns to Western Hall for a single game this weekend, playing host to the University of St. Thomas on Saturday (Feb. 18). Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ live game updates will be provided at @WIUWBB on Twitter.

GAME 27 INFO:
Who: Western Illinois (10-16, 5-10) vs St. Thomas (10-15, 5-10)
When: Saturday (Feb. 18) – 2 p.m.
Where: Western Hall – Macomb, Ill.

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

Quick Hitters:

The Leathernecks and Tommies have matched up twice in program history, both coming last season during UST's first at the Division-I level. After falling in double-overtime at home, Western went on the road and left victorious, winning 82-67 in regulation. Jada Thorpe (14), Elizabeth Lutz (13) and Mallory McDermott (10) all finished in double-figures as Western shot over 50% from the field.
Saturday's game will mark the second time this season that these two teams have matched up, as Western Illinois went into Schoenecker Arena on Jan. 21 and left victorious, 77-75. Deets paired 21 points with five rebounds while Addi Brownfield finished with 16 points, four rebounds, six assists and one steal, but the biggest play of the game was made by Carla Flores, who took a pass from Brownfield and banked in the game-winning layup with one second remaining.
Last weekend was a successful one for the Leathernecks, who beat Kansas City 72-52 on Thursday before taking down the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts, 91-85, on Saturday. It was the team's first victory in Tulsa since 2018 and saw several players step up with big games.

Scouting the Tommies
The University of St. Thomas Tommies hold a 10-15 record this season, going 5-10 against Summit League teams, and are also coming off victories over UMKC and ORU. Sophomore forward Jo Langbehn earned player of the week honors after averaging 24 points per game in two games, scoring a career-high 29 in an 80-57 victory over UMKC. Maggie Negaard continues to pace the team in scoring at 12.2 per game and scored a career-high 28 against Western Illinois in St. Paul.

Weekend Sweep
Western Illinois is coming off a highly successful weekend of action that saw the team win back-to-back road games against Kansas City (72-52) and Oral Roberts (91-86) after several players stepped up with key performances. Addi Brownfield averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists across two games while shooting a perfect 10-10 at the line, while Carla Flores put up 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds, and the likes of Anna Deets, Alissa Dins and Elizabeth Lutz all put in memorable performances as well.

Dins' Huge Weekend
A senior from Rosendale, Wis., Dins averaged 14.5 points, 15 rebounds, 3.5 assists, one block and 2.5 steals in two-consecutive victories over the weekend. She came three assists shy of a triple double against UMKC, finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds, one block and two steals, before setting new career-best marks for points and rebounds with 17 points and 17 rebounds against ORU on Saturday. The team-leader in minutes played (26.6), Dins is now averaging 6.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while ranking among the top-five in the Summit League for rebounding.

"A lot of what she does is keep the ball out of the post. (Oral Roberts) wasn't able to just throw it in there because she was working and fronting," head coach JD Gravina said after the 91-86 victory. "For her to have 17 rebounds is just phenomenal and I've been really happy with her rebounding this year. It was nice to see her get going a little bit offensively too. I think she's slowly starting to build her confidence back and continuing to work on being decisive which is big."

Hustle Plays
Anna Deets had another strong weekend of play with an average of nearly 17 points per game, but no play was bigger than the charge she drew with 53 seconds left against Oral Roberts. With the game level at 83, Deets stood tall and forced the ORU turnover, and then buried a three pointer on the ensuing out-of-bounds play to put Western Illinois ahead, 86-83. She finished the game with 20 points, good for her fifth game this season with 20+ points.

Ending it Right
Elizabeth Lutz played a pivotal role in Saturday's win over Oral Roberts, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in 27 minutes. Lutz also shot 5-8 from the field and 3-4 from deep, earning praise from Coach Gravina for her efforts in recent games.

"I've been happy with the play of (Elizabeth Lutz). We had a good talk last Saturday and she wants to end her career in a real positive way. I think this year she recognized the importance of setting the tone for the future and was willing to take a back seat," Gravina said after the game. "At the same time, even from that back seat, she's stepped up and is being the player we need to have some success. I'm really proud of her and excited to see her finishing her career in this way."

Move the Ball
Western's ball movement proved to be a key factor against the Roos on Thursday, as the team finished with a season-high 24 assists on 27 made baskets. It's the second time this season that WIU has recorded 20 or more assists in a single and it's the most in one game since the Leathernecks had 20 assists against Eureka on Dec. 3, 2022.

Make Your Free Throws
A team that started the season on a roll from the free throw line but cooled off in recent weeks, Western got back to its foul-drawing ways against the Golden Eagles, baiting the team into 27 fouls and finishing 31-39 (79.4%) at the free throw line. Saturday's game marked the third time this season that WIU has finished with 30+ makes at the line and it was the second time that had happened against Oral Roberts. With this performance, Western Illinois continues its run atop the Summit League rankings for free throws made (447) and attempted (597) while also ranking third in the nation in makes and sixth in attempts.

Road to the Summit
With three games remaining in the regular season, Western Illinois is tied with St. Thomas at no. 8 in the Summit League standings with a 5-10 record in league play. The Leathernecks face a tough battle out of the 7-9 range, as Denver and Omaha sit tied for sixth with a 7-9 record in league play, meaning Western would move no higher than the seven seed after this weekend with a win and losses by both Denver and Omaha.

Up Next
Western Illinois women's basketball concludes the 2023 regular season with two more games at home next weekend, starting with a Thursday (Feb. 23) matchup against North Dakota. North Dakota State comes to Western Hall on Saturday (Feb. 25) for a senior day matchup that concludes the 2022-23 regular season.

The Summit League Tournament will be played in Sioux Falls, S.D., March 3-7.

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