Leatherneck women's basketball was in action Thursday night (Nov. 17), falling 100-61 to the Huskies of Northern Illinois University. Western moves to 0-4 on the young season with a matchup at Chicago State scheduled for this coming Monday (Nov. 21).
Anna Deets and Alissa Dins started the game as Western's offense came out firing and both teams traded buckets early on. Mallory McDermott hit a three pointer on the team's first possession and added another one mid-way through the first period of play. Addi Brownfield came up with a big three pointer, giving the Leathernecks a lead with 4:02 remaining in the period; Brownfield scored seven points in the first quarter as NIU held a 21-17 advantage after 10 minutes.
"That was nice because we've struggled to get off to fast starts this season," head coach JD Gravina said. "Our ball movement, offensive movement was just a touch better – we still have a long way to go on that stuff – but I think we at least showed some progress. We moved the ball and I thought our defensive intensity was good early."
The Husky offense found its groove in the second quarter, using an 18-0 run in the middle part of the period to take a 48-31 advantage into the halftime break. Western shot 7-19 (36.8%) from three-point range in the first half and scored 11 second-chance points, while Deets and McDermott combined for 20 points.
NIU's offense exploded for 33 points in the third quarter, building a lead that lead that would prove insurmountable for the Leathernecks as the game went final at 100-61 in favor of the Huskies.
Thursday's game proved to be one of the best in the career of Mallory McDermott, who set a career-high in points (21) to lead the team in scoring while also setting single-game personal best marks in field goals made (eight), three point makes (five) and minutes (26) while tying her career-high in rebounds (two) and steals (three). The Fairfax, Iowa, native now ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game this season while leading the team in makes (eight) and shooting percentage (44.4%) from deep.
"I really liked the all-around good game that she had on the stat sheet. She's been really focused on rebounding and that's big for her because you're going to have up and down shooting nights," Gravina said. "As a scorer, it's nice to see her continue to get some confidence. I feel like she's someone who has consistently played pretty well all year."
Anna Deets scored 11 on 3-7 shooting from three point range and 2-2 at the line, grabbing four rebounds and finishing with one steal. Addi Brownfield scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds in 22 minutes of action, at one point scoring seven-straight Leatherneck points during the first quarter. Zareia Chevre scored a career-high eight points and grabbed two rebounds while Jada Thorpe scored four and Elizabeth Lutz finished with four assists. Alissa Dins grabbed ten rebounds and blocked one shot as Lily Randgaard played a season-high nine minutes and finished with two points, three rebounds and one steal. Madison Allen finished with one steal in five minutes of action.
As a team, Western Illinois finished 22-63 from the field and made a season-high nine shots from deep. The Leatherneck defense forced 11 Husky turnovers and finished with eight steals and one block, while the bench continued to produce to the tune of 23 points. Both teams were level on points in the paint at 26-26, and Western scored 13 second-chance points.
The Leathernecks are back in action on Monday (Nov. 21), heading up to Chicago to face the Chicago State Cougars. Tip off at Jones Convocation Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Original source can be found here.
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