West Central Reporter

Shooting Struggles Hurt in Loss at South Dakota

Western Illinois women's basketball was in action Thursday night (Jan. 26), falling 74-56 to the Coyotes of South Dakota. The result moves WIU to 8-13 on the season and ends a two-game winning streak.
 
"When you look at the big picture, we let them shoot 28 free throws and we shot 4-20 for three... You're just not going to win on the road with those two things," head coach JD Gravina said. "I thought we took a small step back in consistently moving with and without the ball and really played into their hands defensively.
 
"We had several chances to cut it to seven or eight but missed an open shot or deflected a ball that they picked up and scored," Gravina added. "That's what happens when you get down 15-20 points - you have no room for error. I was proud that we fought back and positioned ourselves to maybe go steal one but you're back so far against a wall that it becomes unlikely."
 
After a slow shooting start that saw Western score its first bucket 2:20 into the game, the Leathernecks got hot in the middle part of the quarter. Alissa Dins was able to extend one possession with an offensive rebound and find Anna Deets who splashed a triple from way downtown, fueling an 8-0 run that helped Western Illinois hold an 18-16 advantage after one period of play. USD found a groove offensively in the second and outscored Western 25-8 to take a 41-26 advantage at the halftime break.
 
Western responded in the third quarter, however, utilizing a 6-0 run to bring the game within nine points at 47-38 with 4:24 to go. The Coyotes came back and extended the lead to 13 with eight seconds in the quarter, but Allie Meadows drained a shot from half-court to beat the third quarter buzzer and cut the USD lead to 10 after three. Though the Leathernecks cut the deficit to single digits in the middle part of the fourth, South Dakota fended off any comeback attempts to take the 74-56 victory.  
 
Addi Brownfield completed her fourth-consecutive game with double-figure scoring, leading the team with 16 points on 6-11 shooting while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out two assists. Anna Deets scored 10 and grabbed five rebounds to go with one steal and Jada Thorpe scored 10 points in 19 minutes off the WIU bench. Elizabeth Lutz scored nine and grabbed three rebounds while Alissa Dins had four points, five rebounds and one block; Carla Flores combined two points with four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
 
"I thought Addi Brownfield played well. She's proving herself to be a good, efficient, go-to scorer and she led us in rebounds too, and it's really encouraging when one of the best players on the floor is a freshman," Gravina said. "Overall I thought a lot of kids played hard and our scoring was fairly well balanced with four or five that were close to double digits. It's just tough to go on this trip, play on the road, and now we have to go to the even tougher leg of the trip."
 
As a team, Western Illinois assisted on eight of its 21 made baskets, making four triples and 10 shots at the line. Though South Dakota won the battle on the glass, 36-33, Western did grab more offensive rebounds, holding a 10-6 advantage in that category while converting those extra opportunities into nine second chance points and 34 in the paint. Aided by four steals, the defense generated 15 Coyote turnovers and scored six points off turnovers.
 
The team's road trip continues, as Western faces South Dakota State on Saturday (Jan. 28). Tip off in Brookings is scheduled for 2 p.m.
  

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