West Central Reporter

WIU WBB Falls to South Dakota State

 Western Illinois women's basketball played on Saturday (Jan. 28), falling 58-81 to the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. The result moves Western's record on the season to 8-14 and 3-8 against Summit League opponents, with home matchups scheduled for next week against Omaha and Denver.
 
"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," head coach JD 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," he added.
 
An Elizabeth Lutz triple got the ball rolling offensively for Western Illinois, who traded blows with the Jackrabbits throughout the entire first half. Kennedy Flanagan came up with a big block as the first quarter wound down, keeping the game level; SDSU would hit a shot from the free throw line to take a one-point advantage at 13-12 after 10 minutes of play.
 
South Dakota State came out hot in the second, pouring in nine unanswered early in the period to take a 22-15 lead, though it wouldn't last. Western responded with a run of its own, out-scoring the Jackrabbits 11-2 in just over two minutes of play during the middle part of the quarter; that run was capped off by Lutz intercepting a pass and taking it the distance, banking in a right-handed finger roll to put the Leathernecks ahead 26-24 with 4:51 remaining in the half.  SDSU would regain the lead and take a two-point advantage into the halftime break at 31-29.
 
In the third, SDSU once again built a lead that the 'Necks fought back from. After a Jackrabbit triple with 4:22 remaining pushed the deficit to double-digits, WIU went on an 8-2 run that was once again capped off by a steal and coast-to-coast finish, this time by Allie Meadows, bringing Western Illinois was within four points at 43-47 with 39 seconds remaining in the third. A last-second layup by the Jackrabbits would see the third end at 49-43 in favor of SDSU.
 
Anna Deets started the fourth quarter by going 2-2 at the line and cutting the deficit back down to four but the Jackrabbits then exploded on the offensive end. After Western's defense held them to less than 20 points in each of the first three quarters, the Jackrabbits offense exploded for 32 fourth-quarter points to complete the 81-58 victory.
 
"Again, we did a good job of taking them out of rhythm. We didn't give up many baskets in transition, I think we gave up one in the third quarter, but that was a big point of emphasis," Gravina said. "Over three quarters to hold them to 49 points, that's a pretty good accomplishment but obviously we want to be able to finish the game a little bit better."
 
Jada Thorpe led the team in scoring for the ninth time this season, contributing 12 points, one rebound, two assists and three steals while shooting 5-11 from the field and 2-5 from deep. Elizabeth Lutz had her sixth double-digit scoring game of the season with 10 points on 4-9 shooting and 2-5 from deep, also contributing two rebounds and three steals. Anna Deets finished with nine points and three rebounds while Addi Brownfield was close to a double-double with nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal. Carla Flores chipped in eight points and hit both of her three-point attempts while Alissa Dins grabbed seven rebounds and tied a career-high with three blocks.
 
"I thought (Elizabeth Lutz) played better, like we know she's capable of. (Carla Flores) did some good things too – she got in foul trouble early and had a hard time adjusting to that but once she figured it out I thought she did some good things," Gravina said. "Allie Meadows came in, and we keep counting on her as a really good backup point guard and I think she's getting there with a great chance to take over for next year. Today was probably the most comfortable she's looked in a game which is pretty impressive against a good opponent."
 
As a team, Western Illinois assisted on 10 of its 21 made baskets while holding the Jackrabbits to 27-71 (38%) from the field; SDSU entered Saturday's game shooting 47.1% from the field for the entire season. The Leathernecks also made 10 shots from beyond the arc, marking the fourth time this season that the team has finished with double-digit makes from range, while scoring eight points on the fast break and having the bench chip in 20. Western's defense forced 12 Jackrabbit turnovers and converted those into 15 points off turnovers. The game had 10 total lead changes and was tied on seven occasions.
 
Western Illinois women's basketball will return to Macomb for two games next week, hosting Denver (Feb. 2, 6 p.m.) and Omaha (Feb. 4, 2 p.m.) at Western Hall.
  

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