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Westerwinds start three-game home-stand with Drake

December 29, 2007 on 8:10 pm | In Athletics |

MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois women’s basketball team starts a three-game home-stand when Drake heads to Macomb for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday, December 5 on Waste Management Court at Western Hall.

About Drake
The Bulldogs head to Macomb with a 4-3 overall record, including a winning streak of two games. Drake defeated Montana State, 80-68, during its last outing.

The Bulldogs have two players that average over 15 points per game. Jill Martin is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 20.1 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounding, with 8.6 boards per game. Lindsay Whorton is next on the points per game list with 16.4. A third offensive threat for Drake is Jordon Plummer who is shooting 60.6 percent (20-33) this season.

As a team the Bulldogs average 72.7 points, while holding their opponents to 66.1. However, Drake allows its opponents to shot 47.2 percent from the field compared to its 41.3 percent mark.

The Series
This is the second meeting between the teams in as many seasons. The Bulldogs currently own a 22-1 advantage in the all-time series, including the last four games. Western’s lone victory came at Western Hall, January 25, 1992 (87-78).

Against the Bulldogs
Last year the Westerwinds traveled to Des Moines, Iowa and fell 79-45. Then-sophomore Sarah Miller tallied a team-high 10 points and then-junior Stephanie Lovingood had seven rebounds. The game was a career-setting night for then-junior Samantha Quigle. She garnered career-bests for rebounds (3), assists (2), and free throws (3).

Martin lead the offensive charge with 23 points for the Bulldogs. Whorton added 15 points and Plummer tallied 13. Martin’s 23 points accounted for more than half of Drake’s 42 points in the paint.

Season Setting Night
Senior Gina Hugelier and sophomore Katy Clark had their best games of the 2007-08 season at Wichita State. Hugelier led the team with 13 points and added three rebounds and three assists. The Elmhurst, Ill., native also hit a season-high five free throws.

Clark earned her first career-start against the Shockers and tied a career-best with three assists. The Lansing, Ill., native tallied six points and added four rebounds for new season-highs.

Tale of Two Halves
In Western’s close (65-62) loss to Wichita State, the fortunes for each team was reversed in the two halves.

Western went into the locker room with a 37-29 advantage on the scoreboard after shooting 50 percent from the field and beyond the arc. The Shockers shot only 35.5 percent in the first 20 minutes of the game and then turned their performance around in the second to shoot 56 percent (14-25). The Westerwinds’ second half was not as productive as they shot 33.3 percent from the field and 20 percent from three-point range.

Record Game for Newcomers
Junior-college transfers Katy Davenport and Rasheena Salter had career-setting games against UNI (November 28). Davenport tied career-bests with seven rebounds, one block, and two steals. She also set new career-highs for free throws (3) and three-point field goal percentage (1.00 (1-1)).

Salter recorded new career marks in the points (5), free throws (1), and field goal percentage (1.00 (2-2)) columns.

On the Airwaves
This season all games can be heard live on WIUS 88.3 FM and on the internet at www.wiuathletics.com. Links to each broadcast are available on the women’s basketball “Schedule/Results” page. Click on the speaker to link to the broadcast. Play-by-play is provided by Ryan Thomas, while color commentary is added by Nick McCay.

All of Western’s home games have live stats available through www.wiuathletics.com. A link is provided on the women’s basketball “Schedule/Results” page. Click on the No. 1 to connect to the live stats.

All home and conference road games are broadcast through Summit TV (www.thesummitleague.org).

New Teams; New Conference
On June 1, 2007 the Mid-Continent Conference officially changed its name to The Summit League. The conference name change also included the loss of Valparaiso University as a league member and the addition of IPFW, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State.

The addition of the new teams is set to increase the competitiveness among Summit League schools and in the Division I basketball ranks. Two of the new additions ended the 2006-07 season with RPI in the top 150 and above the top Mid-Con team (Oral Roberts-169). South Dakota State finished the year 25-6, with an RPI of 45, while North Dakota State had an RPI of 139 after finishing 14-11.

Up Next
Western continues its home-stand with the first Summit League contest of the season when IUPUI heads to Waste Management Court at Western Hall, December 8 for a 4:30 p.m. tip-off. The streak will end with a December 16 match-up with Robert Morris at 2 p.m.

Western Quick Sets
Quigle tallied her first points of the 2007-08 season with 3:06 remaining in the first half of the Wichita State game…she ended the game with a career-high four points and two steals.

Originaly from Source