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Western finishes up five-game road swing at Southern Utah

January 31, 2008 on 9:15 pm | In Athletics |

CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Western Illinois women’s basketball team will play in the final game of a five-game road swing when it faces Southern Utah, Monday, January 7 in Cedar City, Utah. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. (CST) at Centrum Arena.

About Southern Utah
Like the Westerwinds, the Thunderbirds are coming off a come-from-behind conference victory, Saturday, January 5. Southern Utah recorded a 61-56 win over IUPUI at Centrum Arena, while Western earned a 68-54 victory over UMKC at Municipal Auditorium. The victory was the third for the Thunderbirds this season and broke a four-game losing streak.

Southern Utah heads into the game with the Westerwinds with a 3-11 overall record and a 1-2 mark in The Summit League standings.

Anne Westwood is the team’s leader, with 12.1 points and 10 rebounds per game. Westwood has a 52.8 (56-106) shooting percentage from inside the three-point line.

Erin Heuett is next in the points per game column with 8.9 points, while Challis Pascucci is the next on the rebounding list with 5.1 boards per game.

Against the Thunderbirds
In the two-game series in 2006-07 then-junior Gina Hugelier had some of her best performances of the year. The Elmhurst, Ill., native recorded 27 total points and 13 rebounds against Southern Utah. She recorded a career-best 10 boards in the February 24, 2007 victory at Western Hall.

Then-junior Stephanie Lovingood also performed well against the Thunderbirds. She recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds. The Peoria, Ill., native also recorded a career-high four blocks in the January 29, 2007 loss in Cedar City.

Westwood is the top returner for Southern Utah. She led the team in both outings, garnering 19 total points and 11 rebounds.

The Series
The Westerwinds are currently ahead in the all-time series 15-8, but have a 3-8 mark in Cedar City. During the 2006-07 campaign the two teams each earned victories on their home courts. Western earned a home win, 46-34, February 24, 2007 after falling on the road, 50-46, January 29, 2007.

Before last year’s road loss the Westerwinds had been victorious in the last two meetings in Cedar City.

Keeping it Clean
For the past five outings the Westerwinds have been keeping the number of fouls they commit to a minimum. The team is ranked 85th in the nation on the personal fouls per game chart with just 16.4 in games through January 3.

Starting with the IUPUI game (December 5, 2007) Western has dropped the average number of trips to the free-throw line for its opponents from 18 to 9.6. The Westerwinds have only allowed their opponents to go the charity stripe more than 10 times in three of the last six games. The season low for opponent free-throw attempts is four against Illinois State (December 19, 2007).

Starters Stepping Up
In the first conference road game of the 2007-08 season Western’s starters combined to score all but one of the team’s 68 points. Junior Katy Davenport led the way with a career-high 17 points, including a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc. Hugelier
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