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Western remains at top of league standings with a 72-67 victory over North Dakota State

February 14, 2008 on 10:05 pm | In Athletics |

MACOMB, Ill. Senior Stephanie Lovingood tallied a season-high 20 points to help the Western Illinois women’s basketball team to a 72-67 Summit League win over North Dakota State on Waste Management Court at Western Hall. The victory moved the Westerwinds to 6-9 overall and 4-0 in The Summit League, good for first-place in the conference standings.

After leading by as many as 12 points in the opening 20 minutes of play, Western headed into the locker room down 33-32 after the Bison’s Annika Walseth converted on one-of-two free throws with 26 seconds left to earn their lone lead of the game.

“We came out with just as much intensity in the second half as we did at the beginning of the game and I think that was the difference,” said head coach Leslie Crane.

The Westerwinds came out strong in the second half as junior Amanda Walker started a 15-0 run in the first five minutes with two-straight three-point shots in the opening minute and a half. North Dakota State then netted five unanswered points in the next two minutes to start a slow come-back.

Western kept at least a nine-point advantage on the scoreboard until there was 4:22 remaining in the game when the Bison’s Whitney Trecker converted a three-point play to drop the lead to eight.

With just over two minutes remaining North Dakota State started to increase its defense pressure and got a few defensive stops and cut the lead to three on a shot from beyond the arc by Inger Hodgson. The Westerwinds earned a key defensive stop of their own with just over one-minute remaining in the game when junior Katy Davenport blocked a shot by Brenda Slyt.

After not allowing Western to attempt a free throw all night the Bison were forced to start fouling in the final two minutes and sent the Westerwinds to the charity stripe 12 times.

North Dakota State cut the lead to two points with 19 seconds remaining in the game, but sophomore Jordon O’Brien, Walker and senior Gina Hugelier all converted on two shots each from the charity stripe in the final seconds to push the advantage back out to five (72-67).

Western started the first half with a 13-3 run, including an 11-1 mark over a four-minute span to take an early lead. The Westerwinds were up 19-7 when the Bison started a 7-0 run to cut the lead to five points (19-14). North Dakota State kept up its defensive pressure and tied the game at 28 with just less than three minutes remaining in the opening half. The Bison earned the tie with a 9-0 run over a three-minute span.

Western then went on a 4-0 run before North Dakota State ended the half with a 5-0 run to take a 33-32 lead into the locker room.

The Westerwinds shot a season-high 51.9% from the field (28-54), including 59.1% (13-22) in the second half, while holding the Bison to a 37.7 shooting percentage (26-69). For the first time in four games Western was out-rebounded (37-34), but had an advantage on the defensive side (26-19).

The Westerwinds will now prepare for South Dakota State, Monday, January 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Waste Management Court at Western Hall.

Notes: Lovingood tallied 16 of her 20 points in the first half of play…she set career highs for field goals made (10) and assists (5)…Hugelier had a career-high five assists…Western held the Bison’s leading scorer (Lisa Bue) to just 10 points…Lovingood was one of four players for the Westerwinds in double-digits…Walker added 13, while O’Brien and junior Sarah Miller each garnered 10.

Quotes:
Western Illinois Head Coach Leslie Crane
“We told the team at half time that you can’t back down defensively. We told them that the first 10 minutes of the half is very important and we need to keep the intensity high. In the last three minutes of the second half we let down our defensive intensity, but it was a win.”

“We kept our turnovers down. We were out-rebounded, but only by three. So we did the things that we needed to do to win the game.”

“We will be a target for South Dakota State on Monday. We are going to enjoy the victory tonight and then get back to practice and get ready for the game on Monday.”

Originaly from Source