Western Illinois takes the SEC’s Missouri to overtime in their first game of the 2019-20 season.
In the first game of the regular season, the Western Illinois women’s basketball team took the SEC’s Missouri to overtime Tuesday (Nov. 5), and the final resulted in a 97-89 decision for the Tigers.
“Obviously, I was proud of our effort tonight, ” said head coach JD Gravina. “It was a nice homecoming for some of our local kids tonight. I’m especially proud of our rebounding performance. Our man to man offense put a lot of pressure on their D. Fatigue set in a bit in OT, but I’m encouraged for the season.”
There were six ties and 11 lead changes inside Mizzou Arena, and a close first quarter saw the Leathernecks take a 14-10 lead at the 4:11 mark after a made 3-pointer by Annabel Graettinger. Western was a threat from behind-the-arc with 12 total treys, and Kyra Washington came off the bench to flash her first of the season to end the first frame down, 22-21.
The Leathernecks held their largest lead at 59-50 on a 3-ball by Danni Nichols, but an 8-0 Tiger run closed the third-quarter deficit.
And that became the name of the game for a majority of the latter half – the Leathernecks pulled ahead, but Mizzou quickly rebounded.
Western entered the fourth quarter up by six until an old-fashioned 3-point play tied things at 68-all with 6:29 left, and back and forth they went until the final 81-81 stalemate at the end of regulation.
Grace Gilmore struck first in the extra period, but another 8-0 run pulled the Tigers away for good.
Olivia Kaufmann guided the Leathernecks with a double-double scoring 23 points with 11 rebounds. She was followed closely by Graettinger who added 18 points. Evan Zars started her first regular-season game as a Leatherneck to post an impressive 20 rebounds.
The Leathernecks will continue their season with a stretch at home taking on Culver-Stockton Friday (Nov. 8) and Illinois-Springfield Tuesday (Nov. 12).
