IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Western Illinois women’s basketball team (1-7) dropped a non-league contest at Iowa (5-1) 65-92 on Tuesday (Dec. 22) afternoon.
“I actually saw a lot of good things and improvements on things that were our focus for the last week,” head coach JD Gravina said. “I do think we are slowly but surely coming around, and I am excited to get back after Christmas and get focused on our conference season.”
Both sides traded the lead seven times in the first quarter as the Leathernecks nailed four straight threes led by Carla Flore, who hit back-to-back. Evan Zars and Anna Deets also hit a shot from deep as part of the barrage, and the Hawkeyes held a two-point lead, 18-16 after the first 10 minutes.
One of four Iowa native on the roster, Mallory McDermott made it a one-point game (20-21, Iowa) at 8:10 in the second with a pair of free-throws, but the host took advantage of 14 first-half WIU turnovers and closed on an 11-3 run to enter the half up 41-29 and never looked back.
Senior Grace Gilmore opened the third quarter with a quick seven point-scoring spree in multiple ways – a layup, three-pointer, and free-throws. She ended with a team-high 15 points and two blocks.
All four Iowa natives – Deets (six points), McDermott (five points), Maddie Mock (six points), and Mackenzie Rogers made their debuts inside Carver.
Western Illinois concludes non-league play at home against Chicago State on Wednesday (Dec. 30) at 2 p.m. Summit League play begins on Jan. 2 and 3 with the host of North Dakota State, both games are set for 1 p.m.
***Recap courtesy of WIU Athletics***
