FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Western Illinois (5-9, 2-2) women's basketball continued its three-game road trip at IPFW (5-10, 3-2) on Saturday afternoon while also looking to improve its record in Indiana to 3-0 after wins at Valparaiso and IUPUI. The Mastodons put a stop to the Indiana winning streak with a 73-54 victory.
IPFW used 28 points-in-the-paint, 18 points off turnovers and 15 second-chance points to power its way to The Summit League victory. IPFW's defense held the Leathernecks to just 54 points, the third fewest this season.
The Mastodons controlled the first five minutes and Anne Boese knocked down a three-pointer at the 17:17 mark to give IPFW an 8-2 advantage.
After another easy bucket for IPFW, Brittany Demery answered with a three-point play shrinking the home advantage to 10-5 with 14:39 left before the break.
The Mastodons took advantage of early ball control issues (five turnovers) for the Leathernecks and extended its lead to 17-7 on a jumper from Boese at the 13-minute mark.
Western was unable to convert quality looks to cut into IPFW's 19-7 lead with ten minutes left until Jackie Rieger converted a three-point play cutting the home lead to 19-10 at the 9:47 mark. The run by the Leathernecks continued as Michele Salvatori drilled a deep ball at the 8:15 mark cutting the advantage to 19-13.
Salvatori collected another long-range jumper the next possession, giving IPFW just a 21-16 lead. The Salvatori show continued as she cleaned up a missed three-point attempt and converted the easy bucket, giving IPFW a 23-18 advantage.
Western managed to hold off a IPFW late run in the second half as Karis Phillips collected five points in the final minute of play.
Boese knocked down her second three-pointer of the afternoon and broke The Summit League career three-point record with 263 successful attempts. Brenna Doty of Buffalo formerly held the record.
At the half, IPFW held a 32-25 lead and were paced by 10 points from Boese. Salvatori finished the first half with eight points and four rebounds.
The Purple & Gold shot 35.7 percent from the field, 30 percent from behind the arc and 50 percent from the free-throw line. IPFW also shot 35.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point land and 88.9 percent from the charity stripe.
Buckets from Valencia Kelly and Rieger cut the home lead to 36-31 with 16:30 remaining in the game. However, two costly turnovers by the Leathernecks led to a 40-31 advantage for the Mastodons with 14:16 remaining in regulation.
IPFW reached a 10-point advantage, 44-34, on a jumper from Boese with 12 minutes left in the game. The Mastodons collected a three-point play from Amanda Hyde to extend its lead to 49-36 with 10:33 left.
Salvatori converted a three-pointer to cut the lead back to ten points, 49-39, with 9:28 left in regulation. Sadie Webb followed with a triple of her own, cutting the home advantage to 51-42.
Erin Murphy collected a three-point play to give the Mastodons 57-42 lead with 7:55 left in the second half. Boese drilled another deep ball to continue the IPFW momentum at the 5:48 mark, giving the Mastodons a 61-45 lead.
Rieger led the Leathernecks with 12 points and seven rebounds. Salvatori finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Western shot 37.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from behind the arc and 70.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Four Mastodons finished in double-digits with Boese leading the way with 20 points. Stephanie Rosado collected a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. IPFW shot 43.3 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from three-pointer and 88.2 percent from the line.
Western will stay on the road and compete at Oakland on Monday (Jan. 9) for a 5:30 p.m. (CT) contest.
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