By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill. — Western Illinois’ women’s basketball team gets a long Thanksgiving break, but there was the matter of playing one more game before heading home.

Which is why coach JD Gravina had a reminder for his players before Monday morning’s game against Stephens College.

“He was like, ‘Don’t have one foot out the door,’” guard Addi Brownfield said.

The Leathernecks listened to that warning, taking an 80-51 win in front of a program-record crowd of 1,725 at Western Hall.

Elementary school students from around the area who were invited to the game provided plenty of energy, and the Leathernecks (5-1) enjoyed it.

“It was incredibly fun,” said guard Anna Deets, who led Western Illinois with 16 points. “The atmosphere, the yelling, the screaming. We put on a good show for them.”

“Absolutely, it does help,” said Brownfield, who had 13 points. “But on the flip side, we do a great job of making our own energy. But having that on top of our energy really pushed us to another level.”

“It’s such a neat deal,” Gravina said. “I heard Walmart sold out of kids-sized Western Illinois shirts. That just tells you something about how these kids were excited.”

Western Illinois doesn’t play again until next Tuesday against Chicago State, so Gravina gave his team the rest of Thanksgiving week off — they return to practice Sunday.

“All that time off, just when we’re playing well,” Gravina joked.

Still, the coach was concerned with not just playing at an unusual starting time — the game tipped off at 11 a.m. — but his team was also playing a team receiving votes in the NAIA national poll with a 5-1 record that included a win over No. 2 Central Methodist University in the season opener.

“It was really important, because they are a good team,” Gravina said. “It was really good for us.”

The Leathernecks only led 34-25 at halftime after shooting just 25 percent in the second quarter. Gravina, though, liked how his team pulled away in the second half, holding Stephens to just one field goal in the third quarter while shooting 55.2 percent in the second half.

Having that kind of response is something Gravina said he’ll want when the team gets into Ohio Valley Conference play at the end of December.

“They got after us in the second quarter,” he said. “Getting through that fight, and then picking it back up, was really good for us. That’s what OVC teams are going to do to us, and we have to be ready for that.”

Mallory McDermott had 15 points off the bench for the Leathernecks. Jasmine Nichols added 12.

“We’re playing well together,” Deets said. “We don’t care who scores the points, we just want to get that win. And it’s helped on the defensive end — we’re really buying in.”

The Leathernecks have won four consecutive games since a 74-52 loss at Wisconsin in the second game of the season. Included in that stretch is 95-62 home win over Northern Illinois and a 76-54 road win over Valparaiso.

Gravina said he likes where his team is at this point in the season.

“The funny thing is, I do. I don’t mind saying that,” he said. “We do have a long way to go. I’ve had years where we’ve played one or two games and I’m like, ‘How are we even going to win a game?’ And then we rebound and we turn out decent. You know it’s fun to think, ‘Hey, we can be pretty good here.’”

Brownfield said the Leathernecks’ start has been “absolutely amazing.”

“But I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of our potential,” she said. “Each night, someone else steps up. But we’re going to have that game where everyone steps up, and at that point, we’re going to be hard to beat.”

Photo: Western Illinois guard Addi Brownfield listens to coach JD Gravina during a stoppage of play in Monday’s game.