By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill. — Western Illinois’ fortunes, and momentum, changed in one week.

The Leathernecks lost a double-overtime home game to Morehead State and an overtime game to Southern Indiana to fall behind in the pack of teams jammed together in the women’s basketball standings.

Now, with Saturday’s 84-56 win over SIU-Edwardsville in the regular-season finale at Western Hall, the Leathernecks take a good feeling into next week’s Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

Western Illinois (18-11 overall, 9-9 OVC) will be the seventh seed in the tournament and play sixth-seeded Tennessee Tech on Wednesday.

“We’re excited,” said guard Mallory McDermott, who had 16 points for the Leathernecks. Going into it, I don’t mind our seed. I think we’re set up well to make a run. I think 2 through 8 in the league are very even. I don’t think of us as the seventh seed. I think we have as much of a chance as everybody.”

The Leathernecks finished just two games out of the three-team tie for second place in the conference, but there was no need to think about what was left behind, coach JD Gravina said.

“When you look back on the season as a whole, I don’t feel disappointed,” Gravina said. “Actually, I’m proud of this team. Things didn’t go perfectly for us, and we were so close to having a really special season — a 20-win season, top two or three in the league. It just didn’t happen for us. You can look at maybe three or four plays where it could have happened for us.

“But when you fight through stuff, you learn about five or six things along the way that can help you in the conference tournament.”

The Leathernecks led just 29-23 at halftime as SIUE (5-26, 2-16) held them to just 37.9 percent shooting. But Western Illinois scored 55 second-half points, shooting 64.5 percent.

The Leathernecks had a 23-5 run that started at the end of the second quarter and lasted to the 2:46 mark of the third.

“It was just sticking with how we play,” said guard Anna Deets, who also had 16 points. “I thought we kind of got ahead of ourselves, we were just kind of playing not like us. We turned it around and in the second half, we had a lot of offensive movement, we were moving the ball around, all of that stuff. Just playing like we play.”

“I think we just started taking shots in rhythm,” McDermott said. “We play so well in transition when we just push the ball, move it, and I think that’s what we finally did there.”

McDermott appreciated the Leathernecks’ aggressiveness.

“That’s something we’ve been doing the last couple of the games — just putting the pedal to the metal,” she said. “And I like that. We got up, we kept the lead.”

“In the second half, they got into desperation mode and sometimes we don’t handle that, the pressing and the trapping,” Gravina said. “But we really knifed through it and got some open looks.”

Raegan McCowan led Western Illinois with 17 points. Alissa Dins added 11.

Molly Sheehan led SIUE with 11 points.

Photo: Western Illinois’ Anna Deets follows through on a shot in the first half. (Photo from WIU Athletic Communications)