By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill. — Raegan McCowan knew the horn and the substitution was for her.

Four seconds remained as Mallory McDermott entered the game and McCowan headed to the Western Illinois bench, where she hugged coach JD Gravina as a loud ovation echoed through Western Hall.

It was the ending Gravina wanted on a night when history was expected.

McCowan reached the 1,000-point mark for her career as Western Illinois defeated Eastern Illinois 62-52 on Thursday night.

“You want her to get that ovation,” Gravina said. “I was hoping it would be in a big win.”

A big win, indeed. The Leathernecks handed the Panthers their first loss in Ohio Valley Conference play with a dominating second half that included Western Illinois outscoring Eastern Illinois 26-9 in the third quarter, closing the quarter with a 15-0 one.

McCowan, who signed autographs for more than 30 minutes after the game, thought the night was perfect.

“The win means more, for sure,” said McCowan, who led the Leathernecks with 23 points. “But this is something I’ve been looking for for a long time.”

McCowan, now with 1,003 points, became the fastest player in program history to reach the milestone, doing it in 50 games. She is the fourth sophomore in NCAA Division I play this season to reach 1,000 career points, joining USC’s JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Iowa State’s Audi Crooks.

“You’re talking about some big names there, and here’s this girl from Lebanon, Missouri doing it right along with them,” Gravina said.

McCowan came into the game averaging 20.9 points per game this season, and she needed 20 to reach the mark, so it was likely the big moment was going to come at some point in the game.

It happened on a free throw with 6:14 left in the game. Two fans immediately unfurled a sign congratulating her. McCowan then made the second free throw to put the Leathernecks up 54-43.

“That was the best-case scenario,” Gravina said of the timing of the moment. “The fact that she hit it when we were rolling and had a chance to win the game, that kind of added to the momentum and helped to kind of propel us.”

“It was a little stressful for me coming into the game,” McCowan said. “I don’t really keep track in my head how many points I have, but I think my teammates knew. I think the coaches were probably telling them. I really appreciate my teammates so much.”

“She’s one of, if not the, best offensive talents that I’ve ever played with,” said forward Mia Nicastro, who had 20 points. “She just has a knack for scoring. She has a knack for putting the ball in the basket. And I’m so proud of her.”

McCowan finished behind Watkins and Hidalgo as the top freshman scorers in the nation last season, but her game has improved on all levels. McCowan had eight rebounds and drew 12 fouls in this game, shooting 15 free throws.

“I think one thing that she’s really been working on this year is keeping the level head and kind of trying to diversify her game, getting a little better court vision, and passing a little better,” Nicastro said. “And, oh my God. she had some great passes today. She’s rebounding the hell out of the ball. She’s doing it all.”

McCowan missed five of her first six shots as Western Illinois (11-9 overall, 5-6 OVC) fell behind 18-13 with 6 ½ minutes left in the first half. But she scored on back-to-back shots, going 5 of 9 from the field for the rest of the game.

“I think, honestly, at first, I was probably pressing a little bit,” McCowan said. “The atmosphere was very high with this game — the No. 1 team in the conference is coming into Western Hall, I’m 20 points from a thousand — so obviously I was a little tense. But I think going to the basket and making a couple of shots, and then getting some rebounds, really loosened me up.”

Western Illinois trailed the Panthers (13-7, 10-1) 26-24 at halftime, then got a 3-pointer from Allie Meadows 15 seconds into the second half. Eastern Illinois countered with a 3-point play from Macy McGlone, but a tone had been established by the Leathernecks.

“We hit that three right out of the gate, then they get the layup and the free throw,” Gravina said. “If we don’t get that shot from Allie, then we’re down by five and it feels like we’re chasing points.”

The score was tied at 35 with four minutes left in the quarter when the Leathernecks went on their big run, started by back-to-back baskets from McDermott and McCowan in the span of 20 seconds.

Eastern Illinois got to within 54-47 with 5:19 left, but the Leathernecks would hold the Panthers to five points the rest of the game.

The only question for Gravina in the closing minute was how to get McCowan out of the game for the proper celebration.

“I was yelling for us to foul intentionally (when Eastern Illinois had the ball), but I couldn’t yell loud enough,” Gravina said. “So, yeah, I don’t like doing a timeout, but I guess the crowd figured out what we wanted.”

“When JD called that timeout and congratulated me, it meant the world to me,” McCowan said. “He showed the confidence in me to bring me here.”

McCowan smiled,

“And now,” she said, “I can’t wait to get the next thousand.”

Photo: Western Illinois’ Raegan McCowan reached the 1,000-point mark for her career in the Leathernecks’ win over Eastern Illinois on Thursday. (Photo courtesy of WIU Athletic Communications)