By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill. — There isn’t much ground Western Illinois can gain or lose in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, so the goal right now for the Leathernecks is to be playing their best basketball once the conference tournament arrives.

Saturday’s 78-73 win over Morehead State at Western Hall was a big step in that direction.

“I think it can be a statement win,” said sophomore Raegan McCowan, whose shot with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter forced overtime on her way to a 34-point day.

“The theme of the year is resilience,” said fifth-year guard Mallory McDermott, who hit two key shots in overtime. “We just keep battling. And we did that tonight.”

The Leathernecks (13-12 overall, 7-9 conference) are basically locked into the 6-7 game in the first round of the tournament. They’re in seventh place, one game behind UT-Martin, but three games behind Southern Indiana for fifth place and three games ahead of eighth place Tennessee State with four games left in the regular season.

“We’re very set where we’re at,” Western Illinois coach JD Gravina said. “And so it makes it really about the game, being where your feet are, being in the present. Today was all about the competitiveness of our team.”

The Leathernecks let a 59-55 lead with two minutes to play slip away when Morehead State’s Harley Paynter hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and were down 64-62 with 16 seconds left after another Paynter three.

But McCowan, who overcame a slow start to the game to become virtually unstoppable inside over the final two quarters, was able to get a close shot to tie the game and get it to overtime.

“Down the stretch, for a player like Raegan, that’s when she should shine,” Gravina said.

McCowan missed six of her first seven shots and had just six points at halftime, but her first basket 50 seconds into the second half got her going.

“Honestly, in the first half, it felt like there was a lid on the basket,” McCowan said. “And normally when I feel like that, it’s like, ‘OK, in the second half that lid is going to come off.’ At halftime, I decided, I’m done waiting around, I’m getting to the basket. Normally when I get to the basket and a couple of shots go in, things get better for me.”

The Leathernecks took over in overtime. Mia Nicastro, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, hit two free throws to put Western Illinois in front, then McDermott scored on a back cut and was fouled. She missed the free throw, but Western Illinois was up 68-64.

“We needed that,” McDermott said. “We needed some momentum.

McDermott later hit a jumper in the lane to give the Leathernecks a six-point edge, and they were able to close out the win.

“She hit two huge shots down the stretch,” Gravina said of McDermott. “And that was big for her. I’m kind of subbing her for offense/defense a little bit, and I joked with her afterwards that I was just keeping her fresh so she could hit those big shots. But, you know, Mallory is, I mean, offensively, a kid that can really get us some big baskets. And she’s been pretty clutch in her career.”

Western Illinois won without making a 3-pointer — the Leathernecks were 0 of 10.

“I think we have a well-rounded group,” said McDermott, who had 11 points. “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to win a game without hitting a three. I think we just found a way to win today.”

The Leathernecks overcame a slow start — they were down 32-26 at halftime after hitting just eight first-half field goals. The game had an 11 a.m. start, two hours earlier than a usual Saturday conference game at Western Hall.

“I’m not making excuses, but I do think it was out of our normal routine,” McCowan said. “I think it kind of throws you off a little bit.”

“This was a game you’ve got to win,” Gravina said. “I thought we were sleepwalking in the first half, really, and it kind of frustrated me. In the second half, we were battling like crazy. It wasn’t always right. We didn’t always do perfect, but at least we were battling.

“I feel like it’s been a year where we can’t catch a break and everything’s kind of not gone our way. And I was like, I’m over that. We’ve got to decide our own destiny, our own fate. You know, it’s not about luck and fate not in our favor. So this was a good one to kind of grab the bull by the horns.”