By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

NORMAL, Ill. — The seats filled with purple-clad fans impressed Mia Nicastro.

Western Illinois’ women’s basketball team had been eliminated from the tournament it wasn’t originally going to be in, yet Nicastro and the Leathernecks were grateful for the opportunity and the support they received in their two WNIT games.

Sunday’s 90-80 loss to Illinois State in a second-round game at CEFCU Arena completed what coach JD Gravina had called “bonus basketball” for the Leathernecks, who were added to the tournament field late in the night one week earlier and got to play host in a victory over Lipscomb in Thursday’s first round.

“You know, we weren’t really even expected or supposed to be in this tournament, and we won the first round, and we almost upset one of the best teams in this tournament,” said Nicastro, a junior forward in her first year with the Leathernecks. “So I think it was just a really cool opportunity, not only for us, but for the Macomb community and the fans. I almost feel a little sadder for them than I do for us, just because we have such great support.”

A couple of hundred fans made the trip — Macomb is not quite a two-hour drive away from the Illinois State campus — which didn’t surprise Nicastro.

“I had a gentleman come up to me after our Lipscomb win and tell me that he’s lived in Macomb for 20 years, and our win against Lipscomb was the coolest thing he could remember in a long time,” Nicastro said. “Just stuff like that. It’s really special. It doesn’t happen all the time. So I’m really proud to have been a part of it.” 

The Leathernecks had momentum from making it to the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, so were glad to get another opportunity to play.

“I think it’s kind of like what Coach said back at our home game, it’s bonus basketball, it’s extra added-on basketball from the OVC tournament,” said guard Raegan McCowan, who led the Leathernecks with 30 points. “We were in a good head space after the OVC tournament. So I think coming into this, it was a little bit of we have a nothing-to-lose mentality. And I think that carried us a long way.”

Western Illinois (17-17) never let Illinois State (22-12) get away until the last four minutes. The Leathernecks were within 78-76 to play before the Redbirds, who finished fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference, scored six consecutive points in a stretch where Western Illinois had three turnovers and a missed shot.

“We talked about we wanted to have fun and enjoy this, and then you get in it, and it was intense and emotional and physical, and you’re competing, and that’s the way it should be,” Gravina said. “Credit to Illinois State I thought they fought hard, and then down the stretch, they hit some tough shots.”

Illinois State put pressure on the Leathernecks with double-digit leads early in the third and fourth quarters. The Redbirds were up 11 points twice in the first three minutes of the third quarter and 10 points three minutes into the fourth quarter, but Western Illinois rallied each time.

“I think they got up 10 or 12 there with a lot of time left, and you kind of thought, boy, this could get away from you,” Gravina said. “And then next thing, I think we cut it to two, and then gave ourselves a chance. So I’m proud of the way we fought, and it was a nice little few-week ending to the season, for sure.”

Illinois State shot 54.7% for the game, 52.4% in 3-pointers. Shannon Dowell led the Redbirds with 28 points, while Elyce Knudsen had 23.

“Defensively, we didn’t have an answer for them,” Gravina said. “They were just a little bit bigger. They shoot 50 plus (from the field), 50 plus from three, that’s a tough combination there. And at the end of the day, I think they were just too good offensively, and we had a hard time matching up.”

The Redbirds’ defensive plan for McCowan was “make her life hard,” coach Kristen Gillespie said. McCowan was 10 of 21 from the field, 4 of 7 in 3-pointers, but committed a team-high nine turnovers.

“I tell you what, she’s one of the better players we’ve faced,” Gillespie said. “And we have great players in our league. What makes her so hard to guard is when she gets to her spot. she is so quick off the floor, she elevates so quickly. And with her pull-up jumper, I thought she made some really tough shots.”

“They were doing a good job of doubling the post,” McCowan said. “I really wasn’t getting down there and or even trying, because I knew that they were going to try to double in the post. So I really think I just kind of tuned into my outside game today, which is fine. I tried to be a versatile player, but I think the pressure, too, maybe it got to me a little bit. I had quite a few turnovers today. So probably those two things were pretty big.”

The Leathernecks got 14 points from Nicastro, 12 from Allie Meadows and 11 from Addi Brownfield.

Gravina was able to use the last 30 seconds of the game to give his three players in their last years of eligibility — Mallory McDermott, Kennedy Flanagan and Jasmine Nichols — a chance to play together for the last time.

“Jasmine, she’s been in college six years,” Gravina said. “She’s been through COVID, she’s been through a season-ending injury, and I love what she’s done, she’s just had a great attitude. And, man, she comes in …  if we need her for a minute, she gives us a good minute, and that’s hard to do, and so I really appreciate that attitude.

“Mal and Kennedy have been with me and our program forever. Mal gets a lot of attention because she ended so strong — she got her 1,000 points for her career. I don’t know if it could have ended better for her. Some of the things that Kennedy Flanagan has done are just impressive. She’s been there for me when I needed her. She’s been there for Mallory when she needed her. She’s been there for our team when we need her. And so even though the appreciation for her may not be as obvious or as public, it’s still there.”

In the loss, the goodbyes seemed perfect for the Leathernecks.

“It was just extra time together,” Nicastro said. “It’s extra time to spend together, get better. You hear some teams in this tournament, you talk to them and they just want to be done, or they’re tired of it, they’re all fighting. I think everyone on our team truly wanted to win and wanted to make it to the championship of this tournament. And when every single person has the same goal. I think it’s a recipe for success. So I think it was just a great opportunity for us to see what we could do, and maybe prove a few people wrong.”

Photo: Western Illinois’ Mia Nicastro is guarded by Illinois State’s Neveah Thomas in the first half of Sunday’s WNIT second-round game. (Photo courtesy of WIU Athletic Communications)