By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill. — Addi Brownfield did the math.

So did most of the 3,000-plus area students who came to Western Hall for Thursday morning’s women’s basketball game between Western Illinois and St. Francis.

Brownfield’s 3-pointer with 6:38 left in the third quarter gave the Leathernecks 67 points and well, those who understood the 6-7 viral meme — which was pretty much every child in the place and a few of the grown-ups — went absolutely crazy.

“I was telling everyone on the court, ‘We need a three. We need a three,’” Brownfield said, laughing.

“There’s no one more perfect to hit that than Addi,” forward Mia Nicastro said.

“A real hero,” quipped Western Illinois coach JD Gravina. “Probably the biggest shot she’s hit in all her life.”

The 90-55 win was a fun day for the Leathernecks. Attendance was listed at 3,167 — of course there was a 6-7 at the end of that number — which was a new program record. Two Western Illinois players had double-doubles — Nicastro had 32 points and 18 rebounds and Raegan McCowan had 15 points and 10 rebounds — and Brownfield hit 7 of 8 shots to finish with 22 points.

“Obviously this is a great environment to play in,” Nicastro said. “And I think it puts a lot of things in perspective when you see these kids cheering you on, looking up to you. So you want to play well. Yeah, it was a fun game for us.”

“It was so much fun, seeing how excited these kids were,” Brownfield said. “It made us feel that excitement of enjoying basketball and having fun.”

“I just love the ‘kid’ energy,” Gravina said. “They’re singing, they’re dancing. I told the players that’s life before cell phones and social media and everything else, and there’s something to be learned from them.”

The kids, though, knew of the whole 6-7 thing, which is why the noise increased when they saw the 64 on the scoreboard and then saw Brownfield rise up and hit the 3-pointer.

“That was such a cool moment,” Brownfield said. “And these kids enjoyed it so much. That’s obviously the loudest it was all day.”

The Leathernecks (5-1) had a crisp first half, making 20 of 35 shots on 14 assists.

“We played really well in the first half,” Gravina said. “I mean, really well.”

“Their 1-3-1 (defense) gave us a little bit of trouble,” Nicastro said. “But I think it taught us to be patient, find openings, and make good passes.”

The Leathernecks, though, shot just 28.6% in the second half.

“Second half, I thought we came back to reality a little bit at times, but I do think we got what we wanted out of the game,” Gravina said. “We got up and down — it was a good, high-paced game.”

Western Illinois held St. Francis to 26.6% shooting for the game.

“I think this was a confidence booster for us, knowing we can score a lot of points and play good defense,” Brownfield said.

Every Leatherneck got to play at least five minutes.

“You’ll see us on the bench just so hyped for everyone who gets in and gets their opportunity,” Nicastro said. “And it’s just cool. You want to see your teammates play. You want to see everyone just have fun and get their opportunity. So it’s really fun. I love games where everyone can get in.”

Top photo: Western Illinois’ Mia Nicastro (center) watches a shot go in during Thursday’s game with St. Francis. (WIU Athletic Communications)