By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

MACOMB, Ill, — There was a lot for the Western Illinois women’s basketball team to take home for the few days of Christmas break.

A 10-1 record with a six-game winning streak.

A 2-0 record and part of a three-way knot at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference.

And a confidence that comes with experience.

“Very exciting,” forward Mia Nicastro said after Monday’s 75-51 win over SIUE at Western Hall. “A 10-1 record, leading the conference, it’s a good feeling. But we’re not satisfied at all.”

“We have this momentum going, so we’re going to enjoy Christmas break a little bit more,” said guard Addi Brownfield, who passed the 1,000-point mark for her career during the win.

The Leathernecks took control of the game by outscoring the Cougars 22-5 in the second quarter. Then after SIUE (8-4, 1-1) rallied in the third quarter to get within 11 points at one point, Western Illinois had an 18-6 run in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“I think (coach) JD (Gravina) said it best at halftime,” Brownfield said. “You know, at the start of the game, it’s always gonna be close, but the level of intensity we play at, like it’s hard to play against that for 40 minutes. Just keep doing what we do, playing as hard as we do. And I think that eventually allowed us to pull away.”

“We kind of lost a little bit of focus,” said forward Mallory Shetley, making her first start in place of injured junior Raegan McCowan. “We got a little herky-jerky there, but we know how to play together. And we really stepped up and got the win.”

McCowan, a two-time first-team All-OVC selection, dislocated her elbow in last Thursday’s 74-65 win at Lindenwood and is out indefinitely. Shetley, a 2,000-point scorer who transferred from Columbia College last spring, stepped into the lineup and scored 13 points while adding five rebounds.

“Having Mallory, who is basically a sixth starter, really helps,” Gravina said. “When you are missing a key player in rotation, sometimes that can just throw everyone off. And I don’t think we let that happen at all.”

“I think we have a lot of depth on this team, I think we have a lot of experience on this team,” Nicastro said. “All of us have confidence, as teammates, in every single person on this team. We all have confidence in all of them to come out and do their job and do what they need to do.”

“We’ve got a lot of very experienced players, and we played in some tough games, close games, already in the nonconference schedule,” Shetley said. “So it’s really just knowing how we can play together and finish out games.”

That was important when the Cougars made their third-quarter run.

“We had a little bit of leeway to give, but we knew we couldn’t let them get back in it,” said Nicastro, who led the Leathernecks with 19 points and 11 rebounds. “And I think that’s been something that we’ve been good at this year — even when we’re kind of facing some adversity, or we’re maybe in a tough spot, we don’t let that rattle us. We kind of stay focused on the task at hand. We stay level-headed and we execute. So I think that’s what’s really special about this team, and I think that’s what we did today.”

The Leathernecks got scoring from plenty of sources. Brownfield had 12 points. Madison Davis had 11 points off the bench. Allie Meadows had 10.

Brownfield celebrated her milestone after the game with a large group of family members.

“Everyone on my mom’s side of the family is here,” she said. “I was glad they were able to be here to see it, because they’ve supported me through all of this. It was pretty cool.”

The Leathernecks were cool in the moment, and in a good spot.

“It’s huge,” Shetley said. “And it really sets us up for success, once we get deeper into conference play. It gives us a good base.”

“We’re ready to go home to get some time with family,” Nicastro said. “But then, when we get back, the foot’s on the gas again.”

Top photo: Mallory Shetley scored 13 points in her first start of the season as Western Illinois defeated SIUE 75-51 on Monday. (Photo by John Lovretta)