By JOHN BOHNENKAMP EVANSVILLE, Indiana — Mallory Shetley is no stranger to big games, having played in the NAIA national tournament in all five of her seasons at Columbia College. Her 27 points for Western Illinois in Friday’s 74-66 win … Continue reading Shetley’s Big Game Keeps Leathernecks Going
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Mia Nicastro was among the top scorers in NCAA Division I women’s basketball play all season, so it was no surprise the Western Illinois senior was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s player of the year on Tuesday. … Continue reading Nicastro, Gravina And Brownfield Claim Top OVC Honors
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP MACOMB, Ill. — There was a party going on out on the court at Western Hall as Francis Okwuosah sat in the Hall of Fame Room, towel over his head, his college basketball career over. Western Illinois’ 91-69 loss to Lindenwood on Saturday was the final game of the season for the Leathernecks. They finished 5-26 overall, 1-19 in the Ohio Valley Conference, and didn’t qualify for next week’s conference tournament in Evansville, Indiana. That meant Senior Day was the final day for the Leathernecks’ seniors and graduate students, and for Okwuosah, it was the end of … Continue reading LINDENWOOD 91, WIU 69: A Goodbye To The Season And The Long Journeys
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP MACOMB, Ill. — Western Illinois women’s basketball team got a proper celebration and a chance to cut down the nets at Western Hall. The Leathernecks had to share their Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title rather than win … Continue reading LINDENWOOD 50, WIU 49: Leathernecks Celebrate A Title, But Have To Share
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP MACOMB, Ill, — Goanar Biliew is heading into the final week of his college basketball career knowing he made the right choice to come to Western Illinois for his last season. Biliew matched his season high with 14 points in the Leathernecks’ 81-59 loss to Morehead State in Saturday’s Ohio Valley Conference game at Western Hall. There will be no trip to the OVC tournament for the Leathernecks (5-24 overall, 1-17 conference) this season. Their season will end this week with Thursday’s game at SIUE and next Saturday’s home game against Lindenwood. Those are moments Biliew will … Continue reading MOREHEAD STATE 81, WIU 59: Biliew Cherishes Opportunity With Leathernecks
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP MACOMB, Ill. — Experience matters. It’s why Western Illinois’ women’s basketball team wasn’t rattled at the challenge from Morehead State in the first three quarters of Saturday’s Ohio Valley Conference game at Western Hall. It’s why they knew how, with their lead in the OVC standings at stake and a chance to set up their biggest week of the season, to finish off the game. “We decided in the fourth quarter, it was going to be our game,” said forward Mallory Shetley. And so it was. The Leathernecks smothered Morehead State in the final 10 minutes to … Continue reading WIU 74, MOREHEAD STATE 53: Fury In The Fourth Quarter
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP MACOMB, Ill. — It was a defeat that felt oh-so-familiar. Western Illinois’ 77-58 men’s basketball loss to Little Rock on Thursday night at Western Hall was the 22nd defeat of the season, and it featured so much … Continue reading LITTLE ROCK 77, WIU 58: A Defeat That Felt Like The Others
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP MACOMB, Ill. — Mia Nicastro wasn’t happy. Western Illinois had let a 13-point lead turn into a two-point deficit at the end of the third quarter in Thursday’s game against Little Rock at Western Hall and Nicastro, … Continue reading WIU 84, LITTLE ROCK 73: Nicastro’s Fourth-Quarter Fury Keeps Leathernecks Rolling
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP MACOMB, Ill. — Francis Okwuosah’s 3-pointer snapped the net and released the frustration that had built for two months and had consumed Western Illinois’ men’s basketball team. Four minutes and 26 seconds remained in Tuesday’s game against … Continue reading WIU 79, EASTERN ILLINOIS 70: A Night When The Streak Ended, And The Ax Stayed
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Raegan McCowan was passing the ball during Western Illinois’ warmups before Thursday’s game with Southeast Missouri State when teammate Addi Brownfield walked by her and playfully slapped her left arm. Then Brownfield realized what she had done. … Continue reading THE MONDAY TIPOFF: WIU’s McCowan Watches While Waiting For Elbow To Heal
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