By JOHN BOHNENKAMP EVANSVILLE, Indiana — Mia Nicastro has had ankle sprains before, but she knew the one she suffered in the fourth quarter in Saturday’s Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship game was bad. It didn’t help that the Ford … Continue reading Nicastro’s ‘Heroic’ Return Sparks Leathernecks’ Final Push
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP EVANSVILLE, Indiana — Mia Nicastro was 19 seconds into Friday’s Ohio Valley Conference tournament semifinal and on her rear end underneath Western Illinois’ basket. Nicastro, arms outstretched and glaring at the officials, looked incredulous that there was … Continue reading Nicastro’s Day Goes From ‘Worst’ Half To Big Shots
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Hannah Stuelke’s right elbow is the biggest question for Iowa’s women’s basketball team heading into Friday’s Big Ten Tournament opener. Stuelke was injured in Iowa’s 82-78 win over Illinois on February 26 in the Hawkeyes’ final regular-season … Continue reading Stuelke’s Status Is Questionable As Hawkeyes Prepare For Big Ten Tournament
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP It was at about this time last season that Iowa’s Ava Heiden started to show what she could do as a young post player in the Hawkeyes’ rotation. That momentum carried into this season, and helped Heiden … Continue reading Heiden Named To All-Big Ten First Team
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 IOWA CITY, Iowa — Ashley Sofilkanich stood near the Michigan basket, hands on hips, head down, a sign that she had enough of Iowa’s Ava Heiden. The Wolverines had called timeout, the sellout crowd of Carver-Hawkeye Arena … Continue reading IOWA 62, MICHIGAN 44: Heiden Owns Her Space With A ‘Stab And Twist’ Moment
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. — 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 Iowa’s women’s basketball team was going to have to sit on a three-game losing streak for six days, so coach Jan Jensen used the time to get the Hawkeyes to work on themselves. Jensen wanted to give … Continue reading IOWA 65, WASHINGTON 56: Hawkeyes Get Back To The Basics Of Winning
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP MACOMB, Ill. — The third game in a four-games-in-eight-days stretch for the Western Illinois’ women’s basketball team was never close, and the Leathernecks didn’t seem to mind. Their 93-49 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday at Western … Continue reading WIU 93, EASTERN ILLINOIS 49: Leathernecks Get An Easy One And Extend Their OVC Lead
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