Western Illinois Head Women’s Basketball Coach J.D. Gravina has developed a reputation over the last few years of creating an incredibly trying and difficult non-conference schedule for the Leathernecks. It has seen them welcome an at-the-time top-15 ranked Missouri to Western Hall, an upset at Illinois and an overall increased national pedigree for the program. This year, that slate has included trips to Missouri, Drake and Purdue as well as a home contest with Bradley. That continues on Wednesday, December 4, with a road contest against the Illinois State Redbirds.
WIU (4-4) will be looking for a continuation of its rebound performance in a 90-69 win over Missouri Baptist on November 26. To a point, in its previous three matchups with Missouri Valley opponents, WIU is 1-2 with the lone victory coming against Indiana State. The two losses were by a combined 54 points to first Bradley and then Drake. This will be a critical matchup for the Leathernecks as they will look to use this as a springboard for momentum heading into conference play.
For Illinois State (5-1), the Redbirds will be looking to continue what has been a generally speaking excellent start to the 2019 season. Their start includes a huge win over instate rivals Illinois and they will come into this matchup with a ton of momentum. The Redbirds will bring a pair of strong scorers to the matchup in guard TeTe Maggett and forward Lexi Wallen, both averaging better than 15 points per game as well as more than 6 rebounds per game, so WIU’s defense will have to be up to the task.
Both WIU and ISU bring potent offenses to the table in what should be a fun-to-watch matchup. Tip off from redbird arena is set for 6 PM as the Leathernecks will look to earn a win in what has become a fierce athletic rivalry between the two schools.