It is said that sharing is caring.
But as far as the Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball regular season title, the Western Illinois University women’s basketball team was looking to be a selfish bunch.
Lindenwood’s 50-49 victory over the Leathernecks Saturday afternoon at Western Hall however gave the visiting Lions a share of the title with WIU.
The Leathernecks entered the game unbeaten at Western Hall in 15 games this season. WIU also held a one game lead in the conference standings over Lindenwood.
“I think we were just super-emotional,” said WIU coach JD Gravina. “There was a lot going on, being undefeated at home. And maybe we let that get to us a little bit early. Once you get a little off, it’s hard to get it figured out.”
In a contest featuring the top two offenses in the OVC, both squads struggled, finishing with their lowest point totals of the season.
Western finished 18-of-58 from the floor (31 percent), while Lindenwood shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59).
“It was like there was a lid on thr basket for everyone,” said WIU forward Mia Nicastro. “But for me especially, I never miss layups like that. It’s frustrating.”
“The first half, it was definitely frustrating. I felt like there was a lid on the basket. We were getting great looks,” added WIU guard Addie Brownfield.
After the two teams traded 7-0 runs to open the game, Lindenwood took the lead as the Lions outscored the Leathernecks 14-6 the remainder of the quarter.
The Lions were buoyed by 50 percent shooting from the floor (8-of-16).
The second period saw both teams struggle to score, combining to shoot 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) from the field.
That left Western trailing 29-22 at halftime.
The offensive lowpoint for the Leathernecks came in the third frame.
Brownfield’s traditional three-point play at the 9:24 mark narrowed the deficit to 31-25.
But Western went the next nine minutes without scoring, missing 13 consecutive shots. By the time Allie Meadows scored on a layup with 26 seconds remaining in the period, the home team trailed 42-27.
Lindenwood took a 43-27 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
“Obviously we got a little frustrated, flustered on offense,” Gravina said. “I know it looked like they were picking us apart offensively, but really, if you look at statistically, we were fine where we wanted to be defensively, as many points as they normally score.”
“Offensively, we just played really bad,” he added. “We were on our heels. Even a couple times we’d make a cut, kind of have a layup, we’d make three moves and then kick it out or shoot a turnaround jumper. Just kind of didn’t have our aggressiveness.”
“We just got out of sorts, you know, and then you’re just kind of trying too hard,” Gravina said. “Obviously it’s an emotional game, and it took probably getting down big to finally loosen us up and get us aggressive.”
Scoring just nine points through three quarters, Nicastro, who entered the contest fourth in the nation in points per game (24.5) took over.
“I wanted to win. We all wanted to win,” said Nicastro. “I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. None of us were.”
“I said, ‘Hey, we can make a 7-0 run and cut it to nine with plenty of time, say 5-6 minutes left,’” Gravina said.
The Leathernecks began to chip away. A free throw by Meadows and a three by Brownfield cut the Lindenwood lead to 43-31.
After a pair of Brooke Coffey free throws, Nicastro scored the next six points for Western. Her two free throws with 5:32 remaining closed the gap to 45-37.
“I think part of that was having that absolutely nothing to lose mentality,” said Gravina. “You kind of get, for lack of a better term ‘eff it” mentality. You get a lot more aggressive and start looking to make plays and not worrying about if you make a mistake.”
Lindenwood turned the ball over on its next possession. Meadows missed the layup, but guard Kaylen Reed, all 5-feet, 5-inches of her, grabbed the offensive rebound and found an open Nicastro at the top of the key.
Nicastro sank the trey, bringing the Leathernecks within 45-40 at the 5:15 mark. It also brought the crowd back into the contest.
Baskets by Aleshia Jones and Ellie Brueggemann pushed the Lindenwood lead back to 49-40 with 2:50 to go.
Nicastro countered with a three and a two that made it 49-45.
After a Gracie Kelsey free throw, a Nicastro jumper closed the deficit to 50-47 with 1:39 left.
A Mallory Shetley steal resulted in a scoring opportunity for Western. Nicastro was fouled by Coffey with 55 seconds left. She made both free throws, leaving the Leathernecks trailing 50-49.
After a missed shot and turnover by Lindenwood, the Leathernecks had one final chance.
Shetley missed a jumper before the ball went out of bounds with Western retaining possession.
On the following play after a timeout, Nicastro had a chance, but her baseline turnaround jumper missed.
“It was a good look,” she said. “Didn’t fall.”
A scramble ensued with Brownfield attempting to corral the ball and call timeout before the horn sounded, but to no avail.
The team was spurred on by a crowd of 1,657 fans, the third largest attendance in program history for a game at Western Hall.
“That’s about as full as I’ve seen and the loudest crowd I’ve been part of,” said Gravina. “If that last shot would have went in, I mean, this place just would have exploded. I don’t think they could have kept people off the court. It would have been really fun, but that’s the way it goes.” Instead, it was the Lions who were celebrating at center court.
“They’re such a talented team and were able to take us out of our stuff,” said Brownfield. “Kudos to them for being able to play in this environment and playing as great as they did.”
Nicastro finished with a double-double of 27 points and 13 rebounds for WIU (24-5, 16-4 OVC).
Brownfield added 10 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals and two assists.
Reed scored two points, but also handed out seven assists and had six rebounds.
Meadows added six points and three rebounds, while Shetley and Madison Davis each chipped in two points and three rebounds.
Coffey (15 points, 11 rebounds)and Jones (13 points, 11 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles for Lindenwood (24-7, 16-4 OVC).
Brueggemann added 13 points, while Kelsey had just one point, but six assists.
The two teams now prepare for OVC Tournament play this week in Evansville.
“We’re going into next week knowing that this one stings,” Brownfield said. “But there’s a lot of work left to be done.”
“I think that split at the end of the day is good for us knowing what we need to work on and what we need to do better if we see them again in the tournament,” she added.
“I have a feeling it’s going to be one of us winning the championship,” said Nicastro. “It’s hard to beat a team three times and now we’re even 1-1. We go in with the momentum of the fourth quarter and how the game ended.”
“We’re going in with a clean slate and a lot of confidence and some revenge that we want to get,” she added.
