Macomb, Ill. - The Omaha Mavericks drop the contest against the Western Illinois Leathernecks 78-75. Despite a strong first half and a 12-point lead at the half, the Leathernecks pulled ahead.

Omaha drops to a 2-6 overall record on the season. 
 
Leaders For Omaha
Kennedi Grant led the team with 19 points. Also in double digits tonight were Grace Cave (14), Aaliyah Stanley (13), and Polina Nikulochkina (10). Cave paced with six assists and P. Nikulochkina had a team-high three steals. P. Nikulochkina and Stanley had perfect nights on the free throw line going 4-of-4 and 2-of-2, respectively.    
 
Leaders for Western Illinois
Raegan McCowan and Addi Brownfield each had 20+ points during tonight's game, putting up 25 and 22 respectively. Brownfield recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds. She also had a team-high four blocks. 

Team Stats
Though Omaha trailed in shot percentage 44.6% to 46.8%, each team scored 29 field goals while the Mavericks had three additional attempts. The Mavericks did lead three-pointers 42.1% (8-of-19) to 40% (8-of-20). Omaha also led on the free throw line 69.2% (9-of-13) to WIU's 60% (12-of-20). 

Inside the First Quarter
Grant scored the first basket for the Mavericks at 8:38 with a jump shot in the paint. A three-pointer by Katie Keitges at 7:58 gave the Mavericks their first lead of the game. After going back and forth the Mavericks got the lead back with another jumper behind the arc by Keitges. Omaha steadily put a gap between them and the Leathernecks, getting up by 11 after a jump shot by Morgann Gardner to end the first quarter. 

The Leathernecks got the game's first bucket at 9:40 for the early lead. Their largest lead in the first quarter came after a three-point jumper at 6:19, putting the score at 10-7. After a bad pass by Brownfield, they gave the lead back to Omaha. A missed layup sealed the first quarter 24-13 in the Mavericks favor. 
 
Inside the Second Quarter
The Mavericks got the second started with a layup by Deanay Watson at 9:18. A jumper by Grant at 5:34 put the Mavericks up 35-19, giving Omaha their largest lead of the game. Cave and P. Nikulochkina both made steals in the second. 

After only allowing one layup at the start of the second, Omaha kept WIU from scoring for just under three minutes, maintaining a 16-point lead. The Leathernecks had five turnovers in the second and went 0-of-5 behind the arc. Eight of the 14 points in the quarter were contributed by Brownfield. 

Inside the Third Quarter
The Maverick's first three points in the second half came from free throws from P. Nikulochkina and Cave. Stanley got the first bucket at 7:09 keeping a nine-point lead over WIU. Omaha had their lowest-scoring quarter, only recording 13 points. Stanley sunk two, while Grant scored the only other field goal. The other five points came from the line.   

Western Illinois had a dominant period to take the lead back. After scoring the first of the half at 9:52 they slowly chipped away the lead with two steals and five blocks. They also out-rebounded the Mavericks 11-6. Their defense was strong, holding Omaha to a 26.7 shot percent. On the offensive side, they sunk 11-of-15 baskets for a 73.3% on shots. After coming back from a 12-point deficit at the half they closed the third quarter up by 10. 
 
Inside the Fourth Quarter
Omaha opened the fourth quarter on an eight-point scoring streak. Keitges tied the game back up 64-64 at 7:31 with a jumper behind the arc. Despite tying it up, the Mavericks trailed by a short margin the remainder of the game. Grant secured nine points going 4-of-8 on field goals and made one steal. Grant made one buzzer-beater attempt at a three-pointer to win the game but missed the shot. 

After giving up eight points for a tied game, Brownfield made a second-chance layup to take their lead back. The Leathernecks maintained the lead with a series of two-pointers. In the fourth quarter, they went 6-of-12 on field goals and 1-of-1 behind the arc. Brownfield also made a crucial steal and blocked a shot. 

Next Up
The Omaha Mavericks will return home to play Peru State College this Sunday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. in Sapp Fieldhouse.