Ohio Valley Conference

NORMAL, Ill. -Western Illinois Women's Basketball had a hard fought battle on the road against Illinois State in the second round of the WNIT on Sunday afternoon. The Leathernecks came within two points in the fourth quarter, but ultimately fell to the Redbirds, 80-90.

The Leathernecks got off to a fast start in the first quarter, leading ISU 23-17 to head into the second. The scoring duo of and Mia Nicastro and Raegan McCowan, had 13 of WIU's 23 first quarter points. The Redbirds stormed back in the second quarter, outscoring the Leathernecks 17-26. 

Offensively, the Leathernecks were led by 30-point performance from sophomore Raegan McCowan, who also added seven rebounds in the game. Mia Nicastro added 14 points and five rebounds, going 6-11 from the field. Allie Meadows added another 12 points for the Leathernecks, as well as seven rebounds and three assists. 

WIU responded in the third quarter, outscoring ISU 19-18. Despite this push, the Redbirds held onto their lead into the fourth quarter and outscored the Leathernecks again, 20-27. The Leathernecks went 15-15 from the free throw line and trailed by as few as two in the fourth quarter, before ultimately falling to the Redbirds. WIU outrebounded ISU 36-28 on the afternoon, and outscored the Redbirds in points off the bench 8-0. 

The Leathernecks finish the 2024-2025 campaign with with a postseason appearance, a 17-17 overall record, and an OVC tournament semifinal appearance in their second season in the league.

LINDENWOOD 67, TARLETON STATE 59
STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS - Lindenwood women's basketball (23-10, 16-4 OVC) continues their first post-season run in their Division I history after defeating Tarleton State (22-11, 10-6 WAC) in the second round of the WNIT by a final score of 67-59. The Lions become the sixth team on Sunday to clinch a berth in the Super 16 of the WNIT.

Gracie Kelsey had a career-day for the Lions posting her first career double-double after dropping 16 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore center shot 4-8 from the floor and 8-9 at the foul line while grabbing five offensive rebounds. Tarleton State, a top 20 rebounding margin team in the country, was out-rebounded by the Lions 44-38 including 12 offensive rebounds.

Brooke Coffey was the second leading rebounder for the Lions grabbing eight boards while adding 11 points. Coffey shot 2-6 from the floor while also going 4-5 at the foul line. The Lions as a team shot 18-23 from the foul line while going 7-17 from three point range.

Ellie Brueggemann had three of Lindenwood's seven triples on her way to 11 points. Gracy Wernli also had three three-pointers for the Lions scoring nine points. Off the bench, the Lions' sixth man Mykayla Cunningham had nine points on 3-9 shooting while adding five rebounds and a block. Lindenwood assisted on 12 of their 21 made shots including three from Kelsey and Mya Skoff.

An all-around defensive effort from the Lions, Lindenwood held Tarleton State to 2-20 (10.0%) from three-point range. The Texans shot 35.2% from the floor for the game while Lindenwood shot 39.6% from the field. TSU had 44 points in the painted area while Lindenwood had 24. 

It was a defensive battle in the first quarter after the Lions shot just 4-15 from the field, but they held the early advantage through the first 10 minutes of action with a 14-13 lead. Kelsey had six points and five rebounds in the first quarter while Coffey grabbed another five rebounds. Tarleton State was held to 5-20 shooting including 1-6 from three.
 
The Texans put the pressure on Lindenwood going on a 4-0 run to start the second as they led 17-14 with 8:33 left in the quarter. Lindenwood was able to get their offense going after an and-one layup by Kelsey put the Lions ahead 22-20. The Lions ended the half on a 10-4 run heading into the locker room leading 29-24.
 
Kelsey had nine points and eight rebounds in the first half shooting 3-5 from the floor and 3-3 at the foul line. Brueggemann was the second leading scorer at the half scoring eight points including two threes. The Lions shot 31.3% from the floor in the first half while holding Tarleton State to 27.8% shooting including 1-11 from downtown.

Lindenwood's offense started to click in the third quarter scoring 22 points on 7-10 shooting from the field. After the Texans cut the lead to 32-30 with 8:46 left, the Lions went on a 5-0 run sparked by five straight points from Coffey. The Lions stretched their lead to 11 points with under three to play after Skoff added two of her seven points. Cunningham finished the quarter off with a driving layup as the Lions led 51-41 heading into the final quarter.

Tarleton State was able to cut the lead down to six points with 5:39 remaining in the fourth, but the Lions answered back with back-to-back buckets by Wernli and Kelsey to push the lead back out to 11 with 4:29 to go. After the Texans cut it to five with 1:23 left, the Lions made six straight free throws to ice the game as the Lions advance to the Super 16 of the WNIT.

SOUTHERN INDIANA 60, CAMPBELL 51
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball grinded out a 60-51 victory against Campbell University in the second round of the 2025 Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) at Liberty Arena, home of the Screaming Eagles, on Sunday night.
 
With the win, USI advanced to the Super 16 of the WNIT, which is powered by Triple Crown Sports. Following Sunday's game, the Screaming Eagles learned they will host the University of Buffalo on Thursday at 6 p.m. from Liberty Arena.
 
Southern Indiana (23-12, 12-8 OVC), which was awarded a first-round bye, welcomed the Campbell Fighting Camels (22-13, 12-6 CAA) for the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Campbell captured a 57-55 victory in the first round over Coastal Carolina University to advance to Sunday's matchup with the Screaming Eagles.
 
Southern Indiana grabbed an early four-point lead two and a half minutes into the contest, but Campbell connected on a couple of threes to keep pace with the Screaming Eagles. The Fighting Camels converted at the line late in the first to lead 15-12 before USI's sophomore forward Chloe Gannon hit a layup in the final seconds to make it a one-point game, 15-14, going to the second period. Defenses made good looks hard to find in the opening quarter, as both sides shot below 35 percent from the floor to begin the game.
 
Junior guard Ali Saunders got USI rolling to start the second quarter, cashing in two free throws and a straightaway three to propel the Screaming Eagles ahead by four again, 19-15. The game remained close through most of the second period. USI went 6-6 at the foul line in the second to help stay ahead, and a trey by graduate forward Meredith Raley gave the Eagles a 28-22 advantage with two minutes left in the first half. However, Campbell answered with a three to bring USI's lead down to 28-25 entering halftime.
 
Out of the intermission, Raley got a quick basket to extend USI's lead to five, but once again, the Camels had an answer with a three-pointer. The defensive slugfest continued into the middle of the third. With Southern Indiana leading 32-29, Campbell drained another triple to tie the game at the midway point of the third quarter. The USI post players made a big impact late in the period, as the combination of Gannon and graduate forward Madi Webb led to three field goals down the stretch of the third. Southern Indiana led 40-35 heading to the fourth quarter.
 
Nearly four minutes into the fourth quarter, senior guard Vanessa Shafford swished in a three that erupted the crowd and gave Southern Indiana an eight-point advantage, 45-37. However, a pair of threes by Campbell over the next two minutes got the Camels back within two, 45-43. The Screaming Eagles responded with a basket by Webb and another by Raley off of two steals. Inside the 2:30 mark, Raley made a layup and a three from the top of the arc to push USI's lead up to nine, 54-45. Although the Camels continued to fight, Southern Indiana knocked down its free throws in the last seconds to secure the second-round win.
 
Tough defenses kept the shooting percentage below 35 percent by the end of the game. Southern Indiana shot 33 percent (18-54) from the floor and 26 percent (5-19) from three. USI took advantage of trips at the free-throw line shooting 95 percent (19-20). After falling behind early in the battle on the glass, the Eagles came back to tie Campbell at 39 on the boards.
 
Individually, Raley led the Screaming Eagles with 20 points and added seven rebounds. For Raley, it was her third 20-point effort in the last four outings going back to USI's run in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. Webb also finished in double figures with 13 points.
 
Campbell was held to below 32 percent shooting (18-57) but netted 30 percent (10-33) from outside the perimeter. The Camels were 5-8 for 62.5 percent at the charity stripe. Senior forward Courtney Dahlquist led the Camels and matched a game high with 20 points.