Western Illinois turns back Lindenwood's rally, wins women's OVC Tournament championship

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Mia Nicastro had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Mallory Shetley added 18 points and Western Illinois defeated Lindenwood 71-65 on Saturday to win the OVC Tournament championship.

The Leathernecks advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third time. Their prior appearances were in 1995 and 2017.

No 1 seed Western Illinois led 54-50 through three quarters. Lindenwood, the No. 2 seed which once trailed by 16 points, got a three-point play from Gracie Kelsey and later Aleshia Jones had a three-point play followed by a layup that got the Lions within 59-58 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the game.

Nicastro and Shetley then led Western Illinois down the stretch, scoring eight points and four points, respectively, as the Leathernecks closed out the championship. Lindenwood was held to one point over the final 5 1/2 minutes until Ellie Brueggemann hit two desperate 3-pointers in the final 25 seconds.

Brueggemann scored 21 points, Jones 18 and Kelsey 14 for Lindenwood (25-8).

Madison Davis and Allie Meadows each scored 10 points for Western Illinois (26-5).

Western Illinois, which never trailed, raced out to a 13-3 lead after five-plus minutes of play. The Leathernecks led 20-11 heading to the second quarter and 36-22 at halftime after shooting 63% in the first half.

The Lions, who defeated Western Illinois 50-49 in a regular-season finale to create a tie for the regular-season championship, battled back in the third quarter. Lindenwood outscored Western Illinois 28-18 without a scoring run of more than five consecutive points.

Lindenwood lost in the championship game for the second year in a row.

Up next

Postseason decisions await on Selection Sunday. ___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball.