KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan women's basketball is set to host the Olivet College Comets for one final game prior to Thanksgiving. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. this Tuesday, Nov. 23 inside University Arena.
SCOUTING THE COMETS (1-4)
Olivet College comes into campus this week off of a 65-45 loss to Finlandia in the Hope College Tip-off Classic. The Comets were led by sophomore forward Zoee Zatarga, who scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Senior guard Alicia Bullaro added nine points and four rebounds, and freshmen guard Courtney Balazs contributed seven points and three rebounds off the bench for Olivet as well. Finlandia outscored the Comets 21-2 in the second quarter of play, and the closest the Olivet got after that was a 14-point differential at the beginning of the fourth. As a team, Findlandia nearly doubled the Comets up in rebounding by a margin of 60-32. Olivet also turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 15 points off of turnovers for their opponents.
On the season, Olivet currently shoots at a 33.8% clip while averaging 55.4 PPG. From the free throw line, the Comets have converted on 56.9% of their attempts, averaging 23.2 foul shots per game. Compared to opponents, Olivet rebounds at a margin of -18.0 per game, while averaging 32.6 team boards per contest. The Comets also average 10.6 steals an outing, compared to the Broncos 9.3 takeaways per game.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE BRONCOS (2-2)
Western Michigan returns home on Tuesday following a road win at Saint Mary's College by a final score of 76-67. A big piece in the Broncos success was redshirt sophomore forward Taylor Williams, who posted her second double-double of the season with 22 points 14 rebounds, and three steals.
She was joined by redshirt senior forward
Reilly Jacobson, who added 22 points and five rebounds of her own. Sophomore guard
Lauren Ross tallied 16 points, five boards, and three steals, while fellow sophomore guard
Megan Wagner totaled an additional nine points and five rebounds.
The Broncos' sophomore class shined in Moraga during their most recent win, scoring 14 of the team's 18 overtime points. WMU received seven OT free throws from
Megan Wagner, with guards
Hannah Spitzley and
Gabi Saxman adding two freebies a piece in the extra period. Williams dotted the I in the win with one free throw in overtime herself. Western Michigan made 22 of their 36 chances at the line throughout the game, going 12-18 from the stripe in OT.
WMU lead the Gaels in points off of turnovers with 15, and won the battle down low, outscoring Saint Mary's 42-22 in the paint. The Broncos also outrebounded the Gaels by a slim total of 44-40, with 13 of the 44 coming on the offensive end. Additionally, Western Michigan bested their opponent in steals 8-5, and held a lead for 35:08 of game time.
ON THE HORIZON
Following the showdown with Olivet College, the Broncos host Valparaiso on Monday, Nov 29 inside University Arena. Tip-off against the Beacons is set for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+/ESPN3. Final streaming information will be sent out upon final confirmation.
For all ticket information, please visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.
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