MACOMB, Ill.  – In a wild game of runs that included an 18-0 stretch to end the third and start the fourth for Western Illinois and an 18-3 spurt late in the fourth quarter for the Pioneers, the Leathernecks came out on top with a 72-66 victory over Denver in both teams' Summit League opener on Monday night at Western Hall.  
 
Inside The Box Score:
Uju Ezeudu had her third-straight double-double and the 11^th of her career in the loss, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. Meghan Boyd led the Pioneers with 19 points that included three triples and eight free-throws.
 
Anna Jackson had 13 points and three rebounds and Tess Santos added 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
 
Denver shot 8-for-36 from three and 16-of-20 from the free-throw line. The nation's sixth-best block shots team in the country finished with eight on the day.
 
First Quarter:
A pair of layups from Ezeudu and Jackson got the Pios out to an early 4-0 lead, part of a stretch in the first six minutes that saw the Pioneers go 4-for-4 from inside the arc and 0-for-7 from three-point range.
 
Denver had four different players score around the bucket in that six-minute stretch, and added a pair from the foul line, but Western Illinois led 14-10 at the under-5 media in the first quarter.
 
Out of the media timeout, the Pioneers responded with a 7-0 run in a 2:15 span, including the first triple of the game for Denver from Santos that was sandwiched in-between a pair of layups from Makayla Minett and Ezeudu.
 
Western put an end to the run and got its lead back to two at the end of the first quarter. Minett had four points and a game-high five rebounds in the first quarter. Ezeudu led the Pioneers with six points and Santos added five. Evan Zars led the Leathernecks with nine first-quarter points.
 
Second Quarter:
The two teams traded baskets in the early stages of the second quarter with the Leathernecks keeping a 30-28 lead at the under-five media timeout (4:29).
 
Western Illinois stretched its lead to as many as six, but Santos drained her second shot from beyond the arc as the final points of the second quarter to cut the Leathernecks lead to three at 37-34 at the intermission.
 
Minett had a career-high 12 rebounds in the first half, to go with four points for the Pioneers. Santos led the Pioneers in points in the opening 20 minutes with nine to go with a pair of assists. Ezeudu added eight and three rebounds and Jackson had seven in the first 20 for Doshia Woods' squad.
 
Third Quarter:
The Leathernecks opened the second half on a 7-0 run in the first 2:42 to open up their lead to 10 at 44-34, forcing Woods' first timeout of the night.
 
Denver responded with a 10-1 run of its own, all 10 paint points, including six from Ezeudu to force a Western Illinois timeout with the score at 45-44 WIU with 4:41 to go in the quarter.
 
The game of runs in the third quarter continued as the Leathernecks went on a 14-0 spurt in a 4:41 span to close the quarter and push the home side's lead to its highest mark at 59-44 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Fourth Quarter:
Western Illinois extended its run to 18-0 on the other side of the quarter break before Ezeudu knocked down a pair of free-throws to put an end to a Pioneer scoring drought that lasted nearly six minutes.
 
The second half runs continued with Denver hitting on an 18-3 run that included a triple from Jackson and three, three-balls from Boyd to trim the Leathernecks lead to four with under two minutes to play.
 
The Leathernecks pushed their lead back to nine before a Jackson three on the final possession of the game cut the lead back to the six-point final margin.
 
Notes:

• Makayla Minett reached double figures in rebounds for the second time this season and the third time in her career.
  • Minett had a career-high 12 rebounds by halftime
• Tess Santos finished in double figures in points for the sixth time this season and the 21^st time in her career.
• Uju Ezeudu recorded her third-straight double-double, her fourth of the season and the 11^th of her career.
  • Ezeudu finished in double figures for the seventh-straight game, the 11^th time this season and the 45^th time in her career.
  • Ezeudu finished in double figures in rebounds for the third-straight game, the fifth time this season and the 14^th time of her career.
• Meghan Boyd finished in double figures in points for the second straight game, the ninth time this season and the 36^th time in her career.
• Anna Jackson finished in double figures in points for the fourth-straight game, the seventh time this season and the 18^th time of her career. 

What's Next:
Denver will wrap-up a stretch of six of seven on the road when the Pioneers travel to St. Thomas on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT/ 6 p.m. MT.
 
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