Janiah Newell puts up Game-High Fifteen Points in Loss against Western Illinois

CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago State women's basketball team faced off against the Western Illinois Leathernecks and lost 59-45.

Janiah Newell finished with a game-high fifteen points, along with Taylor Norris adding on eleven of her own and Josie Hill eight.

First Quarter - Western Illinois 18, Chicago State 13

• The Cougars opened the scoring with a beautiful jumper from Josie Hill
• However, Western Illinois answered back with a two of their own followed by a three pointer
• Fortunately, the Cougars countered with two deuces from Taylor Norris, a deuce from Janiah Newell, and two made free throws from Ana Haklicka at the line to lead 11-5.
• Nonetheless, the Cougars then went on a scoring drought as they were outscored 13-2 at the end of the quarter for the Leathernecks to now lead 18-13

Second Quarter - Western Illinois 33, Chicago State 17

• The Leathernecks kicked it off with a trey to increase their lead to 21-13
• After a three minute scoring drought from both teams, Western Illinois earned a deuce however was then followed by a jumper from Newell to cut the streak
• However, the Leathernecks once again hit another deuce followed this time by a layup from Hill for the Cougars to cut into their lead at 17-25
• Unfortunately, Western Illinois went on to finish the quarter with an 8-0 run, maintaining their lead at the half with a score of 33-17

Third Quarter - Western Illinois 37, Chicago State 32

• The Leathernecks began with a deuce to continue their run with a score of 35-18
• However, the Cougars then went on a 7-0 run which featured a trey from Ahlea Meyers, a deuce from Newell, and two made free throws by Norris to now trail by 25-37
• Western Illinois hit a deuce, nonetheless, the Cougars regained their momentum to go on another rally at 8-0 with a three from Meyers and a deuce and trey from Newell to now trail by 5 at 33-37

Fourth Quarter - Western Illinois 59, Chicago State 45

• The Leathernecks opened up the scoring with a deuce, followed by a jumper from Norris for the Cougars which ensued back and forth scoring
• The Leathernecks were able to maintain their lead though as they outscored the Cougars 13-20 overall in the final quarter
• Newell finished with a game-high 15 points, but could not get the win as Western Illinois took it with a final score of 59-45

The CSU women's basketball team host Eastern Illinois University on Tuesday, November 22 at 7 p.m. at the JCC. It will be Community Night at the Jones Convocation Center and fans will gain free admission with a donated food item. Tuesday's game will be the 23^rd meeting between the two schools with Eastern Illinois holding a 17-5 advantage. The last time the two teams played was a 73-64 Cougars win in the WBI tournament during the 2010-11 season. Eastern Illinois enters the game with a 4-0 record including 2-0 on the road following an 83-73 win at home against Loyola Chicago Sunday. 

About Chicago State

Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year. During that same season, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.

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