2024–25 Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball team

2024–25 Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball
2024–25 Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	17–17 (8–12 OVC)
Head coach	JD Gravina (14th season);
Associate head coach	Dan Chapla
Assistant coaches	Alexa Tovella; Olivia Travis;
Home arena	Western Hall

2024–25 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Tennessee Tech †	18	–	2	.900	26	–	6	.813
Lindenwood*	16	–	4	.800	23	–	11	.676
Eastern Illinois	15	–	5	.750	18	–	12	.600
Little Rock	12	–	8	.600	14	–	16	.467
Southern Indiana*	12	–	8	.600	23	–	13	.639
UT Martin	10	–	10	.500	13	–	19	.406
	8	–	12	.400	17	–	17	.500
Tennessee State	6	–	14	.300	10	–	21	.323
Morehead State	5	–	15	.250	10	–	20	.333
Southeast Missouri State	4	–	16	.200	6	–	23	.207
SIU Edwardsville	4	–	16	.200	6	–	23	.207

† 2025 OVC tournament winner * ineligible for the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition period

The 2024–25 Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball team represented Western Illinois University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Leathernecks, who were led by 14th-year head coach JD Gravina, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois, as second-year members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Previous season

The Leathernecks finished the 2023–24 season 18–12, 9–9 in OVC play, to finish in seventh place.^[1] They were defeated by Tennessee Tech in the first round of the OVC tournament.^[2]

Preseason

On October 16, 2024, the OVC released their preseason coaches poll. Western Illinois was picked to finish sixth in the OVC regular season.^[3]

Preseason rankings

OVC preseason poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Southern Indiana	200 (20)
2	UT Martin	180 (2)
3	Eastern Illinois	145
4	Tennessee Tech	140
5	Little Rock	135
6	Western Illinois	119
7	Lindenwood	81
T-8	SIU Edwardsville	61
T-8	Morehead State	61
10	Tennessee State	59
11	Southeast Missouri State	29

Source:^[3]

Players to Watch

Each OVC team selected two "Players to Watch" for their team.

Players to Watch
Player	Position	Year
Raegan McCowan	Guard	Sophomore
Addi Brownfield	Guard	Junior

Source:^[3]

Roster

2024–25 Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	1	Madison Davis	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Fr	Marian Catholic High School	Flossmoor, Illinois
G	2	Shelby Bowman	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Fr	West Central High School	Biggsville, Illinois
G	4	Allie Meadows	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Jr	Central DeWitt High School	DeWitt, Iowa
F	5	Maria Messling	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	RS Fr	Evansville High School	Evansville, Wisconsin
G	10	Mallory McDermott (5Y)	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Sr	Cedar Rapids Prairie High School	Fairfax, Iowa
G	12	Raegan McCowan	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	Lebanon High School	Lebanon, Missouri
G	13	Addi Brownfield	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Jr	Boonville High School	Boonville, Missouri
G	14	Ainsley Holthaus	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)	So	Macomb High School	Macomb, Illinois
G/F	20	Kennedy Herrig	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Fr	Liberty North High School	Liberty, Missouri
G/F	22	Mia Nicastro	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Jr	Saint Louis	St. Charles, Missouri
F	23	Jasmine Nichols	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Sr	Moorpark College	Oxnard, California
F	31	Kennedy Flanagan (5Y)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Highland High School	Canton, Missouri
G	32	Kaylen Reed	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	So	Rochester High School	Rochester, Illinois
F	44	Katelyn Eggena	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Fr	Waverly-Shell Rock High School	Waverly, Iowa

Head coach

JD Gravina (William Jewell)

Assistant coach(es)

Dan Chapla (Ottawa)
Alexa Tovella (Barton)
Olivia Travis (Oklahoma Christian)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
(5Y) Fifth-year senior
Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: April 21, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 24, 2024* 7:00 pm		McKendree	W 78–49	–	Western Hall Macomb, IL
October 30, 2024* 7:00 pm		Dubuque	W 90–43	–	Western Hall (245) Macomb, IL
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Culver–Stockton	W 89–42	1–0	Western Hall (711) Macomb, IL
November 10, 2024* 2:00 pm, SLN		at Omaha	W 89–83	2–0	Baxter Arena (306) Omaha, NE
November 12, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Kansas City	W 62–43	3–0	Western Hall (623) Macomb, IL
November 15, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri	L 55–75	3–1	Western Hall (1,853) Macomb, IL
November 18, 2024* 6:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Chicago State	W 93–75	4–1	Jones Convocation Center (140) Chicago, IL
November 24, 2024* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bradley	W 62–41	5–1	Renaissance Coliseum (385) Peoria, IL
December 6, 2024* 5:30 pm, ESPN+		at Cincinnati	L 52–95	5–2	Fifth Third Arena (918) Cincinnati, OH
December 14, 2024* 1:00 pm, SLN		at St. Thomas	L 56–69	5–3	Schoenecker Arena (421) St. Paul, MN
OVC regular season
December 17, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Tennessee Tech	L 52–72	5–4 (0–1)	Western Hall (423) Macomb, IL
December 21, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Lindenwood	L 59–63	5–5 (0–2)	Robert F. Hyland Arena (872) St. Charles, MO
December 30, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Clarke	W 97–58	6–5	Western Hall (494) Macomb, IL
January 2, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at SIU Edwardsville	W 75–48	7–5 (1–2)	First Community Arena (1,331) Edwardsville, IL
January 4, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Illinois	L 60–70	7–6 (1–3)	Groniger Arena (506) Charleston, IL
January 9, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPN+		UT Martin	L 60–73	7–7 (1–4)	Western Hall (567) Macomb, IL
January 11, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Tennessee State	W 88–67	8–7 (2–4)	Western Hall (603) Macomb, IL
January 16, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Morehead State	W 92–63	9–7 (3–4)	Ellis Johnson Arena (682) Morehead, KY
January 18, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Indiana	L 58–72	9–8 (3–5)	Liberty Arena (1,606) Evansville, IN
January 23, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Little Rock	L 60–65	9–9 (3–6)	Western Hall (616) Macomb, IL
January 25, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Southeast Missouri State	W 94–66	10–9 (4–6)	Western Hall (677) Macomb, IL
January 30, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Illinois	W 62–52	11–9 (5–6)	Western Hall (512) Macomb, IL
February 1, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		SIU Edwardsville	W 94–82	12–9 (6–6)	Western Hall (917) Macomb, IL
February 6, 2025 11:00 am, ESPN+		at Tennessee State	L 66–70	12–10 (6–7)	Gentry Center (1,763) Nashville, TN
February 8, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at UT Martin	L 55–75	12–11 (6–8)	Skyhawk Arena (1,423) Martin, TN
February 13, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Southern Indiana	L 70–76	12–12 (6–9)	Western Hall (387) Macomb, IL
February 15, 2025 11:00 am, ESPN+		Morehead State	W 78–73 ^OT	13–12 (7–9)	Western Hall (412) Macomb, IL
February 20, 2025 5:15 pm, ESPN+		at Southeast Missouri State	L 49–51	13–13 (7–10)	Show Me Center (585) Cape Girardeau, MO
February 22, 2025 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Little Rock	L 80–86	13–14 (7–11)	Jack Stephens Center Little Rock, AR
February 25, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Lindenwood	W 75–70	14–14 (8–11)	Western Hall (814) Macomb, IL
February 27, 2025 5:30 pm, ESPN+		at Tennessee Tech	L 51–68	14–15 (8–12)	Hooper Eblen Center (1,028) Cookeville, TN
OVC tournament
March 5, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+	(7)	vs. (6) UT Martin First Round	W 78–72	15–15	Ford Center (849) Evansville, IN
March 6, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+	(6)	vs. (3) Eastern Illinois Quarterfinals	W 78–75	16–15	Ford Center (1,177) Evansville, IN
March 7, 2025 3:30 pm, ESPN+	(6)	vs. (2) Lindenwood Semifinals	L 75–86	16–16	Ford Center (1,115) Evansville, IN
WNIT
March 20, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Lipscomb First Round	W 89–74	17–16	Western Hall (1,125) Macomb, IL
March 23, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Illinois State Second Round	L 80–90	17–17	CEFCU Arena (1,551) Normal, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[4]^[5]

References

^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
^ "Golden Eagles top Western Illinois to advance in OVC tourney". Tennessee Tech. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Southern Indiana Predicted As 2024-25 OVC Women's Basketball Favorites". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
^ "2024-25 Women's Basketball Schedule". Western Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
^ "Western Illinois Leathernecks 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

[1] "2023-24 Women's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

[2] "Golden Eagles top Western Illinois to advance in OVC tourney". Tennessee Tech. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

[poll-3] "Southern Indiana Predicted As 2024-25 OVC Women's Basketball Favorites". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

[4] "2024-25 Women's Basketball Schedule". Western Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

[5] "Western Illinois Leathernecks 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

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[5]

Western Illinois Leathernecks women's basketball
Venues	Western Hall (1971–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24