Marcus TraxlerAssistant Sports Editor

Forty minutes.

Every basketball team strives to play a complete game and the Jackrabbit women are as close to that goal as they have been all season.

SDSU shot 48 percent from the field and dominated Western Illinois in almost every facet of the game en route to a 87-59 victory over the Leathernecks in Macomb, Ill. on Jan. 17.

Continuing the theme of spreading the stardom, Jill Young had a standout performance, leading the Jacks with 22 points in 23 minutes. She hit five three-pointers, four of those coming in the first half. Young had 16 points in the first frame, more points than she had in any game all season.

“We want her to catch it and shoot it. 22 points from Jill is a great thing and something I think she’s capable of more often. We like to see her be aggressive and that helps our offense,” said SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston in his radio interview after the game.

She also converted a five-point-play of sorts in the first half when she made a three pointer and then hit two free throws after WIU head coach Leslie Crane picked up a technical foul. The play put the Jacks in command as the lead swelled to nine at 26-17.

In all, SDSU (9-10, 4-3) had seven first-half three pointers, with two coming from Hannah Strop and one from Jennie Sunnarborg. Sadie Webb tried to keep the Leathernecks (5-12, 3-4) in the game with her 18 points in the first half, but the Jacks led at the break, 47-34.

WIU would cut the lead to nine twice until Leah Dietel would come up with seven points in a row, to give the Jackrabbits a 63-45 lead with 13:47 left.

The Jackrabbits were also hot from the free throw stripe, nailing a season-high 21-of-24 foul shots and were perfect in their 15 second-half attempts.

“We’re a good free throw shooting team. We shoot a lot of free throws and we’ve been a lot more aggressive the last few games and we need to capitalize on more of those,” Johnston said.

Sunnarborg bolstered the scoring for SDSU with 15 points. The Jacks held a large advantage on the glass in what turned out to be a very physical game, outrebounding WIU 42-26.

“They always play physical at their place here and I thought we did a good job, keeping our composure when the calls got tight near the end and I’m really proud of how the team played,” Dietel said, who posted 12 points off the bench, including a 6-for-6 mark for free throws on the night.

Webb finished the night with 20 points and led the Leathernecks.

“This has been one of our better wins here. We’ve always played really tough games here and this is a tough place to win. I thought this was a real complete game, a complete win and I just think we’re heading in the right direction,” Johnston said.

“We know that we’ve got to keep going and keep the mentality that we have right now, build off this weekend and keep fighting for the goals that we have for ourselves,” said Dietel.

Marcus also live blogs SDSU home games at sdsucollegian.com/sports

#1.1898217:4109275148.png:wbb-cent-BRUA.png:Katie Lingle goes around Centenary?s Ashley Jackson on Jan. 10:Collegian Photo by Stephen Brua