MACOMB, Ill. (Interstat) — Kaylen Reed had 16 points, eight rebounds and nine assists to lead Western Illinois to an 85-55 women’s NCAA Division I victory over non-divisional Clarke on Tuesday at Western Hall. The Leathernecks improved to 1-0 in front of an announced attendance of 350. Western Illinois was the home team and pulled away after Clarke, the visiting team, stayed within striking distance early.

Clarke traded baskets with Western Illinois in the opening minutes. Zoe Kennedy hit a pull-up jumper and later connected on two 3-pointers, and Jessica Morgan added a 3-pointer as the Cougars stayed close. Western Illinois answered with Maria Messling’s free throw, Kaylen Reed’s layup and 3-pointer, and Madison Davis’s pull-up jumper and late free throws. Samantha McDonald’s layup in the final seconds cut Clarke’s deficit to 16-13 after one quarter. Western Illinois extended its lead in the second quarter behind Mylee Stiefel’s 3-pointer and driving layup, Maria Messling’s jumper, Mia Nicastro’s inside scoring and Madison Davis’s free throws and layup. Reed added a pull-up jumper, and Nicastro scored just before halftime to give the Leathernecks a 35-23 advantage.

Western Illinois put the game away with a decisive third-quarter surge. Clarke’s Reese Ryan opened the second half with a layup that made it 35-25, but the Leathernecks responded with 14 unanswered points. Reed started the run with a layup, Davis added a layup, Stiefel drove for a layup and Reed scored in the paint before making a free throw. Reed then hit a jumper, and Sidney Skrobot converted a layup and free throw to complete the run and push Western Illinois ahead 49-25. Clarke’s Zoe Kennedy stopped the run with a jumper, but Western Illinois kept control. Maria Messling hit a jumper and two free throws, Reed made two free throws, and Shelby Bowman added a free throw as the Leathernecks took a 56-34 lead into the fourth quarter.

Western Illinois kept the pressure on in the fourth. Jessica Morgan opened the quarter with a driving layup for Clarke, but Shelby Bowman answered with a 3-pointer, Mia Nicastro scored a layup and Bowman added a jumper. Sidney Skrobot hit a 3-pointer and a layup, Maria Messling made a layup and a 3-pointer, and Bowman hit two more 3-pointers as the lead grew. Clarke received scoring from Jessica Morgan, Camdyn Kay, Zoe Kennedy, Jenna Scheller and Breckan Stewart, but Western Illinois maintained a comfortable cushion. Kennedy Herrig made two free throws to put Western Illinois ahead 85-50, and Clarke closed the scoring on Luz Del Rosario Kwiatkowski Perez’s 3-pointer and Nicole Warbinski’s layup. Western Illinois finished with the 30-point win.

Reed, a 5-foot-5 guard from Rochester, Ill., who previously played at Rochester, led the Leathernecks with 16 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and one block in 32 minutes. Madison Davis, a 5-foot-10 guard and Marian Catholic product, added 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. Mia Nicastro contributed 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes. Mylee Stiefel scored 11 points with two rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes. Maria Messling, a 6-foot forward and Evansville product, had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. Shelby Bowman, a 5-foot-6 guard from West Central, scored 14 points with three rebounds in 24 minutes. Sidney Skrobot, a 6-foot-1 forward from Ontario Schools, had eight points, three rebounds, one assist and one block in 13 minutes. Kennedy Herrig added two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes, Ainsley Holthaus had one rebound in five minutes and Jaelyn Jones had one rebound in three minutes.

Western Illinois scored 85 points from 78 possessions, an offensive rating of 108.3. The Leathernecks had nine offensive rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and 10 turnovers. Clarke scored 55 points in the loss. Western Illinois moved to 1-0 on the season.

Western Illinois will visit Nebraska for its next game, then travel to Omaha. The Leathernecks will host Cornell College, Fort Wayne and Loyola Chicago before visiting Chicago State. They also have a home game against Hannibal-La Grange and later road games at Valparaiso, Bradley and Kansas State.