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Game Recap: Women's Basketball | Thursday, November 02, 2017 | WIU Athletic Communications

Women’s Basketball Rolls Past Quincy In Home Exhibition

Emily Clemens led the way with 17 points and 10 assists.

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MACOMB, Ill. — Led by the quartet of Emily Clemens, Morgan Blumer, Taylor Hanneman and Taylor Higginbotham's double-digit scoring, the Western Illinois women's basketball program was able to surge past Quincy, 87-50, in a home exhibition Thursday night (Nov. 2).

"I thought it was one of our better exhibition games since I've been here," said head coach JD Gravina. "Quincy did as good a job as any team last year in attacking our zone. That was good for us because we had to make an adjustment in our zone. Every team is going to try and find a unique way to beat our zone. I thought offensively we did pretty well. At times our shots were falling and at times some of them were not. A lot of times in those exhibition game, you miss a lot of those short shots around the basket, but we also finished a lot of them too. I thought our offensive movement was very good."

The Leathernecks came out firing from beyond the arc, hitting five 3-pointers for out a 27-point first quarter. A Hanneman three opened the second, but the Hawks were able to go on a quick 7-0 spurt and cut the Western lead to three at the 6:14 mark.

Western was able to respond with a 9-0 run of its own capped off by another three by Hanneman off a dish from Clemens. Capped off by a coast-to-coast layup on a fast break from Clemens, the Leathernecks held a 12-point cushion—45-33—at the half.

Western was able to eventually increase its lead to over 20 after a buried jumper by Olivia Braun at the 5:48 mark in the third, and eventually held the lead at the conclusion of the third (64-44).

In the fourth, the Leathernecks got a big spark of the bench with a Krishna Merriman and-1 with 6:24 to go, followed by Hanneman and Blumer knocking down a pair of shots beyond the arc. Over the final four minutes, the Purple and Gold was able to cruise to the 37-point win and shift its focus to the season opener.

Clemens led the way with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds to go with five steals, while Blumer also tied her teammate with 17, along with six rebounds. Hanneman and Higginbotham followed with 15 and 14 respectively, while Braun totaled eight points, a game-high nine rebounds and two blocks.

"We had a great crowd for our exhibition game, so I appreciate all of the students and people from the community who came out," said Gravina. "We just want to continue what we are doing, which is competing every day in practice."

The Leathernecks now have just over a week of preparation until the season opener (Nov. 10) against Kansas City. The opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Western Hall.