Clemens Named National Candidate For Senior CLASS Award

The senior point guard is one of 30 women's basketball players nationally to be named a candidate.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Western Illinois University's senior point guard Emily Clemens earned another recognition for the 2017-18 season, as she was one of 30 women's basketball seniors to be named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.

"This is a really big honor for Emily, as being nominated for this award recognizes her for more than simply what she has accomplished on the basketball court," said head coach JD Gravina. "Emily is a tremendous student who is already beginning to pursue her master's degree. She is a high-character kid that embodies what this award is meant to recognize."

Clemens has also been named a Summit League Player of the Week twice this season, as she earned the award last week, along with her first-career espnW National Player of the Week honor on Dec. 26. As the reigning Summit League Player of the Year and the current Preseason Player of the Year, Clemens now has seven games this season where she has recorded 20 or more points and three games with 10 or more assists. She is also one of 20 names in the country to earn a spot on the Nancy Lieberman Award Preseason Watch List, which goes to the top point guard in the nation.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ^®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to fields of 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CANDIDATES:

Raigyne Louis	LSU	Sally McCabe	Belmont
Ariel Atkins	Texas	Brooke McCarty	Texas
Briana Betz-White	Loyola	Brittany McPhee	Stanford
Lexie Brown	Duke	Sydni Means	Mercer
Tyra Buss	Indiana	Kia Nurse	UConn
Amanda Cahill	Indiana	Michelle Nwokedi	Pennsylvania
Emily Clemens	Western Illinois	Vionise Pierre-Louis	Oklahoma
Kylie Giebelhausen	Southern Illinois	Tianna Tarter	East Tennessee State
Rebecca Greenwell	Duke	Elle Thompson	South Dakota State
Delaney Hodgins	Eastern Washington	Rebekah VanDijk	UT Arlington
Faith Ihim	Oral Roberts	Victoria Vivians	Mississippi State
Kaylee Jensen	Oklahoma State	Carlie Wagner	Minnesota
Jackie Kemph	Saint Louis	Kristy Wallace	Baylor
Jordan Korinek	Kent State	Morgan William	Mississippi State
Grace Lennox	Eastern Illinois	Gabby Williams	UConn