Leathernecks Play Host To Southeast Missouri State In Mid-Week Tilt

The Leathernecks take on the Redhawks Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Tuesday

GAME TEN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS VS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE REDHAWKS
Dec. 5, 2017 • 7 p.m. (CT) • Macomb, Ill. • Western Hall
LIVE STATS: HERE
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LISTEN: HERE

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MACOMB, Ill.—Western Illinois takes on Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday (Dec. 5) at 7 p.m. from Western Hall. The game will be 11th meeting all-time between the two programs.

PROGRAM NOTES VS WICHITA STATE:
-The win over Wichita State marks Western's first over the Shockers since Feb. 1, 1991 (99-77)…The last road win at Wichita State was earlier that year on Jan. 8 (72-67).
-The win snaps a six-game skid to the Shockers in the series history.
-The Leathernecks' 7-2 record is the program's best start to a season since 2005-06 (started 6-3 in 2016-17).

PLAYER NOTES VS. WICHITA STATE:
-Taylor Higginbotham recorded new career-highs in points (29) and three-pointers made (six)…It also marked her 13th career 20-plus point performance and her eighth career double-double… She is now at 997 points for her career.
-Emily Clemens' 12 points mark her 53rd career double-digit scoring game… Her seven assists mark her 48th career game of five or more assists in a game… She is now only 20 assists shy of the all-time record in program history (Jolene Hanig, 1988-91, 542 career assists, program record holder).
-Morgan Blumer's 17 points mark her 36th career double-digit scoring game.
-Olivia Braun's four blocks are a new season high.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS:
Western Illinois and SEMO are at an even 5-5 in the series history. In last season's meeting, the Leathernecks defeated the Redhawks behind Morgan Blumer's then-career-high 30 points for the road win (100-87). In the series history, Western has won three of the last four. The Redhawks are coming off a 65-52 loss on Nov. 30 at Cincinnati, and sits at 4-4 overall on the season. The team is led by Tesia Thompson's 11.3 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per contest.

HIGGINBOTHAM APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER POINTS:
Coming off a 29-point performance in the road win over Wichita State (Dec. 1), junior guard Taylor Higginbotham is currently at 997 career points. She is looking to become the 17th Leatherneck in program history to surpass 1,000 career-points, joining fellow teammate Emily Clemens, who accomplished the milestone last season.

DROPPIN' DIMES:
With 523 assists so far, senior point guard Emily Clemens is only 20 assists shy of becoming the all-time leader in program history. She looks to pass Jolene Hanig (1988-91), who has 542. Clemens also recently became the first ever Leatherneck to have over 1,000 points, 500 assists and 200 steals for a career.

Averaging 20.8 assists per game, the Leathernecks have had success at sharing the rock, and rank ninth in the nation in that category. Western has also been able to take care of the ball, as they rank ninth nationally with a 1.52 assist-turnover ratio. The 187 total assists this season are the second-most in Division I. Individually, Emily Clemens ranks third nationally with 8.4 assists per game. She is second in Division I with 76 assists this season.

HIGGINBOTHAM GARNERS SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR:
Western Illinois junior guard Taylor Higginbotham earned her second-career Summit League Player of the Week honor, the league announced Monday (Dec. 4).

Higginbotham is coming off a pair of double-doubles to help the Leathernecks defeat Chicago State (Nov. 29) at home and Wichita State (Dec. 1) on the road. The Germantown, Wis., native recorded a game-high 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the 71-54 win over Chicago State.

She followed up with a career-high 29 points off six three-pointers in the 78-65 win over Wichita State. She also had 10 rebounds to go with her career performance. Over the week, she averaged 23.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game while shooting 61.5 percent from beyond the arc.

The 5-foot-10 guard now has eight double-doubles on the season.

UP NEXT:
Western hits the road for a Saturday (Dec. 9) road matchup in Clarksville, Tenn. against Austin Peay. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Following that, the Leathernecks have four straight on the road at Stanford (Dec. 18), Gonzaga (Dec. 21), Bradley (Dec. 28) and Fort Wayne (Dec. 30).

LEATHERNECK SPORTS NETWORK:
Fans can hear Danny Frey call all of the women's basketball games throughout the area on the Leatherneck Sports Network.

Flagship: 94.3 FM WRMS (Beardstown) Affiliates: 104.1 FM WMQZ (Macomb) | 106.7 FM WPWQ (Quincy).

TICKET INFORMATION:
Single-game tickets are now on sale. Click here to learn more about the Leatherneck Club. For more ticketing information, fans can also visit LeatherneckTickets.com.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Morgan Blumer: G; 5' 11"; Senior; Milton / Florida Gulf Coast

#3 Olivia Braun: F; 6' 1"; Senior; St. Catherine's / Toledo

#2 Emily Clemens: G; 5' 4"; Senior; Muscatine

#24 Taylor Higginbotham: G; 5' 10"; Junior; Germantown

Players Mentioned

#12 Morgan Blumer
: 5' 11"; Senior; Milton / Florida Gulf Coast
: G

#3 Olivia Braun
: 6' 1"; Senior; St. Catherine's / Toledo
: F

#2 Emily Clemens
: 5' 4"; Senior; Muscatine
: G

#24 Taylor Higginbotham
: 5' 10"; Junior; Germantown
: G