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Taylor Higginbotham
WIU Visual Productions Center
Taylor Higginbotham is the 17th Leatherneck to eclipse 1,000 career points.
59
SEMO SEMO 4-5
87
Winner Western Illinois WIU 8-2
SEMO SEMO
4-5
59
Final
87
Western Illinois WIU
8-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
SEMO SEMO 17 8 23 11 59
Western Illinois WIU 27 25 15 20 87

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois Runs Past SEMO Off Higginbotham’s 25 Points

Junior records her second straight game of 20-plus points

PHOTO GALLERY

MACOMB, Ill.— Another outstanding scoring performance by Taylor Higginbotham helped the Western Illinois Leathernecks cruise past Southeast Missouri State 87-59 Tuesday night (Dec. 5) inside Western Hall.

Behind the 25 points and seven rebounds from Higginbotham, the Leathernecks (8-2) were able to pick up their third consecutive win by beating the Redhawks (4-5).

"Obviously, it was a good win against SEMO and I thought it was one of the best halves we've played all year," said head coach JD Gravina. "They [SEMO] were really aggressive and I thought we were able to attack them and get to the free throw line. We shared the ball well and had some of the best ball movement I've seen, which is the way basketball is supposed to be played. We knew that they were going to come out and fight in the second half, so I was proud of how our girls responded in the second half."

After Michelle Farrow drained her second three of the game and added a layup, the Leathernecks jumped out to a 14-2 lead and forced a SEMO timeout with 6:01 to go in the first quarter. Taylor Hanneman followed up with back-to-back threes to give Western a 10-point cushion heading into the second.

The lead eventually built to 42-21 after Higginbotham kissed a shot of the glass as she was fouled for the and-1 with 3:24 to go in the half. Western eventually held a 52-35 lead at halftime.

With a 67-48 lead after three quarters of play, the Leathernecks were able to maintain the double-digit advantage and eventually cruise to the 28-point win.

Along with Higginbotham, both Emily Clemens (17) and Michelle Farrow (15) also hit double figures in scoring. Southeast Missouri State was led by Adrianna Murphy's 20 points and Iyanna McCurdy's 10.

Western Illinois now hits the road for five straight games and will not return home until the new year (Jan. 4, 2018). The Leathernecks have Austin Peay this Saturday (Dec. 9) at 2 p.m. in Clarksville, Tenn., followed by road trips at Stanford (Dec. 18) and Gonzaga (Dec. 21). A road game against in-state rival Bradley follows on Dec. 28, followed by The Summit League opener at Fort Wayne (Dec. 30).
 
GAME NOTES:
-Western Illinois took a 6-5 lead in the all-time over the Redhawks.
-The Leathernecks wrapped up the 2017 calendar year with a 12-2 record inside Western Hall.
-Taylor Higginbotham became the 17th Leatherneck to surpass 1,000 career points…. She now has 1,022 on her career and is 16th all-time in scoring for program history… She also joins Emily Clemens as the other active Leatherneck with over 1,000 points… Higginbotham's 25 points represent her 14th career 20-plus point game and her second consecutive…. She has recorded 20-plus points three times this season… Her 14 made free throws is new career-high.
-Emily Clemens recorded her 54th career double-digit scoring performance… Her nine assists mark her 49th career game of five or more assists.
-Michelle Farrow's 15 points mark her 16th career double-digit scoring effort… She tied her career-high of one block for the 11th time.
-Olivia Braun recorded a career-high of four steals.
 
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