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MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois women's basketball program plays host to South Dakota State on Wednesday (Feb. 15) at 7 p.m. in a battle for the top spot in The Summit League. Both teams are currently tied for first place with a 10-3 mark in the league standings.
LAST TIME VERSUS SOUTH DAKOTA STATE:
The Fighting Leatherneck women's basketball team fell to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 73-58 on the road on Jan. 21. Emily Clemens led the way with 15 points and four assists, and Morgan Blumer followed with 12 points and four rebounds. Mallory Boyle recorded a game-high 11 rebounds, while Olivia Braun had seven blocks. The Jackrabbits had three in double-digit scoring with Kerri Young and Madison Guebert, who both recorded 18 points each. Ellie Thompson followed with 16 points, while Clarissa Ober grabbed 10 boards.
AROUND THE SUMMIT LEAGUE:
As a team, Western Illinois leads The Summit League in scoring offense (80.4 points per game), field goals made (739), 3-pointers made (236), assists per game (18.1), steals per game (11.8) and blocks per game (4.5).
Emily Clemens ranks first in the league and tied for seventh nationally with 177 assists this season. With 18.8 points per game, she also places first in The Summit League. Clemens also leads The Summit League and ranks 11th nationally in assists per game (6.8), while topping the league in steals per game (2.7). Teammate Morgan Blumer ranks fourth in the league with 16.9 points per game. Olivia Braun leads the league with 2.7 blocks per game, and is 12th nationally with 70 total blocks thus far.
With a Summit League-leading 12.0 steals per game as a team, the Leathernecks have four players who rank in the Top-4 in the conference in steals per game. Clemens sits atop The Summit League standings (2.7 per game), followed by Mallory Boyle (2.2), Taylor Higginbotham (2.0) and Blumer (1.9). Western Illinois is tied for sixth nationally in total steals (307) and tied for eighth nationally in steals per game (12.0).
SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS:
South Dakota State sits at 19-6 overall and 10-3 in the Summit League standings. Both the Jackrabbits and Western Illinois are tied for first in The Summit League, with SDSU winning the first regular season meeting between the squads, 73-58. Most recently, South Dakota State fell at IUPUI 64-59. The Jackrabbits have upcoming road matchups at Western Illinois (Feb. 15) and Fort Wayne (Feb. 18). They will conclude the 2016-17 season at home against Denver (Feb. 23). South Dakota State has three players who average double-digit scoring in Madison Guebert (15.0), Kerri Young (13.6) and Ellie Thompson (12.8). Clarissa Ober averages 9.3 points and leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SDSU:
Including the most recent meeting, South Dakota State leads the all-time series 19-1. Western Illinois won the first-ever meeting on Jan. 14, 2008 and has since looked to snap the Jackrabbits' winning streak.
THE ROAD TO 1000:
Emily Clemens has 987 career points and is only 13 shy of becoming Western Illinois' 16th member of the 1,000-point club.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
The league office announced junior Morgan Blumer as The Summit League Co-Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday (Feb. 13). This marks the second time Blumer has earned the honor this season. The Milton, Wis. native's award also marks the seventh for the women's basketball program this season, the most for any Summit League program. Emily Clemens earned the weekly honor four times (Nov. 21, Nov. 28, Dec. 12 and Feb. 6), followed by Blumer (Jan. 17 and Feb. 13) and Taylor Higginbotham (Jan. 9). Blumer also garnered The Summit League Female Athlete of the Month award for January.
Blumer recorded a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds with two assists, three steals, and no turnovers in the Leathernecks' win at North Dakota State. She also had 22 points and seven rebounds at Denver. Over the week, the Leathernecks went 2-0 and Blumer shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field, 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the arc and a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe.
BLUMER MAKES HISTORY:
With 69 made 3-point fields goals so far, Morgan Blumer passed Saule Kontautaite (2012-13) and set a new program record for the most 3-pointers in program history.
PROMOTIONAL:
-There will be a $1,000 giveaway for students who attend Wednesday night's game. In order to win the prize, Western Hall needs at least 500 students to attend.
-The first 500 students will also receive FREE Dippin' Dots ice cream, and there will be a half-court shot competition for a 43-inch television following the game.
-Fans can hear Danny Frey call all of the women's basketball regular season games throughout the area on the Leatherneck Sports Network.
Flagship: 94.3 FM WRMS (Beardstown) Affiliates: 102.7 FM WJEQ (Macomb) | 106.7 FM WPWQ (Quincy) | 107.5 FM KWBZ (Quincy).
-All Western Illinois women's basketball regular season home games are scheduled to be video streamed on Fighting Leatherneck All-Access, and select games are slated to air on WatchESPN/ESPN3.
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