|
MACOMB, Ill.- Western Illinois looks to seal its quest for the outright Summit League regular season championship, and a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, on Saturday (Feb. 25) by hosting South Dakota at 4:30 p.m. inside of Western Hall.
SENIOR DAY:
The final home game of the regular season marks Senior Day for Jasmine Patrick and Mallory Boyle. Fans are encouraged to show their appreciation for the two seniors, who will each be honored prior to Saturday's tip off.
LAST TIME VERSUS SOUTH DAKOTA:
An 86-78 road win for the Western Illinois Leathernecks snapped the South Dakota Coyotes' 24-game home winning streak. For Western Illinois, Emily Clemens finished with 24 points and a career-high 13 assists. Morgan Blumer's six 3-pointers and 10 made field goals gave her a game-high 28 points. Taylor Higginbotham concluded her day with 16 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
Allison Arens led South Dakota with 27 points and seven rebounds, followed by Jaycee Bradley's 13 points and Kate Liveringhouse's 11 points. Western Illinois' win over South Dakota was the Coyotes' first loss inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The win marked the Leathernecks' first on the road over South Dakota since Jan. 23, 2014. It also ended a six-game skid for the Leathernecks against the Coyotes.
A LOOK AT THE LEATHERNECKS:
Western Illinois' high-powered offensive attack results in a Summit League-best 80.4 points, 18.1 assists and 13.0 offensive rebounds per game (The Leathernecks also lead the conference with 38.3 total rebounds per game). The Leathernecks also top the league offensively in field goals made (791) and 3-pointers made (254). They are second behind South Dakota in free-throw percentage (76.5).
Defensively, Western Illinois ranks 12th nationally and leads The Summit League with 322 total steals this season. The Purple and Gold also rank 15th nationally in steals per game with 11.5 (also first in the league). For steals per game individually, Western Illinois holds up the top-four spots in The Summit League in Emily Clemens (2.7) Mallory Boyle (2.2), Taylor Higginbotham (2.0) and Morgan Blumer (1.8). Olivia Braun leads The Summit League and ranks ninth nationally with 80 total blocks this season. As a team, Western averages 4.6 blocks per game, a Summit League best.
STELLAR SEASONS:
Emily Clemens continues her stellar season after totaling 25 points and 12 assists against Fort Wayne. She leads The Summit League in points (19.0) assists (7.0), steals (2.6) and minutes (36.9) per game. She is also a four-time Summit League Player of the Week—the most by any player in the league this season. Clemens has also twice been named to the NCAA Women's Basketball Starting Five—a nationally list that recognizes the top weekly performances in the nation.
Morgan Blumer ranks third in The Summit League with 17.0 points per game. She has won Summit League Player of the Week twice and was the league's Female Athlete of the Month for January. She broke the program record for made 3-pointers in a season in the win over Denver (Feb. 11), and currently has 75 on the season. Taylor Higginbotham is the third Leatherneck who averages double-digit scoring with 14.3 points per game. She has also earned a Summit League Player of the Week and NCAA Starting Five honor this season. In total, WIU has had seven Summit League Player of the Week honors, the most by any other school this season.
CHASING HISTORY:
Western Illinois aims to collect The Summit League regular season championship outright and take sole possession of the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament (in Sioux Falls, S.D. from March 4-7) with a win Saturday over South Dakota. The Leathernecks already own a share of the regular season league crown with Wednesday's win over Fort Wayne. A win over South Dakota would tie the 2005-06 team for the most single-season total wins (23) in program history, as well as bring home the first outright league regular season title in 12 seasons. Western Illinois has already garnered 22 wins, which is the most regular season wins in program history. The Leathernecks are also looking for their 13th home win, which would be the most in program history for a single season. As a team, Western Illinois ranks No. 24 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Women's Basketball Mid-Major Poll.
CLEMENS MAKING HISTORY:
With 401 career assists, Emily Clemens is only five shy of passing Rebecca Henricson (2011-14) for third all-time on the program career assists list. Her 195 assists this season rank her ninth nationally and she is only 11 shy of passing Jolene Hanig (1989-90) for the most in program history for a single season. She recently topped the 1,000-point mark for her career in the win over South Dakota State (Feb. 15), becoming the 16th Leatherneck in program history to do so.
SCOUTING THE COYOTES:
South Dakota looks to clinch a share of the regular season title against Western Illinois on Saturday after falling 63-42 Wednesday at IUPUI. The Coyotes are a game back in the league standings behind Western Illinois with an 11-4 record. Overall, they match the Leathernecks with a 22-6 overall record. The Coyotes have four players scoring in double-figures with Allison Arens (17.1), Jaycee Bradley (12.8), Ciara Duffy (11.5) and Abigail Fogg (10.5). Head coach Dawn Plitzuweit is in her first season at the helm of the South Dakota program. The Coyotes currently rank No. 3 in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Basketball Mid-Major Poll.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SOUTH DAKOTA:
South Dakota leads the all-time series 10-2. The Leathernecks defeated South Dakota in the last meeting, which snapped a six-game losing streak to the Coyotes, as well as handed them their first loss at home in 24 games. Both wins have come on the road for the Leathernecks, and a win Saturday would mark the first over the Coyotes inside Western Hall.
PROMOTIONAL:
Saturday's game marks a basketball double-header with the women starting at 4:30 and the men following at 7:30 p.m.
Giveaways include the following:
-FREE foam paws to the first 500 students who arrive
-Drawings for an Apple Watch and a free spring break trip (up to $1,400)
-FREE Dippin Dots to the first 500 students arrive
-FREE Rocky pins to celebrate Rocky's seventh birthday
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.
|
