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Western Illinois University Athletics

Clemens
63
Omaha Mavericks OMAHA 11-13, 4-7
80
Winner Western Illinois WIU 18-6, 8-3
Omaha Mavericks OMAHA
11-13, 4-7
63
Final
80
Western Illinois WIU
18-6, 8-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Omaha Mavericks OMAHA 11 18 17 17 63
Western Illinois WIU 16 20 24 20 80

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

Leathernecks Complete Regular Season Sweep Over Omaha

Western Illinois came away with its 18th win of the season over the Mavericks.

JD GRAVINA POST-GAME RADIO INTERVIEW           PHOTO GALLERY 

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois women's basketball was able to complete the regular season sweep of Omaha with an 80-63 win Saturday (Feb. 4) inside Western Hall. The Leathernecks improved to 18-6 overall and 8-3 in the Summit League.

Emily Clemens proved to be effective from all aspects of the floor, totaling 20 points, eight assists (with just two turnovers), seven rebounds and six steals in the win while playing all 40 minutes. She is also now fifth all-time in program history for career assists with 367.

"It was definitely a game of runs," said head coach JD Gravina. "We pulled away but they were able to get back within striking distance. Obviously with the way we played at their place, we didn't want to let the game get too tight, so I thought our kids did a good job of picking it up."

The Leathernecks jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first following a downtown shot from beyond the arc by Taylor Higginbotham. After one quarter of play, Western maintained a 5-point lead.

In the early-going of the second quarter, Taylor Hanneman grabbed a crucial offensive rebound and completed a 3-point play after being fouled. That put the Leathernecks up 21-13 with 7:46 to go until halftime. The Purple & Gold kept a 7-point lead with 3:29 to go until the half after Clemens dished the ball to Mallory Boyle underneath. That play preceded a beautiful assist from Olivia Braun to Higginbotham off a back-door cut to give Western a 32-25 lead at the two minute mark in the second quarter.

Just before the halftime buzzer, Higginbotham grabbed the defensive board and dribbled all the way down just inside the 3-point mark on the elbow. Her 17-foot jumper got off with 0.3 seconds to go and banked in at the buzzer. The Leathernecks led 36-29 at halftime.

Not even two minutes into the third quarter, Higginbotham recorded a steal and heaved the ball cross-court to a running Braun in stride for a transition layup. That play sparked a 13-2 run, which made it a 47-31 Western lead with 6:19 to go in the third. The Mavericks responded with a quick 6-0 spurt to cut the Leatherneck lead into single digits, but Western was able to keep its distance and held a 60-46 lead entering the fourth quarter.

With 4:40 remaining in the ball game, the Mavericks gained some momentum after nailing a 3-pointer to force Gravina to call timeout. The 9-2 Omaha run made it a 71-63 game.

Western Illinois responded, however, and after a pair of Clemens free throws and another Higginbotham 3-pointer, the Leathernecks jumped back out to a 14-point cushion. From there, the Purple & Gold found some breathing room to end the game with a 17-point home win.

"We just needed to get down and guard the ball. We were letting them get into the interior and they were able to rebound," said Gravina. "I thought we were taken out of our offensive rhythm, but as soon as we realized they were in man-to-man, we were able to adjust and take it to them. We also had a good rebounding effort against a very good rebounding team."

Along with Clemens, Higginbotham was the other Leatherneck who topped the 20-point mark, scoring a game-high 23 to go with eight rebounds. Blumer chipped in 13 points and three steals, while Braun was just shy of a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds to go with five assists. Hanneman finished with nine points and four rebounds.

Michaela Dapprich paced Omaha (11-13, 4-7) with a team-high 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Ellie Brecht had 14 points, followed by Mikaela Shaw with 10 points and six rebounds.

The Leathernecks now prep for two straight road contests at North Dakota State (Feb. 8) and Denver (Feb. 11). 

PROGRAM NOTES:
-18 wins marks the most in a regular season for head coach JD Gravina… also surpasses last season's win total…
-Last time Western won 18-plus games was in 2005-06 (23-7)…
-Eight Summit League wins matches last season's total…
-16 team steals is the most since Nov. 11, 2016 against SEMO (also had 16 steals)…
-10-1 record at home… 15-1 when leading at halftime… 2-2 when scoring 80-89 points in a game…

PLAYER NOTES: 
-Emily Clemens is now fifth all-time in program history with 367 career assists… 20 points marks her 22nd double-digit scoring game this season (career 37th)… 13th 20-plus point game this season (career 42nd)… 15th five-plus assist game this season (career 42nd)… seven rebounds ties her career-high for the sixth time… six steals is a new season high and ties her career-high for the second time… seventh career 40-plus minute game…
-Olivia Braun tied her career-high of five assists for the second time this season… fifth career game as the team-leading rebounder…
-Morgan Blumer's 13 points marks her 21st career double-digit scoring performance (all this season)…
-Taylor Higginbotham tied her season-high of four 3-point field goals made for the fifth time… 23 points also marks her 16th double-digit scoring game this season (career 37th)… also her fifth 20-plus point game this season (career 10th)… sixth game this season (career 14th) as the rebounds leader (tied Olivia Braun with eight)…

 
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