MACOMB, Ill.- The Western Illinois Fighting Leatherneck women's basketball team preps for its first of two road games at North Dakota State this Wednesday (Feb. 8) at 5 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
Junior Morgan Blumer had quite a day as the Western Illinois women's basketball team defeated North Dakota State 110-81 Saturday (Jan. 14) to improve to 15-4 overall and 5-1 in Summit League play.

The junior guard set career-highs in points (36), rebounds (15), field goals made (12) and 3-point field goals made (seven). Her seven threes tie a single game-record for made 3-pointers, joining: Michelle Maher (2014, two times), Saule Kontautiate (2013), Vicki Adelman (1995) and Lori Schrock (1988). Her 36 points tied her for third in program history for most points in a single game.

Taylor Higginbotham also tied her career-high of 28 points for the second time this season and set a new career-high in steals (five). She also recorded six assists and no turnovers. Emily Clemens was the third Leatherneck to eclipse the 20-point mark, as she finished with 24 points and six assists.

As a team, Western Illinois set a new program record for the fewest turnovers in a single game with four.

AROUND THE SUMMIT LEAGUE:
As a team, Western Illinois leads The Summit League in scoring offense (80.1 points per game), field goals made (683), 3-pointers made (215), assists per game (18.1), steals per game (12.0) and blocks per game (4.5).

Clemens ranks first in the league and ninth nationally with 161 assists this season. With 18.8 points per game, Clemens ranks second in The Summit League. Fellow teammate Blumer ranks fourth with 16.6 points per game. Clemens also leads The Summit League in assists per game (6.7) and steals per game (2.8). Olivia Braun leads the league with 2.8 blocks per game. She is 12th nationally with 66 total blocks thus far.

THOSE THIEVES, PART TWO:
With a Summit League-leading 11.8 steals per game as a team, the Leathernecks have four players who rank in the Top-four for steals per game. Clemens sits atop The Summit League standings (2.8 per game), followed by Mallory Boyle (2.4) in second. Taylor Higginbotham and Morgan Blumer are both tied for third in The Summit League with 1.9 steals per contest. Western Illinois is sixth nationally in total steals (287) and tied for 10th nationally in steals per game (12.0).

SCOUTING THE BISON:
North Dakota State is currently on a six-game skid following the 70-44 loss at South Dakota State. The Bison are led by Taylor Thunstedt, who averages 16.0 points per game. The Bison also have two other players who are on the cusp of averaging double-digit scoring in Sarah Jacobson (8.7 points per game) and Emily Spier (8.1). Brianna Jones leads the team in rebound, grabbing 7.5 boards per contest. 

They are led by head coach Maren Walseth, who is in her third season at the helm of the women's basketball program. She owns a 23-58 career record.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. NDSU:
In the 21st meeting between the two programs, Western Illinois leads the all-time series 11-9, including the most recent win. The Leathernecks have won the last six meetings, seven of the last eight and 10 of the last 13.

CLEMENS ASSIST WATCH:
After reaching 367 career assists, including eight against Omaha (Feb. 4), Emily Clemens now ranks fifth all-time in total career assists. The junior point guard is eight shy of passing Amy Houtzel (1988-92) for fourth all-time in career-assists. With 161 steals on the season so far, Clemens is three shy of moving to third all-time in program history for the most assists in a single season.  
 

THE ROAD TO 1000:
Emily Clemens has 952 career points. She is looking to become the 16th member of the 1,000-point club for her career.

CLEMENS NOTCHES FOURTH SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR:
Junior guard Emily Clemens earned her fourth Summit League Player of the Week award following her performances last week, the league office announced Monday (Feb. 6).

Clemens' most recent award marks the sixth time this season a Leatherneck has earned Summit League Player of the Week. Clemens earned the weekly honor four times (Nov. 21, Nov. 28, Dec. 12 and Feb. 6), while Taylor Higginbotham (Jan. 9) and Morgan Blumer (Jan. 17) have also won the award.

The junior guard helped Western Illinois move into a tie for second place in the league standings after going 2-0 over the week.

Her 21 points, four assists and zero turnovers helped guide the Leathernecks to a 76-62 victory at Oral Roberts (Feb. 1), followed by a 20 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals in the 80-63 home win against Omaha (Feb. 4).

Over the course of the week, Clemens averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals per contest. She shot a combined 10-for-23 (43.5 percent) from the field and 19-for-22 (86.4 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Leathernecks shift their focus to a pair of road games at North Dakota State (Feb. 8) and Denver (Feb. 11).

PROMOTIONAL:
Fans can hear Danny Frey call all of the women's basketball regular season games throughout the area on the Leatherneck Sports Network.
 
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.
 
Flagship: 94.3 FM WRMS (Beardstown) Affiliates: 102.7 FM WJEQ (Macomb) | 106.7 FM WPWQ (Quincy) | 107.5 FM KWBZ (Quincy).
 

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