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TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois women's basketball drew the No. 14 seed and will take on No. 3 seeded Florida State this Friday (March 17) at 6:30 p.m. (CT) at the 2017 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in Tallahassee, Florida.
TALE OF THE TAPE:
Western Illinois earned the No. 14 seed for the second time in program history for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The Florida State Seminoles earned the No. 3 seed. The Leathernecks will look to snap a NCAA streak of 0-88 and make history of being the first No. 14 seed to beat a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
2017 SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES:
- 2016-17 marks the first Summit League Regular Season and Tournament title since the 1994-95 season… also marks the second NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament berth in program history (since 1995)…
- Total Women's Tournament attendance was 21,092, the fourth highest all-time…
- Three straight wins in the Tournament to capture the title… before that, the Leathernecks had not won a Tournament game since 2012…
- First overtime championship game since 2012 (South Dakota vs. Kansas City)… third overtime in Summit League Tournament finals history…
- Emily Clemens is the first Western Illinois player to be named Summit League Tournament Most Valuable Player since Oberon Pitterson (1995)…
- Emily Clemens and Morgan Blumer were both named to the All-Tournament team…
- WIU's 26 wins are the most in program history… 11 straight wins ties a program record, second time ever…last time was Dec. 30, 2004-Feb. 5, 2005...
- Taylor Hanneman's shot to send Western into overtime earned No. 2 on ESPN SportsCenter's Top-10 Plays (3/7/17)…
PLAYER NOTES:
- Emily Clemens set a new Summit League record for the most assists in a single season with 234, passing Nicole Seekamp's 232 (South Dakota, 2015-16)… Capped off accolades as The Summit League Tournament MVP, All-Tournament Team, regular season 'Player of the Year' and All-League First Team… also passed Michelle Maher (2013-16) for second all-time in program history for career assists (440)… 20 points marks her 18th 20-plus point game this season (career 21st)… five steals ties her season high for the second time and just one shy of her career-high… 45 minutes played in the tournament title game are a season-high… 12th career 40-plus minute game… 14th game this season as the scoring leader (career 17th)… second in career assists to Jolene Hanig's 542 (1988-91)...
- Morgan Blumer's 18 points marks her 29th career double-digit scoring game… named to The Summit League All-Tournament Team… finished 2016-17 Summit League season as Transfer of the Year, All-League First Team and All-Newcomer Team honoree…
- Taylor Hanneman's 12 points marks her sixth double-digit scoring performance of the season (career 16th)…
- Taylor Higginbotham's 15 points marks her 22nd double-digit scoring performance of the season (career 42nd)… first-career 40-minute game played… capped off Summit League season as a member of the All-League Second Team…
LAST TIME DANCING:
2017 marks the second-ever NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament berth for the Leathernecks and its first since 1995. In the last tournament game, Western Illinois fell 89-48 to the North Carolina Tar Heels on March 16, 1995.
Summit League Tournament MVP Oberon Pitterson led the way with 10 points and nine rebounds in the effort against North Carolina.
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES:
Florida State sits at 25-6 overall with a 13-3 mark in ACC play. The Seminoles closed their final two games with a 79-61 loss to Notre Dame on the road, followed by a 56-54 defeat against Miami in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
The Seminoles are currently ranked No. 13 in the nation and have an RPI of 12 thus far. They are led by the trio of Shakayla Thomas, Leticia Romero and Imani Wright, who all average in double-figures. Thomas records a team-high 14.8 points per game, followed by Romero (12.2) and Wright (10.5). They are led by head coach Sue Semrau, who is in her 20th season at the helm of the Florida State program.
MILESTONES:
With 614 points thus far, Emily Clemens is 10 points shy of passing Ashley Luke (2013-14) for the most points in program history for a single season. Clemens has also set a new program record for the most made free throws (198) and the most minutes (1,196) in a single season.
As a team, Western Illinois needs one more win to set its winning streak to 12, which would be a program record for consecutive wins. Head coach JD Gravina is also one win away from his 100th at Western Illinois. The Leathernecks have already set single season program records for: points scored (2,574), scoring average (80.4 points per game), field goals made (901) and 3-point field goals made (303). As a team, Western needs only two more rebounds to set a new single season record with 1,225. The Leathernecks also have 582 assists this season, which rank second all-time in program history for the most in a single season. Western is only 24 shy of setting a new program record for team assists in a single season.
QUOTABLE:
Head Coach JD Gravina on the matchup...
"They've beaten a lot of really good teams by a lot of points. We've got a great group of players who believe in themselves and believe in each other. It will be neat to travel to Florida and get on the big stage. It's hard for teams our level to build a strong non-conference schedule. You're playing a big-time David and Goliath matchup, so hopefully we can use it as a chip on our shoulder and have a good showing come NCAA Tournament time. I think our girls know they can compete at that level, but we feel like we're a team that can bother them a little bit."
SUMMIT LEAGUE/NATIONAL STATS NUMBERS:
As a team, Western Illinois led the Summit League in the following: scoring offense (80.4 points per game/11th nationally), assists per game (18.2/10th nationally), steals per game (11.4/ninth nationally), blocks per game (4.4), fewest turnovers (12.7) and 3-pointers made per game (9.5/sixth nationally).
Summit League 'Player of the Year' Emily Clemens led the league in points per game (19.2), assists per game (7.3/sixth nationally), minutes per game (37.1/11th nationally), steals per game (2.5) and assist/turnover ratio (2.6). Clemens is also fifth in the nation with 198 free throws made this season.
The Leathernecks also owned the top-4 individual Summit League rankings for steals per game in Clemens (2.5), Mallory Boyle (2.1), Taylor Higginbotham (2.0) and Morgan Blumer (1.8). Olivia Braun led the league in blocks per game with 2.8 (12th nationally).
3-POINT ATTACK:
As a team, Western Illinois ranks eighth in the nation with 303 shots made beyond the arc this season. The Leathernecks are also sixth nationally with an average of 9.5 3-point field goals made per game.
RADIO/AUDIO:
Fans can hear Danny Frey call all of the women's basketball games throughout the area on the Leatherneck Sports Network.
Flagship: 94.3 FM WRMS (Beardstown) Affiliates: 104.1 FM WMQZ (Macomb) | 106.7 FM WPWQ (Quincy).
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