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Leathernecks Travel To Omaha For Weekend Contest

Western Illinois continues Summit League play on the road at Omaha

GAME EIGHTEEN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS at OMAHA MAVERICKS
Jan. 13, 2018 • 1:00 p.m.  •  Omaha, Neb. • Baxter Arena

LIVE STATS: HERE
LISTEN: HERE
WATCH: MAVS ALL-ACCESS

ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TICKETS | RECORD BOOK | @WIUWBB | GAME NOTES VS OMAHA | #SUMMITWBB WEEKLY RELEASE
 
MACOMB, Ill. — After playing two straight at home to open 2018, Western Illinois hits the road for a Jan. 13 weekend matchup at Omaha. Tipoff is scheduled on Saturday for 1 p.m. in the Baxter Arena.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Behind the efforts of Taylor Higginbotham and Olivia Braun, Western Illinois was able to pick up its second Summit League win of the season with a 56-49 win over Oral Roberts Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) inside Western Hall. Higginbotham recorded her sixth double-double of the season of 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Braun tallied a season-high of 16 points along with eight rebounds and four blocks. Western Illinois held a three-point lead after one quarter of play after closing out the first 10 minutes on a 9-2 run.
 
The Leathernecks held on to a 26-20 lead after Oral Roberts hit a jumper at the halftime buzzer to keep the game in single digits. After an even third quarter in which both teams scored 20 points, the Purple and Gold began their surge at the start of the fourth.
 
An 8-0 run capped off by a layup by Emily Clemens gave the Leathernecks their largest lead of the day (54-40) with 5:20 to play, but the Golden Eagles refused to waiver, and put together a 9-0 run to cut Western's lead to five. A pair of Higginbotham free throws and a Clemens steal eventually sealed the game for Western.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE: With six double-doubles thus far, Taylor Higginbotham leads The Summit League, followed by Emily Clemens, who is tied for second with three this season. The Leathernecks are 7-1 when either one of those players records a double-double in a game.
 
ANOTHA' ONE: Emily Clemens earned her second-career Summit League Female Athlete of the Month Honor, as she averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game during the month of December. She now has combined eight total awards for the 2017-18 season.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS: Emily Clemens leads The Summit League in nine different categories, and ranks in the top 10 nationally for six of them. She is third in the nation with 136 assists this season, and her 8.0 dishes per contest are fourth nationally. She is ninth nationally with 86 free throws made, as well as being ninth with 3.53 steals per game. She is fifth nationally with 60 steals this season and fourth with 618 total minutes played. Her three 10-plus assist games lead the league, and she is tied for first in the league with seven 20-point games thus far. Olivia Braun also league with 2.4 blocks per contest, and her 40 blocked shots this season rank 20th nationally. 

SCOUTING OMAHA: The Mavericks are 8-7 overall this season and sit at 0-3 in The Summit League after falling 76-65 on the road at Fort Wayne (Jan. 9). After starting the season 7-2, the Mavericks have dropped five of their last six and are trying to snap a three-game skid.
 
Omaha is led by a trio of players who average in double figures: Jess Walter (12.9), Amber Vidal (12.3) and Ellie Brecht (10.3).
 
LAST MEETING VERSUS OMAHA: Led by Emily Clemens' first career triple-double, The No. 1-seeded Western Illinois staged a fourth quarter comeback to capture an 84-82 victory over No. 5 Omaha in the Summit League Basketball Tournament semifinals. Clemens recorded 21 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and 11 assists for her first-ever triple-double. She hit 4-of-11 from beyond the arc, played all 40 minutes and committed just two turnovers. It was the first triple-double by a Summit League player since March 2015 (Oral Roberts Vicky McIntyre).
 
Her 11 assists are the third-most by an individual in a Summit League Tournament game, and highest total since March 2, 2002. Blumer finished with a team-leading 22 points, hitting six shots from 3-point range. Those six 3-pointers tie for third-most in a Summit League Tournament game.
 
Braun added 15 points and seven assists to one turnover while blocking two shots. Higginbotham added 10 points and seven rebounds. A game following a Tournament record 15 three-pointers made in the quarterfinal round versus Denver, Western sank 14 threes to tie for the second-highest Tournament total. Shaw led all scorers with 29 points and added eight rebounds. Dapprich chipped in 24 points and Ellie Brecht hit five three-pointers to finish with 15 points.
 
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Western Illinois leads the all-time series over Omaha 8-4. The Leathernecks have won the last four meetings against the Mavericks. Western has also won seven of the last nine. All of the program's meetings with Omaha have been during head coach JD Gravina's tenure at Western Illinois.
 
LEADERS GOTTA LEAD: Western Illinois leads The Summit League in 13 different categories, and rank in the top 10 nationally for eight of them. The Leathernecks lead the league in assist/turnover ratio, assists, assists per game, free throw attempts, free throws made, fewest fouls per game, scoring offense, steals, steals per game, three-pointers attempted, three-pointers made, three-pointers made per game and turnover margin.
 
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Players Mentioned

Emily Clemens

#2 Emily Clemens

G
5' 4"
Junior
Muscatine
Olivia Braun

#3 Olivia Braun

F
6' 1"
Senior
St. Catherine's / Toledo
Emily Clemens

#2 Emily Clemens

G
5' 4"
Senior
Muscatine
Taylor Higginbotham

#24 Taylor Higginbotham

G
5' 10"
Junior
Germantown

Players Mentioned

Emily Clemens

#2 Emily Clemens

5' 4"
Junior
Muscatine
G
Olivia Braun

#3 Olivia Braun

6' 1"
Senior
St. Catherine's / Toledo
F
Emily Clemens

#2 Emily Clemens

5' 4"
Senior
Muscatine
G
Taylor Higginbotham

#24 Taylor Higginbotham

5' 10"
Junior
Germantown
G