Leathernecks Take On South Dakota, Oral Roberts To Open 2018

Western Illinois has back-to-back home stands against Summit League opponents.

GAME SIXTEEN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS vs SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES
Jan. 4, 2018 • 7 p.m. • Macomb, Ill. • Western Hall

LIVE STATS: HERE
LISTEN: HERE

GAME SEVENTEEN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS vs ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES
Jan. 6, 2018 • 4:30 p.m. • Macomb, Ill. • Western Hall

LIVE STATS: HERE
LISTEN: HERE

ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TICKETS | RECORD BOOK | @WIUWBB | GAME NOTES VS SOUTH DAKOTA | #SUMMITWBB WEEKLY RELEASE

MACOMB, Ill.— Western Illinois opens the New Year with a pair of Summit League tests at home, beginning with a Jan. 4 matchup against South Dakota at 7 p.m., followed by a Jan. 6 contest against Oral Roberts at 4:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
For the sixth-straight season, Western Illinois picked up a win in its Summit League opener. Behind the 28 points and 11 assists from senior point guard Emily Clemens, the Leathernecks defeated Fort Wayne 100-64 to improve to 11-4 overall and 1-0 in league play.

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA:
The Coyotes are coming off a victory last night (Jan. 2) at North Dakota State (82-67) to improve to 2-0 on the season in league play. Their first league win happened Dec. 30 at home against Denver (79-51). At the helm of the program is head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, who is in her second season with South Dakota.

Both the Leathernecks and Coyotes have a similar strength of schedule this season, as there is only a one-spot difference in the RPI rankings. Western Illinois is at 125, while South Dakota has a 126 ranking. The Coyotes are led by Allison Arens' 12.1 points per game, along with Ciara Duffy's 11.7 per game. Arens is a Preseason First Team All-League Selection, while Duffy is Preseason Second Team. Duffy is also the reigning Co-Player of the Week with Emily Clemens. The Coyotes were also picked third in the Preseason Poll behind Western Illinois and South Dakota State.

The Coyotes are able to score from the charity stripe, as their 80.9 free throw percentage is a league-high, and ranks fourth nationally. In the last meeting between the two programs, the Leathernecks captured the outright Summit League Regular Season crown after an 81-75 win over the Coyotes on Feb. 25, 2017 inside Western Hall. Western trails the series 10-3, but has won the last two meetings.

SOUTH DAKOTA GAME NOTES

2016-17: FIRST MEETING / SECOND MEETING

SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS:
The Golden Eagles are 9-5 overall this season and 1-0 in league play after an 82-53 win over Omaha Dec. 30 on the road. Prior to facing Western on Saturday, Oral Roberts has a Jan. 4 meeting at Fort Wayne. The team is led by the pair of Preseason Second Team All-League players in Faith Ihim (12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds per game) and Maria Martianez (10.5 points, 8.4 rebounds). Maya Mayberry also averages double figures with 10.4 points per game. So far, Ihim leads the league in field goal percentage (62.6) and also ranks 14th nationally in the category.

The last time Western played Oral Roberts inside Western Hall, it resulted in a thrilling-overtime victory, as the Leathernecks edged the Golden Eagles 76-72. Other than The Summit League Tournament Championship game against IUPUI, it was the only other overtime game for Western. Western trails the series 23-20, but won both of last season's meetings.

2016-17: FIRST MEETING / SECOND MEETING

CLEMENS EARNS MORE WEEKLY HONORS:
Senior point guard Emily Clemens earned her seventh-career Summit League Player of the Week award and the first of 2018, as announced Tuesday (Jan. 2, 2018). She also earned her third-career spot on the NCAA Women's Basketball Starting Five weekly honor.

Clemens has been named a Summit League Player of the Week twice this season, as she earned the award last week, along with her first career espnW National Player of the Week honor on Dec. 26. As the reigning Summit League Player of the Year and the current Preseason Player of the Year, Clemens now has seven games this season of 20 or more points, and three games of 10 or more assists.

The Muscatine, Iowa native recorded 21 points, nine assists and went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe on the road at Bradley (Dec. 28). She followed up with a 28-point, 11 assist performance two days later (Dec. 30) in the league-opening win over Fort Wayne to close out 2017. In that game she also went 7-for-7 from the free throw line. The win over the Mastodons marked her third double-double this season, while her 28 points were just six shy of her career-high (34).

Over the two-game span, she averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals, while shooting 54.8 percent (17-of-31) and a perfect 13-of-13 from the charity stripe.

HIGGINBOTHAM TO BE HONORED FOR 1,000 POINTS:
Junior guard Taylor Higginbotham recently became the 17th Leatherneck to record over 1,000 points. With 1,107 points thus far, she is 15th all time in program history for scoring.

LEATHERNECK SPORTS NETWORK:
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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Players Mentioned

#2 Emily Clemens: G; 5' 4"; Senior; Muscatine

#24 Taylor Higginbotham: G; 5' 10"; Junior; Germantown

Players Mentioned

#2 Emily Clemens
: 5' 4"; Senior; Muscatine
: G

#24 Taylor Higginbotham
: 5' 10"; Junior; Germantown
: G

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Players Mentioned

#2 Emily Clemens

#24 Taylor Higginbotham

Players Mentioned

#2 Emily Clemens

#24 Taylor Higginbotham