Western Illinois Battles South Dakota, Oral Roberts In Road Matchups

The Leathernecks have two straight on the road.

GAME 23
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS at SOUTH DAKOTA
Feb. 1, 2018 • 7 p.m. • Vermillion, S.D. • Sanford Coyote Sports Center
LIVE STATS: HERE
LISTEN: HERE
WATCH: HERE

GAME 24
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS at ORAL ROBERTS
Feb. 3, 2018 • 2 p.m. • Tulsa, Okla. • Mabee Center
LIVE STATS: HERE
LISTEN: HERE
WATCH: HERE

ROSTER | SCHEDULE | TICKETS | RECORD BOOK | @WIUWBB

MACOMB, Ill.— Western Illinois hits the road for two straight Summit League contests this week, as the team takes on South Dakota (Feb. 1) and Oral Roberts (Feb. 3). The times are set for 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.

LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks (16-6, 6-2 Summit League) cruised to a 97-72 victory over North Dakota State (8-13, 1-6) behind a career-day from Michelle Farrow.

Just 24 hours following her birthday and on #ThinkPink day, the senior from Waukesha, Wis., dropped a career-high 25 points, and tied a program-record of seven threes in a single game in the win over North Dakota State. Her seven threes tie fellow teammate Morgan Blumer and four other former Leathernecks (Michelle Maher, Saule Kontautaite, Vicki Adelman and Lori Schrock) for the most in a game. As a team, the Purple and Gold also drained 19 three-pointers, which set a new program record; it one-upped the previous of 18 set this week (Jan. 24) in the win over Denver.

2 + X = 10: Emily Clemens is just 10 assists shy of becoming the all-time Summit League leader in career assists. She has 619 thus far, and is looking to pass South Dakota's Nicole Seekamp (2012-2016) who has 628. Clemens leads the league with 7.8 assists per game and ranks fourth in the nation in assists per game. She has 172 total assists, which ranks fifth nationally.

EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC: At only 5-feet-4 inches tall, Emily Clemens, who is the reigning Summit League 'Player of the Week' (third this season, eighth-career), currently has 1,506 points. She is only 42 points away from passing former Leatherneck great and Hall of Famer Zane Teilane (2003-06), who has 1,547. Clemens is also only the fourth-ever Leatherneck to have over 1,500 points.

TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT, WHO DO WE APPRECIATE: Taylor Higginbotham recently became the eighth Leatherneck in program history to record over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. She currently has 1,217 points and 518 rebounds. The Germantown, Wis., native also ranks third in the league for scoring (16.7) and rebounds (7.1) per game.

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA: Coyotes sit at 17-5 overall and have a perfect 8-0 mark in league play thus far to sit in first place. Recently, South Dakota defeated South Dakota State (67-61) and Denver (82-60) on the road. In the last meeting, Western Illinois dropped an 82-58 decision inside Western Hall on Jan. 4. This will be only the second time ever the Leathernecks will play in the new Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The last time both teams met in Vermillion, Western Illinois defeated South Dakota 86-78 (Jan. 28, 2017) to snap the Coyotes' 24-game winning streak, which was then the third-longest home streak in the nation. It was also the first-ever loss for the Coyotes inside the Sanford Coyote Sports center.

The Coyotes are led by Allison Arens (12.6 points per game) and Ciara Duffy (12.4) and Jaycee Bradley (10.1).

THE SERIES: Western Illinois trails 11-3 in the all-time series. After dropping the last meeting, Western Illinois looks to bounce back and give itself its third win in the last four meetings.

SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS: The Leathernecks have a quick turnaround following the road game versus South Dakota, as they take on Oral Roberts Saturday (Feb. 3). The Purple and Gold got the best of the Golden Eagles earlier this month at home, as Western won 56-49 behind the combined 35 points from Olivia Braun and Taylor Higginbotham. So far, Oral Roberts sits in fourth for The Summit League standings behind Western with Faith Ihim recording a team-high 14.2 points per game. Maria Martianez follows with 12.2 points per game and her 7.7 boards per contest rank second in the league. Oral Roberts in currently 13-8 overall and 4-3 in league play.

THE SERIES: Western Illinois trails the all-time series 23-21, but looks for its third-straight win over Oral Roberts. A win would mean a second-straight regular season sweep over the Golden Eagles.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Leathernecks have three straight home games against Omaha (Feb. 7), Eureka College (7 p.m.) and South Dakota State (Feb. 17), before closing out the final two games of the season at North Dakota State (Feb. 22) and Denver (Feb. 24).

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Players Mentioned

#12 Morgan Blumer: G; 5' 11"; Senior; Milton / Florida Gulf Coast

#3 Olivia Braun: F; 6' 1"; Senior; St. Catherine's / Toledo

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

#22 Michelle Farrow: G; 5' 10"; Senior; Waukesha West

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

Players Mentioned

#12 Morgan Blumer
: 5' 11"; Senior; Milton / Florida Gulf Coast
: G

#3 Olivia Braun
: 6' 1"; Senior; St. Catherine's / Toledo
: F

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

#22 Michelle Farrow
: 5' 10"; Senior; Waukesha West
: G

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