MACOMB — Emily Clemens made 12 of 18 field goals and was 12-for-13 from the free-throw line as she scored 39 points to lead the Western Illinois women's basketball team to a 118-93 victory over Denver on Wednesday night.
The Summit League game set an NCAA record after the two teams combined to hit and evenly split 36 3-pointers at Western Hall.
Morgan Blumer was 7-for-9 on 3s as she scored a career-high 26 points for WIU, which shot 59.7 percent (40-for-67) from the floor. The Leathernecks (14-6, 4-2) were 18-for-30 from the arc. The Pioneers (12-9, 3-3) made 18 of 42 from distance. Taylor Higginbotham was 4-for-7 from the arc and scored 26 for the 'Necks.
"As a fan, and as a person who loves basketball, that was a great game," said Western coach JD Gravina. "Offensively, we couldn't have played better. We were getting a lot of 3s but we were also scoring around the basket quite a bit and getting to the free throw line. I think that ended up being the difference in the game. They were dependent on hitting the from outside, which they did."
Clemens added nine rebounds, 13 assists and two steals for WIU. Those asists put Clemens in second place all-time in the conference with 610. She passed second-place Leah Cannon (603, Oral Roberts (2002-06). Nicole Seekamp dished out 623 dimes for South Dakota from 2012-16.
Lauren Loven scored 28 for the Pioneers (12-9, 3-3).