ELMHURST, Ill.— Western Illinois senior Emily Clemens earned Summit League December Female Athlete of the Month, as announced Tuesday (Jan. 9).
The award marks the second monthly honor in Clemens’ career, as she won Summit League Female Athlete of the Month in February of 2017.
“Emily has really been battling this season and has led us to some nice wins,” said head coach JD Gravina. “She always finds a way to help the team win, whether that is in the scoring column, dishing out assists or with her defensive intensity.”
Clemens had quite the month, as she averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game, while she went 41-of-50 (.820) from the free throw line.
Western Illinois picked up arguably its biggest win in program history, as it defeated then-No. 18 Stanford 71-64 (Dec. 18) for the first-ever win over a nationally ranked opponent. In that game, Clemens also passed Jolene Hanig (1988-91, 542) for the most assists in program history.
As The Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, Clemens has already been named a league Player of the Week twice (Dec. 26, Jan. 2), an espnW National Player of the Week (Dec. 26), a preseason watch list candidate for the Nancy Lieberman Award and a Senior CLASS Award national candidate.
