Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - The No. 22-ranked Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team led for nearly the entire game on their way to a 79-75 upset win over No. 9 DePauw in the Midwest Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Jacksonville, Ill.

IWU improves to 4-1 and will play in the Midwest Challenge championship game against No. 8-ranked Washington U. at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30. The Bears were 79-52 winners Saturday over the host school, Illinois College.

The Titans took an early 6-5 lead off of a Kasey Reaber layup with 16:28 left in the first half and held onto the lead for the rest of the first half. A Molly McGraw layup pushed the lead to 12 at 19-7 with 11:51 left in the first half as IWU led by as much as 16 before taking a 41-30 lead into the locker room at half. 

The Tigers scored the first 10 points of the second half to cut the lead to 41-40, but the Titans responded with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 48-40 lead with 14:33 left in the game. DePauw clawed their way back and took its first lead of the second half at 66-63 with only 4:49 left in the game, but IWU went on a 9-4 run to take a 72-70 lead with three minutes remaining. Illinois Wesleyan hit free throws down the stretch and hold on to complete the 79-75 upset bid. 

Freshman Rebekah Ehresman led all scorers with 25 points and six rebounds while sophomore Shelby Gray pitched in 11. IWU outrebounded the Tigers, 43-27, and benefitted from 24 second chance points and the Titan bench outscored the Tiger bench, 27-6. 

Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field goal percentage: 46.7 (28 of 60)
3-point percentage: 36.8 (7 of 19)
Free throw percentage: 84.2 (16 of 19)
Ehresman- 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assist
Senior Kasey Reaber - 10 points, 3 rebounds
Gray - 11 points, 1 steal

DePauw Statistics and Leaders
Field goal percentage: 46.8 (29 of 62)
3-point percentage: 42.9 (9 of 21)
Free throw percentage: 66.7 (9 of 12)
Savannah Trees- 20 points, 4 assists
Emma Ondik- 18 points, 4 assists
Hannah Douglas- 15 points, 7 rebounds

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan will play No. 8-ranked Washington U. in the Midwest Challenge championship game at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30. Washington U. beat Illinois College, 79-52.