Box Score

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team led for 38:16 of the game, but was unable to score in the final moments in a 59-56 loss to undefeated North Central College on Saturday, Jan. 3 at Gregory Arena.

With the loss, IWU has dropped its third consecutive contest and drops to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while North Central remains undefeated at 12-0 and 1-0 in the CCIW. 

North Central came into the contest averaging 102.5 points per game, which ranked first in NCAA Division III before the Titans held them to a season-low 59 points. The Cardinals had scored over 100 points in five consecutive contests, an NCAA Division III record, and were held under 60 points for the first time all season.  North Central also led the nation with 16.2 3-point field goals per game but managed to make only eight (of 37) against IWU.
 
Illinois Wesleyan was able to jump out to an early 15-2 lead and took a 29-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. The 23 points was a first half season low for North Central, who shot only 5-of-31 (16.1%) from the field while the Titans shot 45.2% (14-31) from the field in the first half. 

The Titans took their biggest lead of the game at 15 (44-29) with 14:26 left to go in the game, but were outscored 30-12 after that point of the game. North Central took their first lead of the game with 56 seconds left in the game as IWU would miss two 3-point shots in the final minute and had their inbound pass intercepted in the final seconds. 
 
Senior Kasey Reaber scored a season high 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, while sophomore Alina Lehocky was the only other Titan in double figures with 10 points. Reaber fell three assists short of a rare triple-double with seven, while sophomore Gabby Weber pitched in six points and eight rebounds. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan held the Cardinals to only 30.3% (20-of-66) from the field for the game, but only got 18 points from the bench compared to 28 for North Central. 

"I feel bad for our kids with this loss," said IWU head coach Mia Smith. "Despite the loss, I have a ton of confiedence in this team. When we're good, we're really good. We are still moving up the ladder and getting better every day in practice. This team will find a way to get it done."

IWU leads the all-time series against the Cardinals, 39-26 (.600 winning percentage) but have lost two in a row to North Central. The Titans last defeated North Central on Jan. 22, 2014, a 115-106 win in Naperville.
 
Illinois Wesleyan Statistics, Leaders
Field goal percentage- .429 (27-of-63)
3-point field goal percentage- .111 (1-of-9)
Free throw percentage- .167 (1-of-6)
Reaber- 19 points,10 rebounds, 7 assists
Lehocky- 10 points, 4 rebounds
Gabby Weber- 6 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
 
North Central Statistics, Leaders
Field goal percentage- .303 (20-of-66)
3-point field goal percentage- .216 (8-of-37)
Free throw percentage- .688 (11-of-16)
Tess Godhardt- 13 points, 5 rebounds
Anita Sterling- 8 points, 4 rebounds
 
Who's Next?
The Titans will host Wheaton in their CCIW home opener on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Shirk Center. The Thunder, who were 67-56 winners over Elmhurst on Saturday, are ranked 14th in the Dec. 14 D3hoops.com poll and come into Wednesday's contest carrying an 11-1 overall record.