WHITEWATER, Wis. -- A slow start sent the Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team to a 24-point halftime deficit in a 96-79 loss at No. 24 Wisconsin-Whitewater on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at UWW's Kachel Gymnasium.

The Titans are 2-1 this season as the Warhawks improved to 4-0.

Illinois Wesleyan trailed 26-19 after the first quarter as the Warhawks ended the first on an 11-4 run and UW-Whitewater continued its momentum, opening the second quarter on an 11-0 run. IWU only scored 10 points in losing the second period, 27-10, falling behind by a 53-29 score at intermission.

The Warhawks shot .636 (21 of 33) and forced the Titans into 17 turnovers in the first half compared to .450 field goal shooting for IWU (9 of 20). Illinois Wesleyan outscored UWW 50-43 in the second half.

Sophomore Molly McGraw led IWU with 22 points and sophomore Rebekah Ehresman added 19 points with team-highs of six rebounds and four assists. Freshman Maddie Merritt made every shot she took, sinking four field goals and three free throws for 11 points and junior Gabrielle Holness added 10 points.

The Warhawks outrebounded the Titans, 29-27, and turned 24 IWU turnovers into 32 points. The Titans suffered from poor free throw shooting, making just 14 of 27 tries (.519). The Warhawks shot .582 in the game (32 of 55), the ninth-best mark in program history.

Whitewater's Brooke Trewyn led four players in double figure scoring with game-highs of 25 points and seven boards.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan faces another nationally-ranked team when they play No. 17 DePauw (2-1) on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. in the 2015 Midwest Challenge hosted by Washington U. in St. Louis. On Sunday, IWU will meet either Illinois College (3-0) or No. 12-ranked Washington U. (2-1) at 1 or 3 p.m. in the third place or championship game ... In the all-time series against all potential weekend opponents, Illinois Wesleyan is 7-9 against DePauw, has a 14-6 lead over Illinois College, and has a 5-19 record vs. Washington U. ... DePauw lost in the NCAA round of 16 last season and was 26-3 with one of those three losses coming to Illinois Wesleyan. The Titans won 79-75 in the Midwest Challenge opener on Nov. 29, 2014. Ehresman had 25 points to lead IWU.