ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Trailing 33-30 at intermission, the Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team was limited to only eight third quarter points and was defeated by No. 19-ranked DePauw 70-54 in the Midwest Challenge hosted by Washington U.-St. Louis on Saturday, Nov. 28.

The Titans dropped their second-straight game to a nationally ranked opponent and are now 2-2 while the Tigers improved to 3-1 on the season.

IWU and DePauw were tied at 12 after the first frame and neither team would open up more than a five point lead before the Tigers led 33-30 at the half.

The third quarter saw DePauw outscore Illinois Wesleyan 11-8 to extend their lead to six before breaking out for 26 points in the final quarter while holding the Titans to only 16 for the 70-54 victory.

IWU shot only 35.3 percent (18-51) from the field for the game and only connected on five of 17 shots behind the arc (29.4%). The Tigers outrebounded the Titans 43-27 and grabbed 12 offensive boards leading to 11 second chance points.

Illinois Wesleyan scored 22 bench points including a career-high 13 from freshman Maddie Merritt. Sophomore Rebekah Ehresman led IWU with 18 points in 34 minutes played, while Gabby Weber had seven rebounds and three blocks.

What's Next?
IWU will play Illinois College in the consolation game of the Midwest Challenge at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the WU Field House. Illinois College was a 69-51 loser to Washington U. on Saturday. Guard Jill Friedrich had 17 points and forward Melissa Solorio scored 11 to lead the Lady Blues, who were outrebounded 48-34 in the contest ... In the all-time series, Illinois Wesleyan has a 14-6 lead over Illinois College.