BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team built up an 18-point first quarter lead and forced 31 turnovers in the game to claim a 77-54 win over visiting Millikin at the Shirk Center on Wednesday, Jan. 13.

The Titans improved to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Big Blue remained winless in the conference at 0-4 and slipped to 7-8 on the season.

Illinois Wesleyan led 23-5 after the first period and held a 38-20 advantage at halftime, shooting 45.5 percent from the field (15 of 33) while limiting Millikin to 20.8 percent (5 of 24). The Titans finished with 38 points in the paint and scored 29 points off turnovers compared to 10 points scored by Millikin on 17 IWU turnovers.

Sophomore Molly McGraw led IWU with 27 points and freshman Maddie Merritt scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high six recounds as the Titans beat the Big Blue on the boards, 39-35. Samantha Ellsworth came off the bench to score a season-best eight points.

McGraw took 24 field goal attempts, tied for third most in a single game in IWU history, and had seven steals, also tied for third most in an IWU game.

Alyssa Saklak scored 18 points and snared nine rebounds for Millikin while Alex Capeles and Emily Schultz each added 10 points.

What's Next?
The Titans host North Central at 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16. The Cardinals (8-7, 2-2 CCIW) are the Division III national leading scoring team (95.8) and top 3-point shooting team (13.9 per game). North Central posted a 98-75 win over Augustana on Wednesday.