BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan women's lacrosse team advanced to the CCIW conference tournament final on Wednesday, May 3, following a 12-6 victory over Carthage College. IWU is set to face Augustana College in the tournament final after the Vikings defeated North Central by a final score of 19-13 on Wednesday night. Junior Claire Quist made 10 saves in goal on 22 shots faced to anchor the Titan defense.

With a win the Titans improve to 13-5 overall while Carthage concludes their season with an 11-6 record.

Carthage lit the lamp first at the 28:13 mark in the first half, but from then on out the Titans controlled a majority of the action. IWU went on to outscore the Lady Reds 8-4 in the first and 4-2 in the second period.

Statistically both teams were balanced throughout the game with IWU holding a slight advantage in shots on goal with 19 compared to 16 for Carthage. The Titans made it difficult for Cartage to mount a second-half comeback by controlling possession of the ball off draw controls. Illinois Wesleyan won six of seven draw controls in the second half and 11 draw controls in total.

IWU was also more accurate with their shots on Wednesday, scoring on .444 percent of total shots and .631 percent of shots on goal. Carthage converted on a meager .272 percent of their total shots and .375 percent of shots on goal.

Senior Maggie Krause paced the offense with three goals and one assist to lead the team in total points. Sophomore's Sara Dust and Grainne Kelly match Krause with three goals scored apiece. Junior Abby Kushina, and sophomore's Sam Bidlack and Claudia Richman each tallied one goal for the Titans on Wednesday night. Also with assists for the Titans were Kushina, sophomore Dani Engelbreit, and freshman Amanda Best. Engelbreit led the team by picking up five ground balls.

Maddie Griffin and Mackenzie Day each scored two goals for Carthage to lead the Lady Reds offense. Heather Martin and Maggie Allen each tallied five ground balls for Carthage. Allen made seven saves in goal on 19 shots on goal.

What's Next?
With a win on Wednesday the Titans advanced to the CCIW conference championship game which will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 6 in Rock Island, Ill. Illinois Wesleyan is set to face Augustana College in the final after the Vikings defeated North Central by a final score of 19-13 on Wednesday night. Earlier this season, the Titans fell to Augustana in Rock Island by a final score of 12-11 in overtime. The winner of Saturday's game will receive the first automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament in conference history. More information about the conference tournament can be found here.