BLOOMINGTON, Ill - The No. 17-ranked and No. 1-seeded Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team advanced to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) postseason tournament championship game on Friday, Feb. 23 with a 96-63 victory over Elmhurst College. Senior Molly McGraw led the team offensively with 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting which included a 10-of-10 performance from the free-throw line.

With a win the Titans improved to 23-3 on the season while Elmhurst concludes their season with a 13-13 record.

With a win on Friday, the Titans improved to 19-7 all-time in CCIW postseason tournament history. Illinois Wesleyan advances to the CCIW championship game for the 13th time in program history where they will meet Wheaton College for the seventh time.

Illinois Wesleyan's defensive effort stole the show on Friday as they held Elmhurst to a .386 shooting percentage for the game. The Titans held Elmhurst without a made field-goal for the first 14:30 of the contest, which included the entire first quarter where the Bluejays made just four free-throws. Illinois Wesleyan forced 25 turnovers which they converted into 34 points.

On the offensive end IWU shot .525 from the field on 32-of-61 shooting for the contest. The Titans were proficient from the free-throw line shooting 25-of-28. On the glass Illinois Wesleyan held a 32-26 advantage including 11 offensive rebounds which were converted into 16 second chance points.

Four Titans finished in double-figures including the 23 point performance from McGraw. Junior Maddie Merritt finished with 15, junior Ashley Schneider with 13, and freshman Riley Brovelli added 12 off the bench. Brovelli was the teams leading rebounder with six. Senior Rebekah Ehresman and freshman Kelsey Walsberg each added six assists. Walsberg led the team in steals with four while Ehresman and freshman Kendall Sosa added three apiece.

Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to a commanding 28-4 lead in the first quarter after holding Elmhurst to an 0-of-8 performance from the field. Merritt and Brovelli each scored six in the quarter for the Titans. Holding a 24 point lead in the second, the Titans were able to dig deep into their bench in order to provide playing time for all healthy members of the team.

Elmhurst charged back in the third to outscore the Titans 23-18. Mikaela Eppard scored eight of her 16 points in the third to pace the Bluejays. Illinois Wesleyan iced the game with a 34 point performance in the fourth quarter that featured 15 points off the bench, 16 points in the paint, and 13 points off turnovers.

Eppard was the Bluejays leading scorer and rebounder with 16 points and nine boards. Lisa Logan was Elmhurst's other double-digit scorer with 13. Hannah Henderson added four steals for the Bluejays.

What's Next?
The Titans will take on Wheaton College from the Shirk Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 24 with an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III women's basketball championships on the line. Wheaton defeated Carthage College in the first round of the CCIW tournament by a final score of 69-54. Forward Hannah Frazier scored a game-high 26 points and hauled in 10 rebounds against the Lady Reds.