BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- With a 14-4 victory over North Central College on Wednesday, April 25, the Illinois Wesleyan women's lacrosse team clinched the first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season championship in program history. A win on Wednesday secured the Titans spot as the No. 1 seed in the CCIW conference tournament which is set to begin on May 2.

Illinois Wesleyan improved to 12-4 on the season alongside a 5-0 mark in CCIW play with a win while North Central fell to 14-2 overall and 4-1 in conference competition.

Freshman Janaye Godfrey was the winning goalkeeper making six saves on 10 shots on goal. North Central's Camille Seghesio stopped 12 Titan shots, but allowed 14 in a losing effort by the Cardinals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Illinois Wesleyan opened up a 6-0 lead through the opening 10 minutes of the first half due in part to two goals and two assists from junior Sam Bidlack.
• North Central's Jessica Deetjen scored twice to cut the Titan lead to 6-2 with 12 minutes remaining in the first.
• Senior Abby Kushina scored twice as part of a 4-0 run for IWU that saw the Titans hold a 10-2 advantage heading into halftime.
• Goals from freshman Riley Rooney and sophomore Amanda Best gave Illinois Wesleyan a 12-2 lead over the Cardinals with 25 minutes still to play.
• North Central's Madeline McHugh scored a pair of man-up goals for the Cardinals in the second half to stop the running clock and cut the Titan lead to 12-4.
• Late insurance goals from senior Mariah Smith and junior Claudia Richman provided IWU with their final 14-4 advantage.

SIGNIFICANT STATISTICS

• Illinois Wesleyan out-shot the Cardinals 36-13 overall and 26-10 in shots on goal.
• A high amount of shot attempts for the Titans led to plenty of clearance attempts for North Central, but Illinois Wesleyan's defense held the Cardinals to a 12-of-22 performance.
• IWU won 14-of-20 draw controls during the contest and were led in draw controls by junior Dani Engelbreit's 10.
• Amanda Best scored twice on free-position shot attempts and the Titans scored four total times on free-position attempts.

TITAN TEAM LEADERS
Points: Bidlack (7), Grainne Kelly (3), Kushina (3), Best (3), Richman (3)
Goals: Kushina (3), Best (3), Richman (3)
Assists: Bidlack (5), Kelly (3)
Ground balls: Engelbreit (4), Bidlack (3), Rooney (3), Maggie Torres (3)
Draw controls: Engelbreit (10), Smith (2)
Caused turnovers: Rooney (2), Four with (1)
Saves: Godfrey (6)

WHAT'S NEXT?
Illinois Wesleyan will conclude their regular season schedule on the road against University of Dubuque on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m. The Spartans are 6-6 overall with a 1-4 record in the CCIW.