BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team's roadtrip rolls on with a trek to DePere, Wis. for the St. Norbert Tipoff Classic Friday-Saturday, Nov. 15-16. IWU will square off against the University of Wisconsin-Stout in its first game of the tournament Friday, Nov. 15, at 5 p.m. before taking on either St. Norbert College of Calvin College Saturday, Nov. 16. Game time for Saturday will be at either 1 or 3 p.m. depending on Friday's outcome.
Illinois Wesleyan enters the weekend 2-0 on the season. The Titans knocked off No. 18 Chicago in its most recent game, leading from start to finish to best the Maroons 89-82 in the Windy City, Nov. 12. UW-Stout and St. Norbert are also undefeated on the season at 1-0, while Calvin come into the weekend with a 1-1 record.
Links on how to follow this weekend's games can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
BRAVO BROVELLI: Riley Brovelli has turned in back-to-back doubles to kickoff the season for the Titans. Brovelli grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 11 points in IWU's season-opener at Governors State, Nov. 9. She added a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double in Illinois Wesleyan's win over No. 18 Chicago, Nov. 12.
Brovelli is just the sixth Titan to post consecutive double-doubles in the past 15 years. She joins Maddie Merritt, Rebekah Ehresman, Olivia Lett, Christina Solari, and Katie Blonn, with Solari accomplishing the feat five times, including a stretch of five in-a-row from Nov. 22-Dec. 13, 2008. Furthermore, she is the first player to do so since Merritt notched three straight from Dec. 15-Dec. 29, 2018.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: In Illinois Wesleyan's win at No. 18 Chicago, Nov. 12, Kendall Sosa put together one of the best performances in program history. The Bloomington, Ill. native tallied a career-high 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting, highlighted by five three-pointers. Her final total is fifth-most in IWU single game history and the most since Molly McGraw net 37 points at North Central, Dec. 3, 2016. Meanwhile, her 13 makes are tied for second-most all-time.
WHAT A START FOR SOSA: Junior captain Kendall Sosa's start to the season has been unlike that of any Titan in quite some time. Through two games, Sosa has averaged 32 points per game. She scored 29 points in IWU's season-opener at Governors State, Nov. 9, and one-upped that performance with a 35-point effort at No. 18 Chicago, Nov. 12.
Her 66 combined points through two games is the most by a Titan in more than 15 years. In fact, she is one of just four players to net 50-or-more combined points in a two-game span.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Friday's game against UW-Stout will mark the Titans' first against the Blue Devils. Additionally, IWU could face St. Norbert for the first time in program history should the two matchup on Saturday.
CLASHING WITH CALVIN: A Saturday showdown with Calvin would be just the second all-time meeting between the Titans and Knights. The lone game between the two took place in the 2013-14 season when IWU outpaced Calvin 103-81 in Bloomington, Dec. 19, 2013. All five starters scored in double figures with Colleen McMahon and Katy Seibring leading the way with 25 points apiece. Kasey Reaber added 17 points, while Lexi Baltes and Shelby Jackson contributed 10 each.
SCOUTING REPORT - UW-STOUT: UW-Stout got out to a 1-0 start on the season with a 72-68 win at UW-Superior, Nov. 8. The Blue Devils went 18-9 in 2018-19, ultimately losing in the second round of the WIAC Tournament. UW-Stout lost its top two scorers from a season ago to graduation, but returns four key contributors.
Shannan Watkins led the Blue Devils with a team-high 16 points, while Liz Oswald, Amber Fabeck, and Emily Jacques scored 13, 12, and 10 points, respectively. Watkins also leads UW-Stout in rebounding after grabbing seven in its season opener.
SCOUTING REPORT - CALVIN: Calvin sits at 1-1 on the season ahead of this weekend's tournament, having picked up a season-opening win at Carthage (71-68, Nov. 9) before dropping its home opener 66-54 to UW-Whitewater, Nov. 12.
The Knights are led by Preseason All-American Gabby Timmer. A season ago, Timmer averaged 18.4 points and 10.7 rebounds a game, while connecting on 52.8 percent of her shots. The reigning D3hoops.com National Rookie of the Year has picked up where she left off, as Timmer is averaging 21.5 points per contest and 10 boards a game. Stephanie Coors is the only other player in double figures scoring for Calvin this season, averaging 12 points per game.
SCOUTING REPORT - ST. NORBERT: Tournament host St. Norbert is 1-0 on the season following a 59-50 win at Lakeland, Nov. 8. SNC finished the 2018-19 season 11-15 overall. The Green Knights are guided by first-year head coach Amanda Leonhard-Perry.
Junior guard Liz Edinger and senior forward Sarah Neumann lead the Green Knights in scoring, with both averaging 11.0 points per game. Senior guard Macie Zurfluh is averaging 9.0 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game.
ROAD WARRIORS: Illinois Wesleyan has opened its eight-game roadtrip with a 2-0 record. The trip, which spans nearly a month, pits IWU against Governors State, IWU, Chicago, UW-Stout, Calvin or St. Norbert, UW-Whitewater, Rose Hulman, WashU, and North Central.
PLAY THE BEST TO BE THE BEST: As it has consistently done under Mia Smith, Illinois Wesleyan's non-conference schedule ahead of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play is one of the toughest in the country. In fact, IWU's schedule includes four teams ranked inside D3hoops.com's Preseason Top-25 in No. 7 Mary Hardin-Baylor, No. 14 Wheaton, No. 18 Chicago, and No. 24 WashU.
ON THE HORIZON: IWU returns to the Badger state after a week away from competition for a clash with UW-Whitewater Saturday, Nov. 23. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
