BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team looks to get back on track at the Midwest Challenge this weekend, Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, at Washington University in St. Louis. There, the Titans will take on the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology Saturday at 2 p.m. before clashing with either No. 11 DePauw or No. 22 WashU.
IWU is coming off its first loss of the season, a 67-55 setback at UW-Whitewater, Nov. 23, and enters the weekend 4-1 on the year. Links on how to follow this weekend's games can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
BOUNCE BACK: When IWU hits the floor Saturday, the Titans will look to bounce back from a road loss at UW-Whitewater, Nov. 23. In the past 58 games dating back to the 2017-18 season, Illinois Wesleyan has not lost back-to-back contests. Coincidentally, the last time IWU came up short in two straight tilts was Nov. 21-26, 2017. The Titans dropped a 62-60 road game at UW-Whitewater before suffering a setback at the hands of WashU in their first game of the Midwest Challenge.
WHO DOESN'T LOVE STUFFING?: Senior captain Sydney Shanks has done a little bit of everything for the Titans this year. The Bloomington, Ill. native has stuffed the stat sheet in a way no other player in the conference has so far this season. Shanks is the only player in the CCIW that is averaging at least 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Through five games, Shanks is averaging 16.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per contest.
TITAN TRIO: Kendall Sosa, Sydney Shanks, and Riley Brovelli have been a three-headed monster for IWU's opposition so far this season. In fact, the trio are all ranked inside the CCIW top-15 in scoring. Sosa leads the league at 24.0 points a game, while Shanks sits fifth (16.0) and Brovelli is tied for 14th (11.8).
Moreover, Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage are the only teams in the league with three players inside the conference's top-15.
DOUBLE THE POLLS: Illinois Wesleyan finds itself ranked inside the d3hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top-25 polls heading into the Midwest Challenge. The Titans are slotted No. 21 in the d3hoops poll, while sit 24th in the WBCA Coaches' Poll.
ECK SPARKS IWU: In her first game of the season Catie Eck provided a serious spark off the bench for the Titans against UW-Whitewater, Nov. 23. Eck hit a pair of three-pointers, dished out four assists, grabbed two rebounds, and added a pair of blocks in just 17 minutes of action. The 5-foot-11 forward posted career highs in points, assists, and blocks. Additionally, her nine points were the most by a non-starter so far this season.
A LOOK AT THE ALL-TIME SERIES: Illinois Wesleyan has played this weekend's opponents a combined 49 times since the 1984-85 campaign. IWU is a combined 17-32 against Rose Hulman, DePauw, and WashU. The Titans lead in the series with RHIT 3-1, but trail against DePauw (8-10) and WashU (6-21) all-time.
SCOUTING REPORT - DEPAUW: The Tigers enter the week ranked 11th in both the d3hoops.com and WBCA polls. Like the Titans, DePauw rattled off four straight wins to open the season but saw its win streak snapped with a loss, Nov. 23. DU is 4-1 on the season following a 70-63 setback at Wisconsin Lutheran with wins over Earlham, UW-Steven Point, and UW-Whitewater.
Sydney Kopp and Claire Keefe shoulder a majority of the scoring for the Tigers. Kopp averaged a team-high 23.2 points per contest, followed by Keefe's 13.0 ppg. Kopp has also been big on the boards for DePauw, grabbing a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game. Hayley Cange and Keefe add 7.4 and 6.6. caroms a contest, respectively, as DU has outrebounded opponents 128-91 (+36).
SCOUTING REPORT - WASHU: The Bears have opened the season 3-0 with wins over Loras, Augustana, and Rhodes. WashU defeated Loras and Augie en route to winning the Duhawks' Tipoff Tournament, Nov. 15-16.
All five starters averaged 10+ points for the Bears with Kristina Schmelter leading the way with 14.0 points a night. Samantha Weaver has added 13.3 points per game, while Issabelle Hren (11.7), Sammi Matoush (10.7), and Molly Gannon (10.3) are also averaging double figures. Schmelter is also the team leading rebounder at 7.3 boards a game. Hren and Weaver add 6.7 and 6.3 rebounds per game, respectively.
ON THE HORIZON: IWU closes out its eight-game roadtrip with a midweek matchup at North Central Wednesday, Dec. 4. The Titans' College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip inside Gregory Arena.
