BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Returning to the court for the first time in nearly two weeks, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team travels to Belton, Texas to take on fifth-ranked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday, Dec. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Mayborn Campus Center.
Illinois Wesleyan looks to rebound from a tough 86-80 loss at Augustana, Dec. 15. The loss snapped the Titans' three-game win streak and dropped their record to 8-3 on the year. No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor carries a seven-game win streak into Saturday's showdown with IWU and sits at 7-1 on the season. Most recently, UMHB cruised past Rhodes 78-60 in Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 15.
Links on how to follow along can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
WHAT A DECADE IT HAS BEEN: IWU has compiled a 211-76 record in the current decade, good for a .735 win percentage since the calendar turned to 2010. Over the course of the decade, the Titans have made six NCAA Tournament appearances, highlighted by winning the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2012. Additionally, IWU has claimed five CCIW titles and posted four 20-win seasons.
NO NEED FOR WINDEX, BROVELLI CLEANS THE GLASS: Junior Riley Brovelli followed up a 15-rebound performance against UW-Stevens Point Dec. 9 with 14 boards at Augustana, Dec. 15. Brovelli's 29 rebounds over a two-game span are the most since Christina Solari grabbed 30 from March 1-7, 2008. Solari tallied 15 boards to lift IWU past Millikin in the CCIW Tournament Championship, March 1, before matching the total in the Titans' 111-77 rout of Maryville in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
ALL COMES DOWN TO CASHING IN: Free throws have been an indicator of the Titans' success early on in 2019-20. In fact, IWU is 5-0 when shooting 70 percent-or-better from the charity stripe compared to 3-3 when shooting less than 70 percent from the line. Additionally, Illinois Wesleyan is 6-1 when making 10-or-more free throws.
STOCKING STUFFER: Kendall Sosa recorded her fourth 20-point game of the season with a 29-point effort at Augustana, Dec. 15. In addition to leading IWU in scoring, Sosa tallied six assists and added a season-best five steals to go along with four rebounds.
For the season, the 5-foot-9 guard leads the conference and ranks 24th nationally with 73 field goals made. She also tops the conference in free throw percentage, where her 90.7 clip is 20th-best in the country. Sosa is also ranked inside Division III's top-50 in points per game (34th - 19.5) and three-pointers made (11th - 30).
IWU IN THE LONESTAR STATE: Illinois Wesleyan will make its return to Texas for the first time since the 2013-14 season when it travels to Belton to take on No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor, Dec. 28. IWU is 3-3 in the state of Texas since the 2000-01 season.
In its last trek to the Lonestar State, IWU split a pair of games at the Trinity Classic, Dec. 28-29, 2013. The Titans bested Howard Payne 93-87 in overtime before falling to Trinity, 86-71.
BATTLING THE BEST: The latest D3hoops.com poll, which was released Dec. 15 included four teams on the Titans' 2019-20 schedule. In addition to No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor, IWU has squared off against No. 8 DePauw, No. 19 UW-Whitewater, and No. 20 Chicago this season, compiling a 1-2 record.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Illinois Wesleyan and Mary Hardin-Baylor will meet on the hardwood for the first time ever Saturday, Dec. 28.
It will also mark just the second time in program history that the Titans will face an American Southwest Conference member. The only other time IWU clashed with an ASC institution was when the Titans edged Howard Payne 93-87, Dec. 28, 2013.
SCOUTING REPORT - MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR: Fifth-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor rides a seven-game win streak into its bout with Illinois Wesleyan, and sits at 7-1 on the season. Since dropping its season opener to Wayland Baptist, UMHB has rattled off seven straight wins to break into the top-10 in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Top-25 Polls.
Hannah Holt leads a trio of double-digit scorers for the Cru, as Holt pours in a team-best 17.4 points per contest. She also leads UMHB in steals (14) and ranks third on the team with 4.9 rebounds a game. Also in double figures scoring is Kendall Rollins (12.0 ppg) and Allaira Jones (11.8). Rollin is the team's top three-point threat with 13 made triples this season, while Jones paces the team with 8.1 rebounds a game.
FINDING HER STRIDE: After a relatively slow start to the season, sophomore point guard Brooke Lansford has found her stride as of late. The Leawood, Kan. product is amid a eight-game streak in which she has scored 10-or-more points. Additionally, she has tallied three-or-more assists in each of the past five games.
Over the past five games, Lansford is averaging 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per contest.
CLIMBING THE LADDER: With her 15-point, 14-rebound performance at Augustana, Dec. 15, Riley Brovelli notched her seventh double-double of the season, and the eighth of her career. Her seven double-doubles lead the conference and rank fifth-most nationally. Additionally, she sixth on IWU's all-time double-double list and has posted the most double-doubles in a season since Christina Solari notched eight in the 2009-10 season.
BEAST MODE: Junior Riley Brovelli was a beast in Illinois Wesleyan's win over UW-Stevens Point, Dec. 9. The 6-foot-1 forward dropped a career-high 21 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to lead IWU. Brovelli's 15 boards are tied for 18th-most in Illinois Wesleyan history and are the most by a Titan since Lexi Baltes grabbed 16 against Howard Payne, Dec. 28, 2013.
TITAN TRIO QUARTET: Kendall Sosa, Sydney Shanks, Riley Brovelli, and Brooke Lansford have lead the Titans' offense this season. In fact, IWU is the only team in the conference with four players ranked inside the CCIW top-18 in scoring. Sosa tops the league at 19.5 points a game, while Shanks sits eighth (12.8), Brovelli is ninth (12.2), and Lansford is tied for 18th (9.9). IWU is also the only CCIW school with three players ranked inside the league's top-10 in scoring.
THE 49TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, now in its 49th year of women's basketball, has compiled a 651-469 overall record. IWU's .582 all-time win percentage includes a 297-186 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.
SHARING IS CARING: A key to the Titans success through the first 11 games of the season has been their selflessness. Illinois Wesleyan has dished out 193 assists, the second-most in the CCIW and the sixth-most in the country. IWU's 17.5 assists per game are 18th-best in the country, while Sydney Shanks (52th - 42 assists), Samantha Munroe (117th - 35 assists), and Brooke Lansford (191st - 31) sit inside the nation's top-200 in dimes as of Dec. 22.
DIALING IN FROM LONG DISTANCE: Illinois Wesleyan has not just been one of the better three-point shooting teams in the conference this season, but the Titans are one of the best in the country. IWU ranks fourth in the league and 38th nationally with a three-point field goal percentage of 35.6, while its 80 made triples are 27th-best nationally.
Individually, Kendall Sosa ranks second in the conference and is slotted seventh in the country with 28 made three-pointers. Meanwhile, her 43.1 clip beyond the arc is 51st-best in the nation.
ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan is back in action after the New Year when the Titans host Millikin in CCIW play, Jan. 4. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. inside the Shirk Center and will be the first part of a double feature with the IWU men's basketball team.
