NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- For the second straight season and the ninth time under head coach Mia Smith, the Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team reached the 20-win mark with a 78-68 win at North Central College on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Gregory Arena in Naperville, Ill.

The No. 17-ranked Titans improved to 20-4 overall and 13-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. IWU will be the No. 2 seed in the CCIW postseason tournament and will play at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, in the semifinals held at Wheaton College. Go here to see tournament schedule.
North Central fell to 7-17 overall and 5-10 in the league.

Senior Maddie Merritt went 8 of 14 from the field and made 9 of 10 free throws to finish with 26 points and 12 rebounds to pace IWU while senior Ashley Schneider scored 18 points and had six rebounds.
Senior Nina Anderson and sophomore Raven Hughes each had six rebounds as the Titans had a 47-39 edge on the boards over the Cardinals.

As has happened on several occasions this season, a strong third quarter propelled the Titans to victory after a sluggish start. North Central led by a 20-19 score after one quarter and the teams were square at 31-31 at halftime. Then the Titans stepped on the gas, using an 11-0 surge to get a 50-35 lead and outscored the Cardinals 24-8 in the third period to enjoy a 55-39 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

Allison Pearson led North Central with 22 points with Page Desenberg and Tyonne Howard getting 15 and 10 points, respectively.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan closes out its regular season at Carroll University in a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 16, in Waukesha, Wis. ... The Pioneers are 9-15 overall and 4-11 in the CCIW.