ELMHURST, Ill. – A big second half gave the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team its 300th all-time College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory Wednesday night, Jan. 15, at Elmhurst College. The Titans and Bluejays were tied at 38 all with 3:28 to play in the third quarter, but IWU used a 33-8 run to put Elmhurst away, 71-46.
With the win, the Titans remain in first-place in the CCIW at 5-1 and are 11-4 overall. The Bluejays fell to 6-9 on the season and 1-5 in league games.
Four double-digit scorers led a balanced offensive effort for the Titans. Junior
Kendall Sosa (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community) paced all players with a game-high 19 points, while junior
Catie Eck (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) added 16 points off the bench. Sophomore
Brooke Lansford (Leawood, Kan.-Blue Valley West) and junior
Riley Brovelli (Oglesby, Ill.-LaSalle-Peru) chipped in 10 points each.
Junior
Anna Lowis (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds for her third straight game with 10-or-more boards. Lowis along with Brovelli's eight caroms led the Titans to a 50-37 rebounding advantage.
A 5-0 run to end the first quarter washed away a rocky start and left the game tied at 11-11 through 10 minutes of play. Five different Titans scored in the opening frame, while Lowis grabbed five rebounds to keep the Bluejays at bay.
Illinois Wesleyan picked it up in the second period, leading by as many as nine, before back-to-back buckets in the final 24 seconds of the half cut its lead to four, 27-23, into the break.
The Titans gained some separation in the third quarter behind an 11-0 run over the final four minutes of the frame to take control, 49-38. Lowis found Brovelli for a layup before the buzzer to cap a 22-point quarter for IWU.
Illinois Wesleyan continued to roll in the final stanza, scoring the first eight points of the period before besting the Bluejays, 71-46. IWU held a significant advantage shooting from the floor, finishing at 40.8 percent while Elmhurst was at 26.2 percent. The Titans also dominated in the paint and fast break points against the Bluejays, outscoring them 32-12 and 22-2, respectively.
Next up for the Titans is a trip to Wisconsin to face off against CCIW foe Carroll University. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. as the first leg of a doubleheader with the IWU men's basketball team.
