BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team wraps up its regular season home slate Wednesday night, Feb. 19, as host to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin foe North Central College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
Illinois Wesleyan is looking to bounce back from a pair of road losses last week and improve on its 15-8 overall record and 9-5 CCIW mark. The Titans dropped a 75-71 decision at Millikin, Feb. 12, before a comeback came up short at Wheaton, 80-72, Feb. 15. Meanwhile, North Central looks to maintain its recent success, having picked up wins over Augustana (56-54, Feb. 12) and Carroll (67-61, Feb. 15) last week. The Cardinals now sit at 11-12 overall and an even 7-7 in league play.
Fans can tune into the games via live stats or live stream, while Eric Stock and Marsha Moody will also have the call on 98.3 FM WEXG. Links on how to follow along can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
MUNROE'S MONSTER DAY: Junior point guard Samantha Munroe turned in a monster day across the board at Wheaton Saturday, Feb. 15. The St. Charles, Ill. native dropped 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, and hit four triples to go along with a team-high six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Her 20 points were a season-high and marked her seventh double-digit scoring effort of the season. Additionally, Munroe's six rebounds tied a career high, matching her total from IWU's games against Carroll earlier this season.
20/20 VISION: In Illinois Wesleyan's game at Wheaton Saturday, Feb. 15, juniors Samantha Munroe and Kendall Sosa paced the Titans with 20 points apiece. It marked the third time this season and just the seventh time since the start of the 2016-17 season, two players scored 20-or-more points in the same game.
Sosa dropped a game-high 26 points and Brooke Lansford added 20 points in IWU's win over Millikin, Jan. 4. Sosa and Sydney Shanks became the first teammates with 20+ points in the same game since Feb. 21, 2017 when they scored 25 and 20, respectively, in the Titans' 84-75 win against UW-Stout, Nov. 15.
IF THE CCIW TOURNAMENT BEGAN TODAY...: If the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament began today, the Titans would hold the No. 3 seed and play host to six-seeded Augustana next Tuesday, Feb. 25, in quarterfinals action.
Wheaton and North Park would hold the No. 1 and 2 seeds and receive byes into the semifinals. Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Millikin would host fifth-seeded North Central in the other quarterfinals matchup.
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE CARDINALS: Wednesday's CCIW contest between the Titans and Cardinals will serve as the 77th chapter in a history that dates back 40 years. Despite North Central winning the first seven showdowns, including an 81-76 win in the initial meeting in 1979, Illinois Wesleyan leads the all-time series 47-29. Additionally, IWU is 35-10 against NCC under the direction of Mia Smith.
The Titans thumped the Cardinals, 94-49, when the two teams tangled in their CCIW opener, Dec. 4, in Naperville. Katelyn Heller led IWU with 14 points, while four other players added double-digit scoring efforts.
SCOUTING REPORT - NORTH CENTRAL: North Central heads into league play with an 11-12 overall record under second-year head coach Maggie McCloskey-Bax. The Cardinals sit in fifth-place in the CCIW standings with a 7-7 league record, and have won two straight ahead of Wednesday night's rematch.
Alana Newsome and Allison Pearson pace the Cardinals offensively, averaging 12.4 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. Pearson is NCC's top three-point threat, having knocked down a team-best 37 triples on a 37.0 clip, and also paces the team with 56 assists and 28 steals. Natali Dimitrova's 5.4 rebounds per game lead North Central, while Lyndsay Brennan adds 9.0 ppg and 5.1 boards a contest.
As a team, North Central is shooting 36.5 percent from the floor and 33.7 from long range. The Cardinals are averaging 60.39 points per game and allowing 64.78 per contest, while also seeing opponents outrebound them 39.0-37.1.
HOME COOKING: In the 25-year history of the Shirk Center, IWU has won 233 of 307 of its games on its home court, good for a .759 win percentage. The Titans are 7-1 on Denny Bridges Court this season and had won nine straight home games from Jan. 16, 2019 to Jan. 18, 2020.
NEARING HISTORIC HIGHS: As a team, the Titans have recorded 102 blocks this season. The Titans' 102 rejections are third-most all-time and just five shy of the record set by the 2018-19 squad. Riley Brovelli has tallied 38 blocks, the second-most all-time, and the most since Shelby Jackson set the record with 43 during the 2013-14 campaign. Meanwhile, Catie Eck's 27 rejections are fifth-most in IWU single season laurels. Moreover, it marks the first time in program history two players have notched 25+ blocks in the same season.
Individually, junior Kendall Sosa has put together one of the most prolific scoring seasons by a Titan in program history. Through 23 games, she has scored 454 points, the 10th-most in single game history. Her 59 made three-pointers are 11th-most in single season annals.
BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME: Since beginning CCIW play, the Titans have taken their play to another level. With 12 league games under its belt IWU leads the conference in scoring (76.1 ppg), scoring margin (+10.5), field goal percentage (44.4), turnover margin (+4.00), assists (16.93 apg), and steals (10.64 spg).
Illinois Wesleyan also leads the league in attendance, as IWU averages 388 fans per home game. Augustana (301 pg) is the only other team in the conference bringing in more than 250 per game. Nationally, the Titans hold the 15th-best crowd average in all of Division III.
HOT SHOTS: Illinois Wesleyan has scored 1,694 points this season, the most of any team in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Additionally, IWU's season point total is 47th nationally. Meanwhile, the Titans 73.7 points per game is best in the league and 42nd in the country and their field goal percentage of 42.9 is 32nd nationally. Illinois Wesleyan is 13-3 when scoring 67-or-more points, compared to 2-5 when held under the 67-point mark.
THE 49TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan has compiled a 660-475 overall record. IWU's .580 all-time win percentage includes a 304-190 CCIW mark.
SHARING IS CARING: A key to the Titans success through 23 games of the season has been their selflessness. Illinois Wesleyan has dished out 385 assists, the most in the CCIW and the 21st-most in the country. IWU's 16.7 assists per game are 20th-best in the country.
ALL COMES DOWN TO CASHING IN: Free throws have been an indicator of the Titans' success in 2019-20. In fact, IWU is 9-1 when shooting 70 percent-or-better from the charity stripe compared to 6-7 when shooting less than 70 percent from the line. Additionally, Illinois Wesleyan is 10-2 when making 10-or-more free throws.
TRYING TO JOIN THE CLUB: With seven games to play in the regular season, junior Kendall Sosa is on the verge of becoming just the third Titan all-time to average 20+ points per game for a season. Currently, the junior guard owns a 19.7 points per game average, the best in the CCIW and the 25th-best nationally.
Should Sosa break the 20-point plateau, she will join Lila Naffziger and Olivia Lett as the only other Titans to average 20+ ppg for a season. Naffziger did so in 1979-80, averaging a program record 25.4 ppg, and Lett (21.8 ppg) accomplished the feat in 2011-12.
I'LL TAKE THREE-POINTERS FOR 100, ALEX: In Illinois Wesleyan's game against Wheaton, Jan. 22, junior Kendall Sosa became the 15th player in IWU history with 100+ career three-pointers made. Currently, the Bloomington, Ill. native's 116 career three-pointers are nine behind Nina Anderson's 13th-ranked total of 125. Mallory Heydorn holds the program record with 281 career triples from 2005 to 2009.
ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan wraps up the regular season Saturday, Feb. 22, at Carthage College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will serve as the first leg of a doubleheader with the IWU men's basketball team.
