BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The regular season comes to a close with a trip to Tarble Arena Saturday, Feb. 22, as the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team travels to Kenosha, Wis. for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin clash with Carthage College. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will serve as the first leg of a doubleheader with the IWU men's basketball team.
    Illinois Wesleyan looks to build off a 90-63 win over North Central, Feb. 19, and improve its standing in next week's CCIW Tournament. IWU currently sits tied for second in the league with a 10-5 CCIW record and is 16-8 overall. On the flipside, Carthage is trying to claw its way into the conference tourney as it currently sits on the outside looking in at 11-13 overall, 6-9 CCIW. The Lady Reds have lost two straight, most recently a 75-73 heartbreaking setback versus Elmhurst, Feb. 19.
    Fans can tune into the games via live stats or live stream, while Eric Stock 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.

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 sixth-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, as NPU would nab the second seed by virtue of the tiebreaker of IWU. Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Millikin would host fifth-seeded North Central in the other quartefinals matchup.

SWIPERS KEEP SWIPING: Illinois Wesleyan racked up 21 steals in its win over North Central, Feb. 19, tying for the 10th-most in IWU single game history. The Titans' 21 thefts were their most since snatching 23 at North Park, Jan. 13, 2018. 
    Sydney Shanks led the Titans with nine steals, tying a career-high that ranks third-most in IWU single game laurels. Riley Brovelli added four swipes, Samantha Munroe and Catie Eck collected two, and Brooke Lansford, Kendall Sosa, Anna Lowis, and Kaia Bowen grabbed one each.

COUGHING IT UP LIKE A BAD WINTER COLD: Illinois Wesleyan forced 31 North Central turnovers, Feb. 19, a season-high for the Cardinals. The 31 miscues were the most IWU has forced this season. Additionally, NCC's 31 miscues were its most since committing 35 against the Titans, Jan. 24, 2018. Illinois Wesleyan turned NCC's 31 miscues into 23 points.

20/20 VISION: In Illinois Wesleyan's game against North Central Wednesday, Feb. 19, Sydney Shanks tied a career-high with 26 points and Kendall Sosa added 22 points in a win over the Cardinals. It marked the fourth time this season and the eighth time since the start of the 2016-17 season, two players scored 20-or-more points in the same game.  
    Sosa and fellow junior Samantha Munroe scored 20 apiece at Wheaton, Feb. 15. Prior to that, 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.

SWIPER KEEPS SWIPING: For the fourth straight season, Illinois Wesleyan will close out the regular season away from home. The Titans have won their past two regular season finales, a 63-48 triumph at Carroll, Feb. 16, 2019, and an 82-61 toppling of Elmhurst, Feb. 20, 2018.

ALL-TIME LEDGER AGAINST THE LADY REDS: Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage have met on the hardwood 73 times ahead of Saturday's CCIW clash with IWU holding a 45-28 lead in the all-time series. The Titans have won 10 straight against the Lady Reds, including a rare three-game sweep during the 2018-19 campaign.
    Illinois Wesleyan held off Carthage 62-61 on a late bucket by Sydney Shanks when the two teams tangled in Bloomington, Dec. 7, 2019. Kendall Sosa led the Titans with 16 points, Shanks added 15 and 12 boards, and Riley Brovelli contributed an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. Brooke Lansford also finished in double-digit scoring with 12 points, while also tallying a team-high five assists.

SCOUTING REPORT - CARTHAGE: Carthage plays host to Illinois Wesleyan with its CCIW Tournament hopes lying in the balance. The Lady Reds are 11-13 on the season, 6-9 in league play, and currently sit on the outside looking in when it comes to the conference tournament.
    Autumn Kalis and Sammie Woodward lead Carthage with 16.9 and 16.3 points per game, respectively. Kalis ranks third on the team with 4.8 rebounds per contests, while Woodward is the squad's top distributor with 3.0 assists per contest. The duo has also combined for 121 of Carthage's 169 three-pointers on the season.
    As a team, the Lady Reds are shooting 39.5 percent from the floor, 35.2 percent from three-point range, and 75.1 percent at the free throw line. Carthage is averaging 62.79 points per game and has held the opposition to 61.33 ppg, but has been outrebounded 36.5-35.4 on average.

NEARING HISTORIC HIGHS: As a team, the Titans have recorded 106 blocks this season. The Titans' 106 rejections are second-most all-time and just one 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 29 rejections are fourth-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 24 games, she has scored 474 points, tied for sixth-most in single season history. Her 61 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 15 league games under its belt IWU leads the conference in scoring (77.0 ppg), scoring margin (+11.6), field goal percentage (44.9),  turnover margin (+4.53), assists (17.27 apg), and steals (11.33 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 260 per game. Nationally, the Titans hold the 15th-best crowd average in all of Division III.

HOT SHOTS: Illinois Wesleyan has scored 1,784 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 74.3 points per game is best in the league and 42nd in the country and their field goal percentage of 43.3 is 32nd nationally.
    Illinois Wesleyan is 14-3 when scoring 67-or-more points, compared to 2-5 when held under the 67-point mark.

TITAN TRIO QUARTET: Kendall Sosa, Sydney Shanks, Riley Brovelli, and Brooke Lansford have lead the Titans' offense this season. In fact, IWU is one of two teams in the conference with four players ranked inside the CCIW top-20 in scoring. Sosa tops the league at 19.8 points a game, while Shanks sits eighth (12.5), Brovelli (10.1) is in 18th, and Lansford (9.9) is slotted 20th.

THE 49TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan has compiled a 661-475 overall record. IWU's .594 all-time win percentage includes a 305-190 CCIW mark.

SHARING IS CARING: A key to the Titans success through 24 games of the season has been their selflessness. Illinois Wesleyan has dished out 407 assists, the most in the CCIW and the 21st-most in the country. IWU's 17.0 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 19.8 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 118 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 turns its attention to the CCIW Tournament following Saturday's game. If the Titans climb into the No. 2 seed, IWU will receive a bye to the semifinals, which will be played on the campus of Wheaton College Friday, Feb. 28. If Illinois Wesleyan is the third or fourth seed, it will host a quarterfinals game Tuesday evening, Feb. 25.