BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play continues for the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team Wednesday night, Feb. 5, when Elmhurst College pays a visit to the Shirk Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Titans got back on track with a 73-57 win over Carroll, Feb. 1, to push their record to 13-6 overall and 7-3 in CCIW play. Meanwhile, Elmhurst dropped its third straight game in heartbreaking fashion to stumble to 7-13 on the season and 2-9 in league games. The Bluejays 63-60 loss to Wheaton, Feb. 1, marked their seventh setback in eight games.
Fans can tune into the games via live stats or live stream, while Derek Bohlmann 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.
PINK ZONE: Illinois Wesleyan raised nearly $3000 as part of its 13th annual Pink Zone game Saturday, Feb. 1. The proceeds will be donated to the local community cancer center.
HIGH FIVE: For the third time this season, all five starters notched double-digit points in Illinois Wesleyan's CCIW win over Carroll, Feb. 1. Brooke Lansford led a balanced showing by the Titans with a game-high 13 points, while Sydney Shanks, Samantha Munroe, and Kendall Sosa added 12 points each. Riley Brovelli rounded things out with 10 points of her own. It is just the fourth time IWU has accomplished the feat since a 115-106 win at North Central Jan. 22, 2014.
BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME: Since beginning CCIW play, the Titans have taken their play to another level. With 10 league games under their belts IWU leads the conference in scoring (75.4 ppg), scoring margin (+11.5), field goal percentage (43.7), offensive rebounds (14.0 orpg), turnover margin (+3.50), assists (17.2 apg), and steals (10.7 spg).
Illinois Wesleyan also leads the league in attendance, as IWU averages 378 fans per home game. Augustana (306 pg) is the only other team in the conference bringing in more than 215 per game. Nationally, the Titans hold the 11th-best crowd average in all of Division III.
HOME COOKING: In the 25-year history of the Shirk Center, IWU has won 231 of 305 of its games on its home court, good for a .756 win percentage. The Titans are 5-1 on Denny Bridges Court this season and had won nine straight home games from Jan. 16, 2019 to Jan. 18, 2020.
ONE OF A HANDFUL: Junior Kendall Sosa has put together quite a season through 19 games. In addition to leading Illinois Wesleyan in scoring, Sosa is the only player in the country to hold a shooting percentage line of at least 45-35-88.
The Bloomington, Ill. native is converting 45.1 percent of her shot attempts, 39.4 percent of her three-pointers, and is shooting 88.7 percent at the free throw line, the eighth-best mark in the nation. She checks in at eighth in Division III in free throw percentage, is slotted 55th in three-point field goal percentage, and sits 155th in overall field goal percentage.
BATTLING THE BLUEJAYS: Wednesday night's midweek matchup will mark the 75th all-time meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Elmhurst since the two first tangled during the 1981-82 campaign. The Bluejays took the first meeting, 75-67, but the Titans own a 58-16 edge in the all-time series and have won eight straight against Elmhurst.
Most recently, IWU recorded its 300th CCIW victory with a 71-46 win at R.A. Faganel Hall, Jan. 15. Four double-digit scorers led a balanced offensive effort for the Titans. Kendall Sosa paced all players with a game-high 19 points, while Catie Eck added 16 points off the bench. Brooke Lansford and Riley Brovelli chipped in 10 points each.
SCOUTING REPORT - ELMHURST: Elmhurst travels to the Shirk Center with a 7-13 overall record, including a 2-9 mark in CCIW play. The Bluejays, who have lost seven of their last eight games, have picked up conference wins against Carroll and Millikin.
Kween Jean paces the Bluejays with 11.4 points per game and 7.2 rebounds a contest. Courtney O'Donnell follows closely at 9.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Elmhurst has struggled to sustain consistency on offense, averaging just 57.2 points per game. The Bluejays are shooting 35.6 percent from the floor and 27.5 percent from three-point range, and have seen their scoring struggles plagued by 17.8 turnovers a game. Elmhurst is giving up 67.5 points a contest and has seen opponents shoot 41.6 percent from the floor and 33.5 percent from distance.
HOT SHOTS: Illinois Wesleyan has scored 1,383 points this season, the third-most of any team in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Additionally, IWU's season point total is 71st nationally. Meanwhile, the Titans 72.8 points per game is best in the league and 53rd in the country.
Illinois Wesleyan is 11-1 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 the only team in the conference with four players ranked inside the CCIW top-15 in scoring. Sosa tops the league at 19.6 points a game, while Shanks sits eighth (12.6), Brovelli is 11th (11.3), and Lansford is tied or 15th (10.2).
THE 49TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan has compiled a 658-473 overall record. IWU's .581 all-time win percentage includes a 302-188 CCIW mark.
SHARING IS CARING: A key to the Titans success through 19 games of the season has been their selflessness. Illinois Wesleyan has dished out 320 assists, the second-most in the CCIW and the 31st-most in the country. IWU's 16.8 assists per game are 22nd-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 8-1 when shooting 70 percent-or-better from the charity stripe compared to 5-5 when shooting less than 70 percent from the line. Additionally, Illinois Wesleyan is 9-1 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 19.6 points per game average, the best in the CCIW and the 30th-best nationally.
Should Sosa maintain her pace, 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.
ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan wraps up its homestand with a rematch against Augustana Saturday, Feb. 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be the first leg of a doubleheader with the IWU men's basketball team.
