BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team begins its 2021-22 campaign with a two-game roadtrip to Ohio this weekend, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 12-13. The Titans open the season against Wittenberg University Friday night, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. ET in Springfield, Ohio. IWU then battles Capital University Saturday, Nov 13, at 4 p.m. ET in Columbus, Ohio.
Fans can tune into the game via live stats or live stream. Links on how to follow along can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

IWU IN SEASON OPENERS: Illinois Wesleyan holds a 25-24-1 record in season openers all-time, highlighted by a 13-10 mark under head coach Mia Smith. Additionally, IWU has won five of its past seven season openers dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.

KICKING THINGS OFF ON THE ROAD: Friday's season-opener at Wittenberg will mark the first time Illinois Wesleyan will begin a season on the road since 2019-20. In that season, the Titans took down Governors State, 78-71. Kendall Sosa led IWU with 29 points, while Riley Brovelli went for 11 points and 11 rebounds. Sydney Shanks added 19 points, and Kaia Bowen added eight points and four rebounds off the bench.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: This weekend's games between Illinois Wesleyan and Wittenberg and Capital will be the first-ever meetings between IWU and the two Ohio-based schools. In fact, the last time the Titans tangled with an Ohio school came back in 2017, when IWU topped Oberlin, 79-52, in the opening game of the Colorado College Holiday Classic, Dec. 29.
    Additionally, IWU's last trip to the state of Ohio came in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division III Tournament, when IWU was bounced by Trine, 63-56, in Ada, Ohio, March 3.

THE 51ST YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, now in its 50th year of women's basketball, has compiled a 671-480 overall record. IWU's .583 all-time win percentage includes a 309-193 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

THE DEAN OF THE CCIW: The 2021-21 season marks the 24th year under the direction of Mia Smith, the longest tenured coach in the CCIW. Smith's 438 wins are the most among active CCIW coaches by more than 150. Additionally, Smith's CCIW wins are the third-most in league history.
    Under the tutelage of Smith, IWU has won eight CCIW Championships and made nine NCAA Tournament appearances. The Titans won the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship following a fourth-place finish in 2011.

OH, CAPTAIN!: IWU'S Captains for this season are the three seniors, Brooke Lansford, Kaia Bowen, and Catie Eck. Lansford has been a two-year starter at the point guard position, while averaging nine points and three assists in the previous two seasons. Bowen has appeared in almost every game in the past two seasons, bringing energy off the bench and grabbing around four rebounds per game. Eck has appeared in almost every game the past two seasons as well, boasting an impressive 1.2 blocks per game and a 89 percent career free throw percentage.

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS: The Titans battled Division I Eastern Illinois in an exhibition game Nov. 3 at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Ill. Illinois Wesleyan trailed by just six points at halftime and gained quality experience against a Division I foe.
Brooke Lansford led the Green and White with 12 points and seven assists, while freshman Mallory Powers went 4-for-8 from the field, 3-of-4 from distance, en route to 11 points. Fellow freshman Lauren Huber added nine points and four rebounds, while junior Kelly Carlson grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
A bright spot for the Titans in the game was its strong shooting from three-point range. IWU went 10-of-25 from the long line, with Lansford and Powers hitting three triples apiece. Catie Eck, Huber, Kate Palmer, and Emily Collins added one three-pointer each.

NEW FACES: The Titans welcome in a talented freshmen class for the 2021-22 season. Lauren Huber, Mallory Powers, Abby Spencer, and Kate Palmer make up an exciting recruiting class.

SHOES  TO FILL: With the loss of Riley Brovelli, Anna Lowis, Samantha Munroe, and Kendall Sosa to graduation, the Titans will turn to key returners and a talented group of underclassmen in 2021-22. The 2021 graduating class accounted for 68.8 percent of Illinois Wesleyan's scoring last season, as well as 53.5 percent of the team's rebounding.

OUT WITH THE NEW, IN WITH THE OLD: Head coach Mia Smith swapped one Ehresman out for another this offseason, as Rebekah Ehresman-Mounce was replaced with her older brother Brian Ehresman. The younger Ehresman was a standout player for Smith from 2014-18 and one of the program's most decorated players. Brian Ehresman came to IWU from Illinois State, where he served on staff for several seasons in various roles. A four-year letterwinner as a three-year starter at Greenville, he led the Panthers to back-to-back regular season St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Championships in 2016 and 2017, and was on named to the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship team in 2017.

WHY PLAY ONE SPORT WHEN YOU CAN PLAY TWO?: Illinois Wesleyan features four multi-sport athletes, all of which are juniors. Katelyn Heller is also a member of the IWU women's tennis team, while Megan Moody is on the Titan women's golf team. Claire Retherford is a thrower for IWU's women's track and field team, and Kelly Carlson is a defender for the Titan women's lacrosse team.