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IWU AT WHEATON
Kodiak Creative
65
Illinois Wesleyan IWU 6-5
71
Winner Pacific University PACW 7-3
Illinois Wesleyan IWU
6-5
65
Final
71
Pacific University PACW
7-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Illinois Wesleyan IWU 15 14 23 13 65
Pacific University PACW 17 15 23 16 71

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Hoops Edged by Boxers

Huber records 24-point, 11-rebound double-double

FOREST GROVE, Ore. -The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team saw a fourth-quarter lead slip away at Pacific University Friday night, Dec. 31. The Titans (6-6, 3-0 CCIW), who led by three with 4:45 to play, were downed by the Boxers (8-3), 71-65, inside the Stoller Center. 

Freshman Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) posted a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double to top the Titans in both categories. Senior Brooke Lansford (Leawood, Kan.-Blue Valley West) added 15 points and six rebounds, while senior Catie Eck (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart Griffin) notched 11 points with a trio of three-pointers. Freshman Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) tallied seven points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while junior Katelyn Heller (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard West) finished with a team-high four steals and a career-high three blocks to go along with six points. 

Overall, IWU 25-of-67 from the field (37.3 percent) and 7-for-18 (38.9 percent) from three-point range. The Green and White finished a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, where the Boxers went 10-for-16. Pacific used a strong second half to finish 43 percent from the floor. PU also hit nine three-pointers on 30 attempts (30 percent). 

The home team held a 42-39 edge in rebounds, but IWU held the upperhand in second chance points, 16-11. Illinois Wesleyan tallied nine steals to four by Pacific, and the Green and White recorded four blocks to PU's one. 

Illinois Wesleyan held Pacific scoreless for the first two minutes of the contest, eventually snatching an 8-3 advantage on Lansford's jumper with 5:48 to play in the opening period. 

After the Boxers battled back to tie the game at 12, Lansford hit a pull-up three-pointer. The triple put IWU up 15-14 with five seconds left in the period, but a foul led to three free throws for PU to give the home team a 17-15 edge after 10 minutes.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Palmer and Eck gave Illinois Wesleyan a 23-22 lead with 7:15 remaining in the half. Following a 6-0 Pacific run, the Green and White tightened up defensively as IWU held the Boxers without a field goal for the last four minutes and 17 seconds of the half. With Pacific's only points coming at the free throw line, the Titans cut into the Boxers' lead on Huber's layup to pull within two, 31-29, at the break.

Pacific came out of the half strong, quickly finding some consistent offense to take its largest lead of the game, 41-33, nearly three minutes into the third quarter. Illinois Wesleyan came back strong though, relying on the three-ball to erase the deficit and grab a three-point lead at the 5:26 media timeout. Eck ended the Boxers' run with a three-ball and Heller added a strong driving layup before Palmer flipped to Lansford at the top of the key for a game-tying three-pointer. Just as the 11-0 IWU run began, Eck capped it with another three-ball, this time in front of a rowdy Titan bench. The triple gave Illinois Wesleyan a 44-41 advantage and forced a Pacific timeout with 5:26 remaining in the period.

The Green and White extended its lead to as many as seven, but the Boxers clawed back once again. Pacific beat the buzzer with a baseline three-pointer to take a 55-52 lead after 30 minutes of action.

In the fourth quarter, the Green and White reclaimed the lead, 58-57, on Huber's jumper. A second chance three-ball from Lansford later extended IWU's lead to four, 61-57, before the Titans took a 63-60 advantage into the 4:45 media timeout. 

A three-minute scoring drought by both teams ended with a bucket by the Boxers, giving Pacific a 65-63 lead. IWU answered with a reverse layup from Heller, but a home-team bounce high off the rim fell through for a three-pointer to put Pacific up 65-63. The Boxers pushed their lead to six on a triple from the wing with 15.1 seconds remaining, capping a 6-0 run over the final 1:20.

IWU begins the New Year with another road game, this time traveling to Elmhurst University Wednesday, Jan. 5. The Titans and Bluejays are scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

 
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