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Kelly Carlson Women's Basketball
87
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 3-2,0-0 CCIW
55
Eureka EUREKA 1-3,0-0 SLIAC
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
3-2,0-0 CCIW
87
Final
55
Eureka EUREKA
1-3,0-0 SLIAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 8 32 23 24 87
Eureka EUREKA 10 13 20 12 55

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Surges Past Red Devils

Titans move to 3-2 on the season

EUREKA, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team shook off a slow start to earn a 87-55 road win at Eureka College Tuesday night, Nov. 22. With the win, the Titans moved to 3-2 on the season as the Red Devils dropped to 1-3.

Senior Kelly Carlson (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) put together a career night as she provided a spark off the bench, while sophomore Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) caught fire in the second half en route to a strong performance. Carlson finished the game 7-of-7 from the floor for a career-high 14 points. She also pulled in six rebounds, while adding two steals, three assists, and a block. Palmer topped the Titans with a career-best 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, highlighted by five three-pointers.

Senior Katelyn Heller (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard West) and sophomore Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) also finished in double figures. Heller put up 18 points and dished out a career-high seven assists, while Huber atallied 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds.

The Titans rebounded from a slow first quarter to finish 36-for-66 (54.5 percent) from the floor. The Green and White hit 6-of-18 three-point tries and went 9-for-18 at the free throw line. Defensively, IWU limited Eureka to 18-for-53 from the floor and 4-of-15 from beyond the arc. 

Illinois Wesleyan owned a 43-32 lead in rebounding, forced 26 turnovers, and tallied 16 steals. IWU compiled a 26-14 edge in points off turnovers, 16 of which came in the second quarter alone, while also earning a 17-4 lead in second chance points. Behind the strong play of Carlson, the IWU bench outscored the EC bench 28-9 and dominated the paint, 54-26.

Turnovers made it hard for the Titans to find its footing early on, allowing the Red Devils to fight to a 6-2 lead. Junior Caite Knutson (Maryville, Ill.-Collinsville) drove to the basket for a hard-earned layup to bring IWU within a bucket as Head Coach Mia Smith called a timeout with 4:45 to go in the period.

A four-point spurt by the Green and White was capped by a shifty drive from Heller to keep Eureka's lead to two, 10-8, into the second quarter.

Illinois Wesleyan saw a strong start to the new period as freshman Sara Balli (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) kicked to Carlson for a layup, leveling the score at 10 all.

After tenacious defense from Knutson forced a five-second call on the Red Devils, Huber kicked out on an offensive rebound for a three-ball by Palmer to give IWU its first lead of the night. The three-pointer lifted the Green and White to a 17-14 edge with 7:23 to go in the quarter.

A give-and-go from Heller to Huber was followed by Knutson's second steal of the night as Eureka failed to break the daunting run-and-jump press. After picking off the pass, Knutson quickly fired ahead for a pull-up jumper by Heller. The quick run by the Titans brought about an EC timeout with IWU in front, 27-21, with 4:19 remaining in the half.

Illinois Wesleyan continued to control the game from there, as Carlson stuck a putback to stretch the lead to double-digits. With Carlson continuing to hammer the boards IWU saw its lead grow to 15, before Heller beat the buzzer to send IWU into the half with a 40-23 stronghold.

The Titans continued to build on the lead in the second half and never looked back, leaving Bonati Bollwinkle Arena with an 87-55 victory. 

Illinois Wesleyan heads across state lines for the annual Midwest Challenge Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 26-27. The rotating tournament will be hosted by DePauw University, and will see the Titans tangle with the 24th-ranked Tigers Saturday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. ET. On Sunday, IWU will take on either Washington University in St. Louis or Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. 

 
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