BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team travels across state lines for the 29th annual Midwest Challenge Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 26-27. The rotating tournament will be hosted by DePauw University inside Neal Fieldhouse in Greencastle, Ind. IWU will take on the host Tigers at 2 p.m. ET Saturday, while Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will tangle with Washington University in St. Louis at 4 p.m. ET.
    The Titans, winners of back-to-back games, enter the weekend 3-2 on the season following wins over Capital University and Eureka College. DePauw holds an even 2-2 record ahead of the tournament, most recently defeating the University of Dubuque, 74-49, Nov. 19. RHIT and WashU are both perfect on the season, with the Fightin' Engineers sitting at 2-0 and the Bears at 3-0. RHIT's two wins came out east, where Rose-Hulman won games at Penn State Altoona and Mount Aloysius College. WashU heads to Indiana after outlasting No. 14 Millikin University, 72-66, in overtime of the McWilliams Classic Championship, Nov. 19.
    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.

MIDWEST CHALLENGE: The Midwest Challenge is back for its 29th go-around. The annual rotating tournament began in 1993 and featured IWU, WashU, and DePauw. The tournament expanded to include Blackburn, Illinois College, Bluffton, Franklin, Beloit, Thomas More, Kalamazoo, Coe, Central, Hendrix, and Olivet over the years but has featured this year's field every season since 2017.
WashU has seen the most success in the tournament, winning the weekend 15 times. DePauw has six wins in the tournament's history, while IWU has five.
    Illinois Wesleyan is looking to win the Midwest Challenge for the first time since 2018, while DePauw won last year's rendition.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Illinois Wesleyan holds a combined record of 18-34 against Rose-Hulman, DePauw, and WashU all-time. The Titans hold a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Fightin' Engineers, but trail in the all-time series with DePauw (11-8) and WashU (22-6).
    Illinois Wesleyan fell in both games of the 2021 tournament, hosted at the Shirk Center. IWU was bested by Rose-Hulman, 69-64, before dropping the third-place game, 83-72, to WashU.

KP FOR THREEEEEEEE: In Illinois Wesleyan's win at Eureka, Kate Palmer found her stride from beyond the arc. The sophomore sharpshooter went 7-for-10 from the floor, including 5-for-7 from distance, en route to a career-high 21 points. Of her 21 points, Palmer scored 18 of them in the second half. Her five threes are the most by a Titan since Brooke Lansford made six in IWU's win over Carthage Feb. 5, 2022.

SPARK OFF THE BENCH: The Green and White entered Tuesday's game at Eureka in dire need of a spark off the bench. Through IWU's first four games, the Titan bench had been outscored 98-55 by its counterpart.
    Illinois Wesleyan found that spark Tuesday night by way of senior Kelly Carlson, who came off the bench for a career night. Carlson dropped a career-high 14 points, going a perfect 7-for-7, as she was rewarded for hitting the glass hard. Carlson pulled in a season-high seven boards, four of which came on the offensive end. She added two steals, one of which led to a coast-to-coast layup, and tallied three assists and a block. Behind the play of Carlson, IWU compiled a 28-5 lead in bench scoring.

TRUE ROAD WIN: The Titans earned their first "true" road win of the season Tuesday, Nov. 22, at Eureka. After opening the season with a neutral site win over Concordia-Wisconsin and taking down Capital in its home opener, IWU defeated Eureka, 87-55. It marked the first time Illinois Wesleyan defeated a team on its home court since claiming the CCIW Tournament Championship at Millikin Feb. 26, 2022, by a score of 80-73.

SCORERS, SCORE: Illinois Wesleyan has seen its starting five account for more than 80 percent of the team's scoring so far this season. In fact, IWU has five players averaging double-digit points entering the Thanksgiving holiday. Mallory Powers tops the Titans at 17.0 points per game, and is followed closely by Lauren Huber at 15.6 ppg. Katelyn Heller is averaging 13.8 a contest, while Kate Palmer (12.4 ppg) and Caite Knutson (10.0 ppg) round out the group.

THE 52nd YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, now in its 52nd year of women's basketball, has compiled a 694-491 overall record. IWU's .586 all-time win percentage includes a 325-195 CCIW mark.

THE DEAN OF THE CCIW: The 2022-23 season marks the 25th year under the direction of Mia Smith, the longest tenured coach in the CCIW. Smith's 461 wins are the most among active CCIW coaches by more than 150. Additionally, Smith's CCIW wins are the second-most in league history.
    Under the tutelage of Smith, IWU has won 10 CCIW Championships and made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Titans won the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship following a fourth-place finish in 2011.

HOME GROWN: With the loss of Leawood, Kan. native Brooke Lansford to graduation, the Titans boast a fully-Illinois bred roster for the first time since 2017-18. This is just the third time since 2012-13 IWU has had a roster without any out-of-state players.

HUBER HAULS IN CCIW HONORS: A strong week of games earned Lauren Huber CCIW Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career Monday, Nov. 21. The Lombard, Ill. native averaged 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds over two-game stretch en route to earning the league's weekly award.
Huber tallied 11 points and eight rebounds at UW-Whitewater, Nov. 16, before erupting for a 27-point, 13-rebound double-double against Capital, Nov. 19. The sophomore did it all for the Green and White, all while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and 80 percent at the free throw line.

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan kicks off the CCIW portion of its schedule Wednesday, Nov. 30, as the Titans welcome Elmhurst University to the Shirk Center. The league opener is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff.