BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Winners of four in-a-row, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team now turns its focus to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin portion of its 2022-23 slate. The Titans return to the Shirk Center for just their second home game of the year Wednesday, Nov. 30, as Elmhurst University makes the trek to Bloomington for a 7 p.m. tip.
    Illinois Wesleyan enters league play with a 5-2 record, with its losses coming to No. 1 ranked Hope College and No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. More recently, IWU toppled DePauw University and Washington University in St. Louis to claim the Midwest Challenge Championship, Nov. 27. Meanwhile, Elmhurst is 1-4 ahead of the CCIW slate and travels to the Shirk Center following more than a week off. After dropping their first four games of the season, the Bluejays bested Dominican University, Nov. 22.
    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.

BATTLING THE BLUEJAYS: Wednesday night's CCIW clash will mark the 79th 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 62-16 edge in the all-time series and have won 12 straight against Elmhurst. Additionally, IWU is 45-6 against EU under Mia Smith.
In the most recent meeting, Illinois Wesleyan rode a strong start to an 85-60 victory Jan. 26, 2022. Three players hit double-figures for the Titans, as 11 different players scored in the win.

CCIW OPENERS: IWU has won five of its last six conference openers. Illinois Wesleyan has started the conference season off with wins against Carthage (2018-19 & 2017-18), North Central (2016-17), Elmhurst (2015-16), and Carroll (2021-22), but fell to Millikin, 90-82, Feb. 4 in the 2020-21 COVID season.

CCIW CRYSTAL BALL: In the annual CCIW Coaches Preseason Poll, the Titans were predicted to finish second in the league. IWU, which received four first-place votes, came in second in the predicited stangdings with 58 points. No. 14 Millikin topped the poll with five first-place nods and 61 points, while Carroll (49) rounded out the top-three.

HOME COOKING: One of the greatest venues in NCAA Division III, the Shirk Center has been home to more than 600 Titan basketball games between both the men and women. In its 27-year history, the women have won 245 of 324 of its home games, good for a .756 win percentage.

SCORERS, SCORE: Illinois Wesleyan has seen its starting five account for around 80 percent of the team's scoring so far this season. In fact, IWU has five players averaging double-digit points entering league play. Lauren Huber tops the Titans at 17.9 points per game, and is followed closely by Mallory Powers at 17.0 ppg (over two games). Kate Palmer is averaging 13.0 a contest, while Katelyn Heller (12.4 ppg) and Caite Knutson (10.4 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 696-491 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 463 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.

SOMETHING ABOUT THE DATE: Sophomore Lauren Huber put together a beastly week for the Titans, Nov. 22-27, earning her CCIW Player of the Week and D3hoops.com Team of the Week honors. Huber's strong three-game stretch was highlighted by a dominant effort in IWU's win over WashU, Nov. 27. Huber put up 31 points, 12 rebounds, five steals, three assists, and a block in a stat-stuffing showing by the sophomore. She tied career-highs in both points and steals en route to her second double-double of the season. Huber's big game came exactly one year to the day since setting those career-bests in IWU's Midwest Challenge clash with Rose-Hulman Nov. 27, 2021. In fact, when playing on Nov. 27 she is averagin 31 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 5 spg, 2 apg, and 1 bpg.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: Despite playing two of the nation's top-10 teams, Illinois Wesleyan has still seen a strong start to the season on the defensive end. IWU has allowed 434 points, while scoring 518. The Titans head into CCIW play with the most points scored of any conference team, and have also allowed the fewest points in the league.

PUTTING UP THE POINTS: The Titans have scored 518 points through seven games, the 13th-most in all of Division III as well as the most in the CCIW. Not only is IWU pushing up the score on the scoreboard, Illinois Wesleyan has done so rather efficiently. The Green and White ranked 22nd in the country with a field goal percentage of 44.1.
The Titans are one of five teams nationally to be ranked inside the top-25 in both categories in all of Division III.

BACK-TO-BACK: With her second straight CCIW Player of the Week award, Lauren Huber is the first Titan to repeat as the league's weekly honoree since Kendall Sosa did so during the 2019-20 season.

ON THE HORIZON: Conference play continues for the Titans Saturday, Dec. 3, as the Green and White travels to Waukesha, Wis. for a clash with Carroll University. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will serve as the front end of a double feature with the IWU men's basketball team.