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WBB | IWU at Wheaton
Kodiak Creative
65
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 16-8,13-2 CCIW
63
North Central (IL) NCC 9-16,6-10 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
16-8,13-2 CCIW
65
Final
63
North Central (IL) NCC
9-16,6-10 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 13 20 14 18 65
North Central (IL) NCC 17 12 12 22 63

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Holds Off North Central

Titans remained tied atop CCIW standings heading into regular season finale

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team survived a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by North Central College at Gregory Arena Wednesday, Feb. 16. The Titans, who led by as many as 10 in the game, escaped Naperville with a 65-63 win to improve to 16-8 overall and 13-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. 

The freshmen duo of Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard West) and Mallory Powers (Amoby, Ill.-Amboy) paced the Titans. Huber scored a team-high 14 points and added six rebounds, while Powers finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Senior Brooke Lansford (Leawood, Kan.-Blue Valley West) tallied 12 points, five assists, five rebounds, and two steals, while fellow senior Catie Eck (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) finished with nine points, four assists, two blocks, and a pair of steals. 

Illinois Wesleyan weathered a tumultuous offensive performance to finish 24-for-59 from the floor, 9-for-21 from three, and 8-for-10 at the free throw line. IWU struggled in the first and third quarters, but shot 50 percent in the second (7-for-14) and 60 percent (6-for-10) in the fourth to secure the win. 

IWU's defense limited North Central to a 35.3 field goal percentage, while the Cardinals went 6-for-23 from beyond the arc and 9-for-13 at the charity stripe.  

The Titans ran out to an early eight-point lead, but a 15-0 run by the Cardinals put the home team on top 17-10 with 44 seconds to go in the opening period. Eck closed out the quarter with a triple to cut the deficit to four, 17-13, into the second stanza. 

Illinois Wesleyan moved ahead by as many as nine over the next 10 minutes, before a two-minute long scoring drought for the Green and White opened the door for the Cardinals. North Central cashed in on an offensive rebound and a turnover to trim IWU's lead to four, 33-29, at the break.

The Titans appeared to be back on track as Lansford fed junior Kelly Carlson (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons) for a layup to give the Green and White its largest lead of the game, 43-33, with 4:20 to go in the third.

North Central responded with seven points over the next 3:14 to pull back within two, but free throws by Lansford and a layup by senior Kaia Bowen (Rantoul, Ill.-St. Thomas More) pushed IWU ahead 47-41, with one quarter remaining. 

IWU maintained its advantage from that point on, but NCC's layup with nine seconds remaining made it a one-point game, 64-63. Illinois Wesleyan tacked on a free throw before seeing NCC's game-tying attempt miss as the Titans hung on, 65-63.

The Green and White wrap up the regular season Saturday, Feb. 19, at Augustana College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Rock Island, Ill.



 
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