BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team's regular season comes to a close Saturday, Feb. 19, with a roadtrip to Augustana College. IWU will take on Augie at 5 p.m. inside the Carver P.E. Center.
    Illinois Wesleyan is still in the hunt for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Regular Season Championship, as well as the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament. IWU owns a 16-8 overall record, highlighted by a 13-2 CCIW mark, and is currently tied for first in the league standings. The Titans most recently escaped Gregory Arena with a 65-63 over North Central College, Feb. 16. Meanwhile, Augustana has been off since edging Carthage College, 62-58, Feb. 12. The win did wonders for the Vikings' CCIW Tournament hopes, boosting them to 12-12 overall (6-9 CCIW).
    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.

SEEDING UP FOR GRABS: With the CCIW Tournament set to begin Tuesday, Feb. 22, much of the seeding is still up for grabs. While IWU and Millikin have clinched a first-round bye, Saturday's outcomes will determine who will serve as host to the semifinal and championship rounds as the No. 1 seed.

• The Titans clinch the No. 1 seed with a win over Augie AND a Millikin loss
• The Titans earn the No. 2 seed if Millikin defeats Wheaton

If IWU and MU finish the regular season with the same record, be that 14-2 or 13-3 in the CCIW, the teams would be Co-CCIW Regular Season Champions and Millikin would earn the No. 1 seed via the tiebreaker.

GET THE ECK OUTTA HERE: Springfield, Ill. native and senior Catie Eck continued her climb up the Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball all-time blocks list on Saturday with a career-high five rejections in a blowout win against Wheaton, Feb. 12. In the past four games, Eck has averaged three blocks per game. She is up to 80 blocks on her career, including averaging 1.8 blocks per game this season, a mark which ranks second in the CCIW.
    Shelby Jackson owns the career blocks record with 82, with Eck just two blocks away from making school history with 80 currently.

AGAINST AUGIE ALL-TIME: Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana share a long history that dates back to the 1976-77 campaign. The Titans hold the upper hand in the 83-game series, 49-34, and have won eight of the last nine meetings.
    Most recently, the Titans trounced the Vikings, 81-48, in Bloomington, Jan. 15. IWU's defense stymied Augie, as the Vikings shot just 31.5 percent from the field (17-for-54) and 16.7 percent (4-for-24) from three-point distance. The Titans forced 26 turnovers overall, while Kaia Bowen and Kate Palmer snagged four steals each. Brooke Lansford scored a game-high 18 points. Palmer added 16 points and Lauren Huber tallied 12 points and eight rebounds.

SPLASH CITY: Rock Island, Ill. will see two of the top three-point shooting teams in the CCIW square off Saturday, Feb. 19, when the Titans take on the Vikings. IWU enters the contest with a conference-best three-point field goal percentage of 36.8, while Augie owns a 31.6 clip - the third-best in the conference. The two conference adversaries are tied for the conference lead with 7.5 three-pointers made per game.
    While both teams have shot the three-ball well, Illinois Wesleyan has done a better job defending it. The Titans rank third in the CCIW as the Green and White have held conference opponents to 28.8 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Augie has seen opponents shoot 31.5 from distance, a mark that ranks seventh in the league.

STEPPING IT UP DOWN THE STRETCH: Senior Catie Eck has taken her game to another level over IWU's last three games, serving as a key contributor in the Titans' three-game win streak. Eck is averaging 14.3 points, 3.7 blocks, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game since Feb. 9.
    Eck, who is IWU's leading scorer over the stretch, has shot the ball incredibly well. She is 15-for-30 from the field and a whopping 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) from beyond the arc over the three-game span. Prior the IWU's win over North Park, Feb. 9, Eck had been shooting 22.0 percent from three-point range (13-for-59).

TAKING IT UP A NOTCH: Since beginning CCIW play in December, the Titans have taken their play to another level. With just one conference game remaining, the Titans lead the CCIW in scoring (72.7 ppg), scoring margin (+14.3), three-point field goal percentage (36.8), offensive rebounds (13.7), turnover margin (+7.07), and blocked shots (4.20 bpg). IWU is also tied for first with Augustana with 7.0 three-pointers made per game.

PROVEN KEYS TO VICTORY: With one game remaining in the regular season, Illinois Wesleyan's keys to victory have been pretty consistent. Illinois Wesleyan is 10-1 on the year when winning the rebounding battle. When it comes to the scoreboard, IWU's magic number appears to be 70. The Green and White are 11-1 when scoring 70-or-more points, while the Titans are 1-4 when opponents eclipse 70 points. IWU is also 10-0 when compiling a better shooting percentage than the opposition this season.

HELPING HAND: Senior Brooke Lansford has been one of the CCIW's top floor generals this season, as the Titans' starting point guard leads the conference with 4.1 assists per game. She also ranks 44th in all of Division III with 98 assists this season.
    She notched her 200th career assist in IWU's win at Elmhurst, Jan. 12, and currently sits 13th on IWU's career assist list with 244. She is 11 behind Claire Sheehan for 12th-most.

DAUNTING DEFENSE: Illinois Wesleyan's best offensive threat this season has proven to be its defense, as the Titans have made a living cashing in on the miscues of their opponents. IWU is forcing 23.83 turnovers per game, the 19th-most in Division III. The Green and White boasts a turnover margin of +6.79, the best in the CCIW, as well as the 19th-highest nationally.     Fueled by its daunting run-and-jump full-court press, Illinois Wesleyan is snagging 12.4 steals per game. The clip ranks third in the CCIW and 36th across all of Division III.

THE DEAN OF THE CCIW: The 2021-22 season marks the 24th year under the direction of Mia Smith, the longest tenured coach in the CCIW. Smith's 454 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 eight CCIW Championships and made nine NCAA Tournament appearances. The Titans won the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship following a fourth-place finish in 2011.

THE 51ST YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, now in its 51st year of women's basketball, has compiled a 686-488 overall record. IWU's .584 all-time win percentage includes a 320-194 CCIW mark.

PHENOMENAL FRESHMEN: Lauren Huber, Kate Palmer, and Mallory Powers have been some of the best freshmen in the CCIW this season, as IWU is the only school with freshmen ranked in the conference's top-25 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and steals.
In points per game, Huber is tied for seventh (12.4) and Palmer is 20th (9.4). Huber is IWU's top rebounder at 6.4 caroms per contest, sixth-most in the league, while Powers' 5.4 are tied for 17th-most. Huber's field goal percentage of 50.8 is the second-best in the conference, while she is 14th in free throw percentage at 70.8. Palmer is tied for fourth with 1.9 three-pointers per game, with Powers just behind her at 1.4 per game (tied for 13th). Huber is also tied for 12th in the CCIW with 1.7 steals per game and slotted 24th with 25.3 minutes played per contest.

ON THE HORIZON: With the regular season in the books, the Titans will turn their focus to next week's CCIW Tournament. IWU, which is guaranteed be the No. 1 or the No. 2 seed, will receive a bye in the semifinals. Game time and location are dependent on Saturday's outcomes around the league, while IWU will learn of its opponent following Tuesday's quarterfinal contests.