Women's Hoops Downs Carroll to Advance to CCIW Tournament Championship

Titans will play top-seeded Millikin at 5 p.m. in Decatur Saturday, Feb. 26

2/25/2022 9:32:00 PM

Box Score

DECATUR, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team advanced to its seventh straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship with a 65-60 triumph over third-seeded Carroll University Friday night, Feb. 25, at the Griswold Center on the campus of Millikin University. The Titans will play top-seed Millikin Saturday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m.

Illinois Wesleyan used balanced scoring to take down Carroll, with freshman Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) going for a team-high 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while also grabbing a team-best nine rebounds. Freshman Mallory Powers (Amboy, Ill.-Amboy) stuffed the box score with 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals, an assist, and a block, while senior Catie Eck (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin) added 12 points and three steals. Also finishing in double figures was senior Brooke Lansford (Leawood, Kan.-Blue Valley West), who tallied 11 points and a game-high six assists.

The Titans finished 26-for-60 (43.3 percent) from the floor, but drilled nine three-pointers to the Pioneers' one. Carroll converted 25-of-51 shot attempts (49 percent), with just one triple on eight attempts. Neither team shot well at the free throw line, where Carroll went 9-for-17 and IWU went 4-for-16.

Illinois Wesleyan forced 19 Carroll turnovers, while committing just 13. The Pioneers led in points off turnovers (18-16), points in the paint (42-30), and second chance points (7-6), while the Titans held the upper hand in fast break points (11-8) and bench points (11-4).

Back-to-back three-balls by Powers lifted the Titans to a 16-13 lead with 4:30 to go in the first period. IWU opened up an eight-point lead, taking a 24-16 advantage into quarter two.

The three-ball once again dropped for the Green and White, as freshman Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill-Geneva) connected on back-to-back treys to give the Titans a 10-point lead. With IWU in control 30-20, Carroll called a timeout with 7:25 to go in the half.

Carroll chipped away over the remainder, trimming Illinois Wesleyan's lead to four, 35-31, at the break.

The Titans came out strong in the second half, with Huber banking in an early bucket. Eck followed with a steal and transition layup to up the IWU lead back to eight, 41-33, with 6:40 to go.

Illinois Wesleyan upped its advantage to double-digits on a three-pointer by Powers with three minutes remaining in the game. Carroll capitalized on missed free throws by the Titans to pull with two possessions, but ultimately the Green and White advanced with a 65-60 victory.

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