BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Illinois Wesleyan University's women's basketball team makes the short trip to Decatur Wednesday, Jan. 11, for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin clash at Millikin University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
    The Titans are 8-7 on the year and 3-3 in the CCIW entering Wednesday. IWU most recently defeated Carthage College, 79-68, Jan. 7, to snap a four-game losing skid. Meanwhile, Millikin rides an eight-game win streak into the midweek matchup. The Big Blue are 11-3 on the season and sit atop the league standings at 5-0. MU most recently clobbered Wheaton College, 74-55, in Decatur, Jan. 7.
    Fans can tune into the game via live stats or live stream of the game. Links on how to follow along can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

MATCHIN' UP WITH MILLIKIN: Wednesday night's matchup will mark the 101st edition of the Illinois Wesleyan-Millikin rivalry, a series that dates back to the 1972-73 season. IWU held off MU in the initial meeting, 38-33, and won the first four games between the two conference foes. Overall, Millikin owns a 54-47 edge in the all-time series, but Illinois Wesleyan has won 13 of the past 17 meetings. Additionally, IWU is 36-19 against MU under the direction of Mia Smith.

GOING INTO GRISWOLD: The Titans' last few trips to the Griswold Center have  seen IWU come away with two wins in five tries. Most recently, the Titans took down the Big blue, 80-73, in the 2022 CCIW Tournament Championship. Lauren Huber went for a game-high 27 points and Kate Palmer poured in 16 points. Kaia Bowen added a double-double to advance IWU to the NCAA Tournament.

SCORERS SCORE: Wednesday night will see two of the top scorers in the country square off. Lauren Huber is 10th nationally and second in the CCIW with 284 points on the year, just behind Millikin's Elyce Knudsen's conference-best mark of 293 points (tied fifth nationally).

SHARING IS CARING: Illinois Wesleyan dished out 17 assists in its win at Carthage, Jan. 4, its highest in a game since November. Mallory Powers and Lauren Huber tallied career-highs of seven and six, respectively. Sharing the ball has been a key to IWU's success this season, as the Titans boast a 6-2 record when recording 13-or-more assists in a game.

ONE OF THE TOP TITANS: Illinois Wesleyan fans will see a familiar face leading the Big Blue in fourth-year head coach Olivia Lett when IWU and Millikin square off Thursday, Feb. 3. One of the greatest basketball players in IWU history, Lett was a three-year letterwinner for the Titans from 2009-12. The 2012 CCIW Player of the Year, Lett led Illinois Wesleyan to a NCAA Division III National Championship in 2012.
    She finished her career ranked second all-time in scoring average at 15.4 ppg, tied for second in blocks (70), third in free throw percentage (.829), seventh all-time with 1,354 points, ninth in field goals made (474), and 10th in three-pointers made (135) and free throws made (271).

HELLO, HELLER: Senior Katelyn Heller broke out of a mid-season slump with a career-high performance at North Park, Jan. 4. Heller scored a career-best 22 points, her second career 20-point effort, on 10-of-24 shooting. She had been 8-for-33 over the previous four games. Since the NPU game, Heller is shooting 48.3 percent (14-for-29) and has gone 7-for-10 at the free throw line. She is also adding 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game since Jan. 4.

THAT WORD IS NOT IN HER VOCABULARY: Lauren Huber has showed no signs of a sophomore slump this season as the second-year starter is averaging 18.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. For the season, Huber ranks second in the CCIW in scoring, first in rebounding, and eighth in assists. She is the only player in the conference to be ranked in the top-10 in all three categories. Additionally, the sophomore leads the CCIW in field goal percentage at 52.5.
    Over the past five games, Huber is putting up 20.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steal per contest.

PUTTING UP THE POINTS: The Titans have scored 1089 points this season, the most in the CCIW. Additionally, IWU's point total is 10th-most in all of Division III and has come as the Green and White boasts the 48th-ranked field goal percentage at 42.0. IWU's field goal mark is third-best in the CCIW, with Millikin topping the conference at 43.1 percent.

KEYS TO VICTORY: With 15 games complete, IWU has developed several keys to victory. Illinois Wesleyan is 8-2 when scoring 60+ points, and also boasts a 6-0 mark when limiting opponents to no more than 59 points. Additionally, the Green and White is 8-2 when winning the turnover margin as opposed to 0-5 when finishing with more miscues than its opponent.

THE 52nd YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, now in its 52nd year of women's basketball, has compiled a 699-496 overall record. IWU's .585 all-time win percentage includes a 328-198 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 466 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.

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan finally returns to the Shirk Center for the first time in the New Year Saturday, Jan. 14, for a clash with Augustana College. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will serve as the first game of a double dip with the IWU men's basketball team.