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Sawyer White shooting
Kodiak Creative
79
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 8-7,3-3 CCIW
68
Carthage CARTH 6-8,2-3 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
8-7,3-3 CCIW
79
Final
68
Carthage CARTH
6-8,2-3 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 11 15 26 27 79
Carthage CARTH 10 17 20 21 68

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

All-Around Effort Fuels Titans Past Firebirds

Titans score 53 points in second half

KENOSHA, Wis. - A second-half scoring surge saw the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team snap a four-game losing skid with a 79-68 win at Carthage College Saturday afternoon, Jan. 7. With the win, IWU boosted its record to 8-7 on the season and 3-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Carthage fell to 6-8 (2-3 CCIW) with the loss.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Titans, led b y sophomore Lauren Huber's (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) 19 points. Freshman Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) added a career-high 16, while senior Katelyn Heller (Glen Ellyn, Ill.-Glenbard West) added 13. Sophomores Mallory Powers (Amboy, Ill.-Amboy) and Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) contributed 11 points apiece.

Illinois Wesleyan's balanced offense was an efficient one, as the Green and White converted 51 percent (26-of-51) shot attempts. The Titans drilled 7-of-18 triples, with White leading the way with four three-balls. IWU also went 20-for-30 at the charity stripe. Carthage finished the game 26-for-58 (44.8 percent) from the field, 9-for-24 from three-point range, and 7-for-11 at the free throw line.

IWU held a 34-26 lead in rebounds and won the turnover battle, 16-13. The Titans finished with an 11-6 edge in second chance points and a 16-14 lead in points off turnovers, while points in the paint (26-26) and fast break points (7-7) were even. Carthage held a 16-9 advantage in bench scoring.

In a game that featured 24 lead changes and 10 ties, the Green and White came out of the half trailing by one, 27-26.

Carthage extended its lead out of the break, scoring the first six points of the third period to charge ahead, 32-26. Huber's jumper from the middle of the paint broke the run with 8:24 to play, before a three-ball by White pulled the Titans within one possession, 34-31, with 7:40 on the clock. 

With IWU clawing its way back, the Firebirds repeatedly found an answer on the offensive end. A three-pointer by Carthage's Lauren Knight gave the home team its largest lead of the day, 44-37, with just under four minutes to go in the third quarter.

Senior Kelly Carlson (Western Springs, Ill.-Lyons Township) found Heller for a jumper on IWU's next possession, before a Powers free throw made it a four-point game, 44-40. The Green and White's run continued as Huber hit Heller in transition for a layup, and then found freshman Laura Mahlum (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) for a bucket to knot the game at 44 all.

Another Huber assist, this time to Powers, gave Illinois Wesleyan a 46-44 edge, but a Carthage three-ball lifted the Firebirds to a 47-46 lead. IWU wrapped up the third with back-to-back and-ones as Huber and Mahlum completed three-point plays to push the game to the fourth quarter.

Leading 52-47 with 10 minutes left, the Titans saw the Firebirds pull as close as three but never relinquished their lead. A pair of and-ones by Huber sandwiched a White three-pointer and stretched the IWU advantage to double-digits, 68-56. 

Illinois Wesleyan never looked back, going up by as many as 16, before walking out of Tarble Arena victorious, 79-68.
 
Next on the schedule for the Titans is a trip to Decatur, Ill. for a midweek clash at Millikin University Wednesday, Jan. 11. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will mark the final game of a five-game roadtrip for IWU.

 
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