BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With four games under its belt, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team will welcome the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to the Shirk Center Tuesday evening, Nov. 21, for the Titans' home opener. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and will serve as the program's annual Camper Appreciation Night.
    Illinois Wesleyan returns home following a split at the Hope College Tournament, Nov. 17-18, in Holland, Mich. IWU upended University of Puget Sound, 78-77, but then came up short against 21st-ranked Hope, 80-73, Nov. 18. With the weekend split, the Titans are 3-1 on the year. UW-Whitewater, which was ranked No. 9 in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top-25, is out to a 4-0 start to the season. The Warhawks most recently overpowered Carroll University, 78-64, Nov. 18.
    Matt Sosler and Emma Thorman will call the action on the court on the Titan Broadcast Network, while live stats will also be available along with an audio only broadcast through 88.1 FM WESN. Links on how to follow the game can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of iwusports.com.

HOME COOKING: One of the greatest venues in NCAA Division III, the Shirk Center has been home to more than 600 Titan basketball games between both the men and women. In its 27-year history, the women have won 251 of 332 of its home games, good for a .756 win percentage.

SHE'S A BUCKET: Sophomore Ava Bardic put the team on her back to help the Titans erase an 18-point deficit against Puget Sound, Nov. 17. Bardic scored a career-high 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting, with four triples, as she put up the most points by a Titan since Lauren Huber dropped 30 points against Augustana Jan. 28, 2023.
For the season, Bardic is shooting a team-best 47.4 percent from beyond the arc, good for fourth-best in the CCIW. She is also fourth in the league in scoring and 50th nationally across Division III.

COMEBACK KIDS: Since the start of the 2008-09 season, Illinois Wesleyan has posted 24 wins after trailing by 10-or-more points. The most recent comeback effort came this past weekend, Nov. 17, as IWU erased an 18-point deficit to take down Puget Sound, 78-77. It marked the third-largest comeback for the Titans since the 2008-09 season.

MILESTONE TRACKER: With 60 games played in her IWU career, Lauren Huber is just 42 points away from joining the 1000-point club. Huber scored 367 points as a freshman, 505 as a sophomore, and now 86 this season to put her career total of 958.

ALL-TIME AGAINST UW-WHITEWATER: Illinois Wesleyan and UW-Whitewater will square off on the hardwood for the 17th time since the series began in 1997 when the two teams tangle Tuesday evening, Nov. 21. The Warhawks hold a commanding 13-3 lead in the all-time series, and have won 10 straight against the Titans dating back to 2013. IWU came out on top in two of the first three matchups, including a 90-53 walloping of UWW in the initial clash, Dec. 14, 1997.

LAST WIN OVER UWW: The Green and White's last win came in nail-biting fashion during the 2011-12 season, as the Titans took down the Warhawks 72-69 inside the Shirk Center Nov. 27, 2012. Illinois Wesleyan trailed by five, 35-30, at halftime, but used a strong second half to clip UW-Whitewater, 72-69. Melissa Gardner led the Titans with 19 points, while Lexi Baltes and Colleen McMahon added 18 and 17, respectively.
    The Titans hit 9-of-10 free throws and Michelle Bilek knocked down a triple over the final two and a half minutes to propel IWU to the three-point win. The Warhawks had a chance for the tie at the buzzer, but could not convert as Shelby Jackson snagged the rebound to seal the win.

THE DEAN OF THE CCIW: The 2023-24 season marks the 26th year under the direction of Mia Smith, the longest tenured coach in the CCIW. Smith's 477 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.

THE 53rd YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, now in its 53rd year of women's basketball, has compiled a 710-501 overall record. IWU's .586 all-time win percentage includes a 335-201 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

ON THE HORIZON: Following a brief break for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Titans travel to Terre Haute, Ind. for the Midwest Challenge. The two-day tournament, hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, will see the Titans take on the Fightin' Engineers Saturday, Nov. 25, before battling either DePauw of WashU Sunday, Nov. 26.