BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team travels to Terre Haute, Ind. for the annual Midwest Challenge this weekend, Nov. 25-26, hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at Hulbert Arena. The Titans will take on the host Fightin' Engineers Saturday afternoon, Nov. 25, at 2 p.m. ET. DePauw University and Washington University in St. Louis will spar in the 4 p.m. ET bout. The losers of Saturday's games will play in the consolation contest Sunday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. ET with the championship game to follow at 4 p.m. ET.
    Illinois Wesleyan heads into the weekend with a 3-2 overall record on the heels of a heartbreaking, 82-80, loss to ninth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Nov. 21. RHIT is 1-2 in its first year under the direction of Devrinn Paul. The Fightin' Engineers picked up their first win of the year Monday, Nov. 20, with a 65-54 win at Cal Tech. DePauw is also holding at 1-2 on the year, most recently dropping a home game to Millikin University, 86-53, Nov. 18. Rounding out the field, WashU makes the trip looking to improve on its 1-2 mark. The Bears will return to action after a 10-day hiatus following a 61-43 win over Greenville University, Nov. 15.
    A live stream of all four of the tournament's games along with live stats will be available. Links on how to follow the game can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of iwusports.com.

IN GOOD COMPANY: Junior Lauren Huber was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week for the third time in her career Tuesday morning, Nov. 21. With her selection, Huber has tied Kendall Sosa for the most national team of the week awards in a career.

HOT SHOTS: The Titans converted 35-of-62 shots against UW-Whitewater Tuesday night, Nov. 21, including 35-of-42 two-point field goals as IWU finished with an overall field goal percentage of 56.5 percent. The Green and White's clip was the team's best since also going 35-for-62 against Augustana Jan. 19, 2019. Overall, the mark ties for the 13th-best in program history and marks the 26th time in IWU laurels the Titans have finished with a field goal percentage of 55.0 percent-or-better.

20/20 VISION: For the first time this season, IWU saw two Titans put up 20-point efforts in the same contest as Ava Bardic and Caite Knutson combined for 44 points in Illinois Wesleyan's game against UW-Whitewater, Nov. 21. Bardic popped off for a team-high 23 points, while Knutson tied a career-best with 21 points. It was IWU's first time accomplishing the feat since Lauren Huber (20) and Katelyn Heller (25) did so against Augustana Jan. 14, 2023.

A DEEPER LOOK: Through just five games, Illinois Wesleyan has developed some clear keys to victory this season. IWU, known for its frantic full court press, is 3-0 when winning the turnover battle versus an 0-2 record when committing more miscues than the opposition. Additionally, the Titans have fared better when getting to the free throw line more than their opponent. In fact, IWU is 3-0 when attempting more free throws and 0-2 when shooting fewer than its opponent.

TWO-SPORT STUDENT-ATHLETE: Sophomore Sawyer White earned Second Team All-CCIW honors in women's soccer for the second straight season earlier this fall. On Tuesday, Nov. 21, she was lauded for her academic and athletic prowess as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree in women's soccer.

MIDWEST CHALLENGE: The Midwest Challenge is back for its 30th go-around. The annual rotating tournament began in 1993 and featured IWU, WashU, and DePauw. The tournament expanded to include Blackburn, Illinois College, Bluffton, Franklin, Beloit, Thomas More, Kalamazoo, Coe, Central, Hendrix, and Olivet over the years but has featured this year's field every season since 2017.
    WashU has seen the most success in the tournament, winning the weekend 15 times. IWU and DePauw have six wins in the tournament's history.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Illinois Wesleyan holds a combined record of 20-35 against Rose-Hulman, DePauw, and WashU all-time. The Titans hold a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Fightin' Engineers, but trail in the all-time series with DePauw (11-9) and WashU (22-7).
    Illinois Wesleyan won the tournament last season, rolling to wins over DePauw (71-58) and WashU (67-52) in Greencastle, Ind.

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.

MILESTONE TRACKER: With 60 games played in her IWU career, Lauren Huber is just 24 points away from joining the 1000-point club. Huber scored 367 points as a freshman, 505 as a sophomore, and now 104 this season to put her career total at 976.

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 710-502 overall record. IWU's .586 all-time win percentage includes a 335-201 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans return home for the start of CCIW play Wednesday, Nov. 29, as Illinois Wesleyan hosts Elmhurst University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.