BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin slate begins Wednesday night, Nov. 29, as the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team hosts Elmhurst University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center and is one of four CCIW contests on the Wednesday night schedule.
    Illinois Wesleyan boosted its record to 5-2 on the year with a 2-0 showing at the Midwest Challenge, Nov. 25-26, in Terre Haute, Ind. The Titans picked up wins over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Washington University in St. Louis to claim the tournament title for the second straight year. Elmhurst enters the midweek clash amid a two-game winning streak. The Bluejays, who own a 3-2 record, most recently defeated Rockford University, 72-61, on the road. Wednesday will mark EU's fourth straight road game as the Bluejays find themselves on a six-game roadtrip over a three-week stretch.
    Matt Sosler will call the play-by-play alongside analysis from Emma Thorman on the live stream provided, while live stats for the game will also be available. Links on how to follow the game can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of iwusports.com.

COMMA CLUB: Junior Lauren Huber needed just 62 career games to join the 1,000-point club at Illinois Wesleyan, as the Lombard, Ill. native accomplished the feat against WashU Sunday, Nov. 26, in the Midwest Challenge Championship. Huber scored 367 points as a freshman, 505 as a sophomore and 133 this season to put her career total at 1,005.

MIDWEST CHALLENGE DISTINCTIONS: Sophomore Ava Bardic was named the Midwest Challenge Most Valuable Player, Nov. 26, and was joined by junior Mallory Powers on the weekend's all-tournament team after the duo led IWU to the Midwest Challenge Championship for the second straight season. Bardic put up a monster performance in the title game, scoring a game-high 27 points to go along with six assists, while Powers averaged 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game over the weekend.

BATTLING THE BLUEJAYS: Wednesday night's CCIW clash will mark the 81st all-time meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Elmhurst since the two first tangled during the 1981-82 campaign. The Bluejays took the first meeting, 75-67, but the Titans own a 64-16 edge in the all-time series and have won 14 straight against Elmhurst. Additionally, IWU is 47-6 against EU under Mia Smith.
    The Titans swept the season series with the Bluejays last year rolling to a 100-58 win inside the Shirk Center, Nov. 30, and then an 81-47 victory at EU, Feb. 1. The most recent meeting saw four players score in double-figures for the Green and White, while 14 different Titans recorded points.

ANYONE'S NIGHT, ANY NIGHT: The 2023-24 season has quickly displayed the balance of the Titans roster as IWU has seen 27 double-digit performances and seven 20-point efforts through just seven games.

DROPPING DIMES: Illinois Wesleyan has been at its best when its ball movement has been on point, as the Green and White rank second in the conference and 41st in Division III with 17.1 assists per game. Individually, Ava Bardic leads the Titans with 25 assists, good for third in the CCIW and 24th nationally. Kate Palmer has been credited with 24 helpers, 35th-most in Division III, while Lauren Huber has 20 (100th nationally) and Mallory Powers has 19 (123rd nationally).
    In fact, Illinois Wesleyan is the only Division III school with four players ranked inside the nation's top-150 in assists. Additionally, University of New England,  NYU, and Penn. St.-Abington are the only other Division III programs with three players in the top-150.

THAT CLOSE TO PERFECTION: Illinois Wesleyan holds a 5-2 record through seven games, but could just as easily have seen those two loses go the other way. The Titans two setbacks on the year have come at the hands of nationally-ranked opponent in Hope (80-73) and UW-Whitewater (82-80) by margins that could have been made up at the free throw line. Against the Flying Dutch, IWU went just 5-for-13 at the free throw line, while in the UWW bout the Titans finished 4-for-9 at the stripe.

20/20 VISION: For the second time this season, IWU saw two Titans put up 20-point efforts in the same contest as Ava Bardic and Mallory Powers combined for 47 points in Illinois Wesleyan's overtime win against WashU, Nov. 26. Bardic erupted for a game-high 27 points, while Powers tallied a career-high 20 points. It marked the second time in three games that IWU saw two players record 20-or-more points as Bardic and Caite Knutson accomplished the feat against No. 9 UW-Whitewater.

A DEEPER LOOK: Through seven games, Illinois Wesleyan has developed some clear keys to victory this season. IWU, known for its frantic full court press, is 5-0 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 4-0 when attempting more free throws and 1-2 when shooting fewer than its opponent.

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 43.1 percent from beyond the arc, good for fourth-best in the CCIW. She is also fourth in the league in scoring and 51st nationally across Division III.

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 479 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 712-502 overall record. IWU's .586 all-time win percentage includes a 335-201 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

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 333 of its home games, good for a .754 win percentage.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans remain at home this weekend as the Green and White hosts Carroll University Saturday, Dec. 2. The CCIW clash between IWU and CU is set for 5 p.m. and will serve as the front end of a doubleheader with the IWU men's basketball team.