BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team heads to Gregory Arena for its penultimate regular season game Saturday night, Feb. 11. IWU will take on North Central College in a 5 p.m. tipoff that will serve as the front end of a double feature with the IWU men's basketball.
    The Titans, who secured a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament appearance with Wednesday night's league results, enters the weekend 13-10 overall and 8-6 in the conference. Illinois Wesleyan was halted, 82-65, by league-leading Millikin University Wednesday night, Feb. 8, inside the Shirk Center. North Central overcame a first-quarter deficit to close out a 71-62 win over Carthage College, Feb. 8, to improve to 6-16 on the season. The Cardinals own a 3-11 CCIW mark and is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the conference tournament picture.
    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.

CLASHES WITH THE CARDINALS: Saturday's CCIW contest between the Titans and Cardinals will serve as the 83rd chapter in a history that dates back 40 years. Despite North Central winning the first seven showdowns, including an 81-76 win in the initial meeting in 1979, Illinois Wesleyan leads the all-time series 52-30. Additionally, IWU is 40-11 against NCC under the direction of Mia Smith and is winners of 10 of the last 12 meetings.
The Titans best the Cardinals, 81-62, in the first meeting of the season, Dec. 10, in Bloomington. The day saw Lauren Huber pull down a record 20 rebounds, to go along with 28 points and six assists.

FINDING IT IN FEBRUARY: Sophomore Kate Palmer has found her three-point shot over the past four games. After connecting on 29.7 percent of her three-point attempts over the team's first 19 games, Palmer is converting 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from distance since Jan. 28. She went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc at Augustana, Jan. 28, and has hit three, three, and two respectively, in IWU's last three games.
For the season, she ranks seventh in the CCIW with a three-point field goal percentage of 32.0 and is third in three-pointers per game at 2.0.

IF THE CCIW TOURNAMENT BEGAN TODAY...: If the CCIW Tournament began today, the Titans would hold the No. 5 seed and travel to fourth-seeded Wheaton for a quarterfinal game. Millikin is the current No.1 seed and can claim the regular season title outright with a win on Saturday. Carroll is currently the No. 2 seed, with Augustana at No. 3. The sixth seed is yet to be determined, with Carthage, North Park, and North Central all in contention.
The tournament begins Tuesday, Feb. 21, with a pair of quarterfinal games at the home of the No. 3 and 4 seeds. The semifinals and championship will be played Feb. 24-25 and be hosted by the No. 1 overall seed and regular season champion.

SHARING IS CARING: Illinois Wesleyan dished out 20 assists in its win over Carroll, Feb. 4, marking the fourth time IWU has posted 20-or-more dimes. Katelyn Heller was credited with seven, while Sawyer White added four as seven different players notched an assist in the game.
Sharing the ball has been a key to IWU's success this season, as the Titans boast a 7-3 record when recording 15+ assists.

KEYS TO VICTORY: With 23 games complete, IWU has well-established several keys to victory. Illinois Wesleyan is 12-4 when scoring 60+ points, and also boasts a 10-0 mark when limiting opponents to no more than 59 points. Additionally, the Green and White is 11-3 when winning the turnover margin as opposed to 2-7 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 704-499 overall record. IWU's .585 all-time win percentage includes a 332-201 CCIW mark. The program's 700th win came at home, Jan. 14, against Augustana, 78-69.

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 471 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.

CCIW NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR APPLICATION: Freshman dual-sport athlete Sawyer White has seemingly found her stride on the hardwood after taking a few weeks to find her footing following a successful soccer season. In 2023, the Downers Grove, Ill. native has finished in double figures seven times in the past 10 games, including a career-high 19 points versus Carroll, Feb. 4. Over the last 10 games, White is averaging 9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.6 steals per game for the Titans.

LAUREN BALLER HUBER: Her middle name might as well be baller, as sophomore Lauren Huber raked in her fourth CCIW Player of the Week honors of the season following a 21-point, 16-rebound performance and game-winning bucket in a two-point road win over Wheaton on Jan. 21.
For the season, Huber ranks second in the conference in scoring (18.9 ppg) and field goal percentage (52.2), while leading the league in rebounding (9.8 rpg). She also ranks 12th in assists (2.1 apg), making her the only player in the CCIW inside the conference's top-12 in all three categories.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans wrap up the regular season next weekend, Saturday, Feb. 18, with a Senior Day showdown against Carthage College. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside the Shirk Center and will see the Green and White celebrate seniors Megan Moody, Emily Collins, Claire Retherford, Katelyn Heller, and Kelly Carlson.