Ashtin Elder

Women’s Hoops Upended by Millikin

Titans led by 11 with eight minutes to play

1/17/2024 10:16:00 PM

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The eighth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team saw its 11-game win streak snapped Wednesday night, Jan. 17, in front of an outstanding crowd at the Shirk Center. The Titans led by 11 with just over eight minutes to play, but Millikin University closed the game on a 19-6 run to hand IWU a 93-91 setback. With the loss, the Titans dip to 14-3 overall and 7-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Big Blue bolstered its record to 14-3 and 6-2 in the CCIW.

Illinois Wesleyan was led in scoring by sophomore Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson), who tied the game-high with 22 points. Junior Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) added 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with a trio of three-pointers. Palmer also added a team-high five assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Sophomore Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) and junior Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) tallied 15 points apiece. Huber completed a double-double with 11 rebounds, while White snatched a team-best three steals. Narrowly missing a double-double was junior Mallory Powers (Amboy, Ill.-Amboy), as she posted eight points, a career-high 19 rebounds, and four assists.

As a team, a cold shooting effort in the fourth quarter saw the Titans finish 32-for-69 (46.4 percent) from the field. IWU went 8-for-21 from three-point range and 19-for-24 at the charity stripe. Millikin held a shooting percentage of 48.7 percent, going 37-of-76, with eight three-pointers on 19 attempts. The Big Blue converted 11-of-19 free throws.

Illinois Wesleyan lost the turnover battle, as the Titans were charged with 24 turnovers to MU's 16. Millikin cashed in for a 29-10 lead in points off miscues, while also holding leads in points in the paint (54-42) and bench scoring (27-23).

A three-pointer by Millikin's Bailey Coffman put the visitors in front by a dozen, 29-17, with 30 seconds left in the period, but Bardic found Powers for a three-ball. Trailing by 10 with six seconds remaining in the quarter, White put up a long-range three from just inside halfcourt to swing momentum in favor of the Green and White and cut the deficit to seven, 30-23.

Bardic began the second with a layup off a White assist and a stepback three-pointer to quickly make it a two-point game, 30-28, just under a minute in. Illinois Wesleyan, which shot a blistering 73.3 percent in the quarter, tied the game on a five-point spurt by sophomore Laura Mahlum (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington).

The Green and White took the lead on a pair of free throws by Palmer at the media timeout, before Bardic scored five points to close the half. The buckets by Bardic capped off a 10-3 run by the Titans and carried IWU into halftime with a 54-50 edge.

Illinois Wesleyan stretched its lead to as many as 11 in the second half, including holding an 85-74 advantage with 8:02 to go in the game. However, a 6-0 run by the Big Blue quickly cut the lead to five as the stanza approached the midpoint.

Free throws from Mahlum pushed the IWU lead back to seven, but four Titan turnovers over a two and a half minute span saw the Big Blue reclaim the lead. Setup by a steal, Millikin went the length of the floor and took a 91-89 lead on Elyce Knudsen's layup.

Palmer answered with a tough jumper to level the score at 91 all. A key block by Huber on the defensive end swung possession back to the Green and White, but IWU missed the go-ahead shot with 16 seconds remaining.

With time ticking down, Millikin gathered a loose ball under the basket and put up the game-winning bucket four seconds left. Illinois Wesleyan threw up a desperation heave, but it fell short, as IWU fell, 93-91.

The Titans will look to get back on track Saturday, Jan. 20, as Illinois Wesleyan kicks off a two-game road stint with a trip to Waukesha, Wis. Tipoff between IWU and Carroll University is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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