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Kate Palmer carving up the defense
© AshtinElder
56
Elmhurst ELM 7-2,1-2 CCIW
93
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 9-0,3-0 CCIW
Elmhurst ELM
7-2,1-2 CCIW
56
Final
93
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
9-0,3-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Elmhurst ELM 18 8 12 18 56
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 16 31 28 18 93

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Soars Past Bluejays

Titans host No. 18 Chicago Tuesday, Dec. 17

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team wore down Elmhurst University Saturday, Dec. 14, inside the Shirk Center. The Titans used strong second and third quarters to blow by the Bluejays, 93-56, and move to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Elmhurst fell to 7-2 on the season, 1-2 in league play, with the setback.

The Green and White saw 13 different players score in the contest, including the first points of the season for sophomore Sophia Feeney (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community). Seniors Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) and Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) tied for the game-high with 14 points apiece. Senior Mallory Powers (Amboy, Ill.-Amboy) added 12 points.

Junior Martha Lipic (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) was the team's top rebounder, hauling in a career-best seven rebounds. Huber and Powers added six apiece. Junior Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) tallied a team-leading seven assists, while Palmer was credited with six. 

Illinois Wesleyan won the turnover battle, 24-18, registering 10 steals. Powers led the way with three, while fifth-year Caite Knutson (Maryville, Ill.-Collinsville) and junior Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) notched two each.

The Titans converted 34-of-77 shot attempts (44.2 percent) and knocked down a season-best 14 three-pointers. IWU went 14-for-34 from distance, good for a 41.2 clip, hitting its most three-pointers in a game since knocking down 14 against Carthage Feb. 10, 2024. Palmer led the way, going 4-for-8, while Bardic hit three. Powers and freshman Luigi Lam (Kowloon, Hong Kong-Wa Ying College) drilled two each.

Elmhurst was limited to a 38.6 field goal percentage (22-for-57) and went just 6-of-16 from beyond the arc. EU finished 6-of-8 from the free throw line, while IWU went 11-for-13.

The Green and White held advantages in points off turnovers (31-15), points in the paint (34-26), second-chance scoring (17-4), fastbreak scoring (18-11), and bench scoring (37-30). Illinois Wesleyan led by as many as 43 points in the game and posted a 20-point scoring run that spanned the second and third quarters.

The Titans struck first as Huber found Powers for a fastbreak bucket, but Elmhurst capitalized on a slew of IWU miscues to push ahead, 11-5.

Huber buckets sandwiched a junior Sara Balli (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) jumper to level the score at 11 all, but Elmhurst roared back with a five-point spurt to reclaim a 16-11 edge. Powers' putback was followed by a triple by Bardic, but a buzzer-beating layup by the Bluejays gave the visitors an 18-16 edge after 10 minutes. 

The Green and White opened up the second period with a senior-to-senior connection as Palmer found Powers for a corner three. The bucket kickstarted the Titans and the full-court press as a Palmer steal turned into a circus-shot by White to push IWU ahead, 24-20.

Another timely steal, this one by Powers, paid off in a Huber pull-up jumper into an EU timeout with 3:57 left in the half. The Palmer-White connection closed out the scoring in the second, as Palmer found White for a wing three to drive the lead to 47-26 into halftime.

Lam's three-ball in the third quarter stretched the lead to 80-40, before Feeney found junior Payton Jacob (St. Joseph, Ill.-St. Joseph-Ogden) for a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 43 in the fourth as IWU ran away with the win, 93-56.

The Titans will take a break from CCIW play for a three-game non-conference run, which begins Tuesday night, Dec. 17, against No. 18 University of Chicago. Tipoff between the Titans and Maroons is slated for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.


 
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