BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A three-game non-conference stint begins Tuesday night, Dec. 17, as the third-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team hosts the University of Chicago in a battle of unbeatens. Tipoff between the Titans and Maroons is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
    Illinois Wesleyan enters Tuesday off a lopsided win against Elmhurst University, Dec. 14. The Green and White powered past the Bluejays, 93-56, inside the Shirk Center to up its record to 3-0 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play as well as 9-0 overall. Meanwhile, the Maroons are off to an 8-0 start to the season under first-year head coach Michelle Gardner-Bilek. Chicago, which has already played five CCIW opponents this season, last competed at North Central College, Dec. 4. In that game, UC came away with a 66-62 triumph to maintain its perfect start to the season.
    Fans can catch a live stream of the game with Matt Sosler and Brittany Carper on the call, while live stats will also be provided. Links on can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

MATCHUPS WITH THE MAROONS: Tuesday evening's tilt will mark the 17th meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Chicago. The series is tight, as it is split, 8-8, with no team holding a win streak longer than three.
Last season, the Titans downed the Maroons, 73-63, in the Windy City Dec. 16, 2023. Ava Bardic led the Green and White with 24 points, while Caite Knutson scored 21 in the win.

OLD FACES, NEW PLACES: When the Titans and Maroons square off Tuesday, Illinois Wesleyan fans will see a familiar face on the wrong bench. Chicago head coach Michelle Gardner-Bilek, in her first season leading the Maroons, graduated from IWU in 2013, following an outstanding career in which she helped the Titans to the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship. A captain as a senior, she scored 426 points, grabbed 204 rebounds, and added 122 assists.

LONG DISTANCE LOVE: Illinois Wesleyan connected on 14 three-pointers in its win over Elmhurst, Dec. 14, as IWU converted 41.2 percent of its 34 attempts. The 14 made triples by the Titans were the most since hitting 14 against Carthage Feb. 10, 2024.
    The Green and White's strong showing from distance versus EU saw Kate Palmer drain 4-of-8 three-point tries, while Ava Bardic finished 3-for-4. Mallory Powers and Luigi Lam each went 2-for-3 and Alyssa Epps, Payton Jacob, and Sawyer White added one apiece.

PROTECT HOME COURT: Tuesday night will see the Titans look to take down Chicago inside the Shirk Center for the first time since the 2016-17 season. That year, Illinois Wesleyan used a dominating fourth quarter to earn a 79-52 win. The Titans outscored the Maroons 30-7 over the final 10 mintues as five players finished in double figures. Rebekah Ehresman led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds.
    Chicago's last two trips to Shirk have been decided by a combined two points. UC edged out IWU, 77-76, Nov. 11, 2018 as the Maroons held off a fourth-quarter comeback behind a five-point run in the final 28 seconds. Most recently, Chicago used a 10-point run over the final 3:50 to down Illinois Wesleyan, 63-62, Dec. 18, 2021.

HOME COOKING: One of the greatest venues in NCAA Division III, the Shirk Center has been home to more than 750 Titan basketball games between the men and women. In its 27-year history, the women have won 261 of 345 of its home games, good for a .756 win percentage.
This season, IWU is 2-0 inside the friendly confines of the Shirk Center. The Titans posted an 8-3 record on their home floor during the 2023-24 campaign.

PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS: The Titans were tasked with defending one of the top scorers in the CCIW when they squared off with Elmhurst Saturday, Dec. 14. EU's Kristin Bukata, a sophomore guard, ranked second in the conference in scoring with 18.0 points per game on the year. Through two league games, she was averaging 24.0 points per contest. Behind the all-around defensive effort by the Titans, IWU limited Bukata to 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting and forced her into six turnovers.

SWIPER CLOSING IN: The Green and White's high-motor pressure, especially in its run-and-jump, has caused opponents fits this season. Leading the effort for the Titans has been junior Sawyer White, who has become equally well-known for her thieving abilities on the court as she is for a good celebration griddy on the bench. White's career steals total sits at 196 as of Dec. 15. She is four thefts away from 200 for her career and currently sits fifth on IWU's all-time steals list. The Downers Grove, Ill. native, who set the program's single-season steals record a season ago, is 13th across Division III with 3.75 thefts per game, while her 30 steals are 24th-most.
    Rebekah Ehresman holds the record with 296 accrued during her career from 2014 to 2018, while Sydney Shanks is second with 233. Hope Schulte (223) and Christina Solari (216) are the only other two Titans to surpass 200 steals in their careers.

NEARING COMMA CLUB MEMBERSHIP: Senior Kate Palmer is closing in on 1000 career points, as her career total sits at 973 through 96 career games as of Dec. 15. Palmer is just 27 points away from joining IWU's 1000-point club, looking to be the 26th member of the exclusive club. The Geneva, Ill. native currently ranks 28th on the program's all-time scoring list.

EXPERIENCE PAYING DIVIDENDS: Through nine games, Illinois Wesleyan has shown immense poise by way of ball security. The Titans have dished out 150 assists to 122 turnovers, good for a 1.23 assist-to-turnover ratio. IWU's mark is ranked 14th nationally, while its 13.0 turnovers per game are slotted 13th-best and its 16.0 assists per game are 54th across Division III.

FEAR THE SECOND TEN LIVES ON: Illinois Wesleyan has commonly used the second quarter to distance itself from opponents. Through nine games this year, IWU has outscored opponents 204-127, a difference of 77 points. The Titans have outscored all but one opponent in the second period this season, losing the quarter, 26-12, at Carroll, Dec. 7.

POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan sits inside the top-five in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Top-25 polls as of Dec. 10. IWU ranks third in the D3hoops.com poll, and hopped up to No. 4 in the WBCA list. IWU's ranking in D3hoops is the program's highest since being No. 1 following the conclusion of the 2011-12 season.

DEAN OF THE CCIW: Veteran head coach Mia Smith earned her 500th career win as Illinois Wesleyan rolled past Edgewood, 88-57, in its home opener Saturday, Nov. 23. Smith, who has accrued all of her wins at the helm of the Titans, is just the second coach in CCIW history to win at least 500 games. She carries a career record of 506-207.  The current conference leader in wins among active head coaches, Smith's career win total ranks second in league laurels. Additionally, her win total is 21st-most across all of active Division III head coaches.
    Under the tutelage of Smith, IWU has won 10 CCIW Championships and made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Titans won the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship following a fourth-place finish in 2011.

THE 54TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, in its 54th year of women's basketball, has compiled a 739-506 overall record. IWU's .594 all-time win percentage includes a 350-203 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

PILED ON THE POINTS: Illinois Wesleyan put up 31 points in the second quarter against Elmhurst, Dec. 14, marking the 38th time since the NCAA switched from halves to quarters ahead of the 2015-16 season that IWU has posted 30+ points in a frame. It was also the second occurrence this season, as the Titans scored 37 points in the second quarter at North Park, Dec. 4. IWU shot 15-for-19 from the field over the 10-minute period.
The point total at NPU is the second-highest in a quarter in program history and the most since Dec. 1, 2021 when the Green and White put up a program-record 39 points against Eureka.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans will enioy some rest before traveling to Texas for the Trinity Texas Tournament in San Antonio, Dec. 27-28. There, IWU will battle host, Trinity (Texas), Friday, Dec. 27, at 6 p.m. before taking on East Texas Baptist at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 28.