BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team wraps up a five-game roadtrip this Saturday, Dec. 7, with a clash with Carroll University at Van Male Fieldhouse. Tipoff between the Titans and Pioneers is scheduled for 2 p.m., with the game serving as the front end of a double feature with the IWU men's basketball team.
    The Green and White enters the weekend 7-0 on the season and 1-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Titans most recently rolled to an 88-57 win at North Park University, Dec. 4. Carroll carries a 5-3 overall record and a 1-0 CCIW mark. The Pioneers used a furious fourth-quarter comeback to fend off rival Carthage College, 62-57, on the road Dec. 4. The win snapped a two-game skid for CU.
    Fans can catch a live stream of the game or tune into Matt Sosler on the radio call, while live stats will also be provided. Links on can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
HECK OF A HALF: Illinois Wesleyan put up 58 points in the first half at North Park, Dec. 4, the most points IWU has scored in a half this season. It was the highest scoring half by the Titans since tallying 59 points against NPU inside Shirk Feb. 14, 2024. IWU went on to win, 86-46. Similar to this season's clash, 13 Titans registered points in the win. This year featured the first career points for Liv Meyers, while Luigi Lam and Alyssa Epps registered career-highs.
PASS THE BALL(I): Junior Sara Balli dished out a career-high seven assists in just 14 minutes of action against North Park in IWU's league opener, Dec. 4. Balli's assists are the most by a Titan this season and are the most since Sawyer White handed out eight dimes against Carroll Dec. 2, 2023.
POINTS WILL BE SCORED: Saturday's showdown between the two CCIW preseason favorites is sure to see plenty of points scored. IWU is ranked first in the league and 23rd nationally with 77.9 points per game. The Titans point total of 545 is second in the conference and 46th nationally behind Carroll's 568 points (27th nationally).
BALL SECURITY GOING TO BE THE KEY: The CCIW's top-three steals leaders will take the floor Saturday when IWU and Carroll collide at Van Male Fieldhouse. Carroll's Olivia Rangel leads the league with 28 thefts, while Sawyer White (27) and Ava Bardic (22) are second and third, respectively.
    Not shockingly, the Pioneers and Titans are one-two in steals per game with marks of 14.3 and 12.7, respectively. Both averages rank inside the top-40 nationally. Carroll leads the conference with its 23.75 turnovers forced per game, while IWU is third with 21.0 miscues forced per game.
PILED ON THE POINTS: Illinois Wesleyan put up 37 points in the second quarter at North Park, Dec. 4. IWU shot 15-for-19 from the field over the 10-minute period, clearing 30 points in a quarter for the 37th time since the NCAA switched from halves to quarters ahead of the 2015-16 season. The point total 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 at Eureka.
PLAYIN' THE PIOS: Illinois Wesleyan and Carroll will square off for the 31st time when the two battle Saturday. The Pios hold a 17-13 edge in the all-time series, but the Titans have held the upper hand since Carroll rejoined the CCIW. IWU has won 13 of the past 15 meetings, despite winning just one game at Van Male Fieldhouse since the 2019-20 season.
Last season, the Green and White swept the regular season series but the Pios got revenge in the CCIW Tournament Championship on IWU's home court.
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 193 as of Dec. 5. She is seven 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 16th across Division III with 3.86 thefts per game, while her 27 steals are 15th-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 he career total sits at 951 through 94 career games as of Dec. 5. Palmer is just 49 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 seven games, Illinois Wesleyan has shown immense poise by way of ball security. The Titans have dished out 116 assists to 88 turnovers, good for a 1.33 assist-to-turnover ratio. IWU's mark is ranked eighth nationally, while its 12.6 turnovers per game are slotted 10th-best across Division III. Futhermore, the Green and White's 16.7 assists per game is 42nf-best.
Individually, Ava Bardic is slotted 24th in the nation, first in the CCIW, with a 2.63 assist-to-turnover ratio. Lauren Huber is 134th with a mark of 1.47. Huber is also 119th with 25 assists.
FEAR THE SECOND TEN LIVES ON: Illinois Wesleyan commonly used the second quarter to distance itself from opponents last season, and seems to be running it back so far in 2024-25. Through seven games this year, IWU has outscored opponents 161-93, a difference of 68 points.
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 504-207. 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, entering its 54th year of women's basketball, has compiled a 737-506 overall record. IWU's .593 all-time win percentage includes a 348-203 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.
POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan sits inside the top-five in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Top-25 polls as of Dec. 3. IWU ranks fourth in the D3hoops.com poll, and hopped up to No. 5 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.
ON THE HORIZON: The Titans will focus their attention on final exams as the fall semester wraps up before welcoming Elmhurst University to the Shirk Center Saturday, Dec. 14. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
