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WBB Bench Hype
80
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 8-0,2-0 CCIW
71
Carroll (WI) CAR 5-4,1-1 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
8-0,2-0 CCIW
80
Final
71
Carroll (WI) CAR
5-4,1-1 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 16 12 23 29 80
Carroll (WI) CAR 11 26 19 15 71

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Depth Key in Comeback at Carroll

Titans improve to 8-0 overall, 2-0 in the CCIW

WAUKESHA, Wis. - The fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team gutted out a key College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin battle at Carroll University's Van Male Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon, Dec. 7. The Titans trailed by as many as 11 in the third quarter, but came back to win, 80-71, to maintain their impressive standing as they moved to 8-0 (2-0 CCIW). The Pioneers dropped to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference standings with the loss.

It was a gritty effort that saw each of IWU's eight contribute in key moments. Junior Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Bloomingdale) led the way with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Seniors Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) and Caite Knutson (Maryville, Ill.-Collinsville) joined Bardic in double figures, finishing with 19 and 15 points, respectively. Knutson was also IWU's leading rebounder with nine boards, while Huber hauled in eight. 

Seniors Mallory Powers (Amboy, Ill.-Amboy) and Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) added eight points apiece. Palmer, who was celebrating her 22nd birthday, added six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. The junior trio of Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic), Sara Balli (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park), and Laura Mahlum (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) also came through with strong contributions on both ends of the floor. White was the team-leader with three steals, and now sits four shy of 200 for her career, while the junior added four points.

Carroll capitalized on a sluggish start by Illinois Wesleyan as the Pioneers hit a three-pointer off on offensive rebound for the game's first bucket, while the Titans turned it over on each of their first two possessions.

Palmer got the Green and White on the board with a drive as she diced her way down the left side of the lane, but CU answered with a bucket to reclaim the lead.

Back-to-back shots from Knutson, the second of which came on a heady pass from Bardic, were followed by consecutive buckets by Huber. The eight-point spurt gave IWU a 10-5 edge with just under four minutes on the clock.

White carved up the Carroll defense and hit a buzzer-beating layup to maintain the five-point cushion, 16-11, into the second period.

Excellent ball movement by the Titans paid off by way of a three-pointer by  Mahlum, but IWU's momentum was halted there. Mahlum's triple, which came from a Palmer assist, came at the 9:44 mark, but was followed by eight straight points by Carroll to level the score at 19 all.

Free throws by Huber and Knutson and a jumper by Bardic lifted the Titans to a 24-21 edge, but the Pioneers closed the half with a 16-4 run to carry a 37-28 lead into the break.

Carroll stretched its lead to 47-36 on an and-one by Kacy Kratz with 6:18 to go in the third quarter as the Titans struggled to find their footing on the offensive end.

That all changed though, as Bardic fired a pass to Palmer for a three-ball to cut the deficit to eight. A stop on the defensive end was followed by a jumper from Bardic to pull the Titans closer, 47-41.

IWU's run-and-jump clicked on the next two possessions and White and Palmer registered back-to-back swipe-and-scores in the full-court press. Palmer's layup made it a two-point game, 47-45, with 4:43 left in the third and forced a Carroll timeout.

Out of the reset, the Pioneers pushed their advantage back up to nine but Bardic closed the period with a four-point run.

Trailing 56-51 with 10 minutes left, Illinois Wesleyan's shooting night continued to improve while Carroll's slowed. IWU went 10-for-15 for the period and 9-of-11 at the free throw line, while CU went 5-for-19 over the final 10.

The play in the paint powered the comeback Huber came through with an and-one along with a putback layup to quickly cut the deficit to two, 58-56, just over a minute in.

Knutson snuck a pass through to Powers for a layup to knot the game at 58-58 with 7:50 to play. 

Bardic knocked down a free throw at the 6:07 mark to give the Green and White a 59-58 edge, the Titans' first lead since the four-minute mark in the second quarter. The freebie by Bardic was key as IWU never relinquished the lead from that point on and led a 9-of-11 free throw shooting effort by the Titans in the frame. 

As a team, the Green and White shot 31-for-62 from the field, a 50 percent clip. IWU's overall field goal percentage was made more impressive as the Titans overcame a slow day from beyond the arc, finishing 2-for-18. Illinois Wesleyan went 16-for-20 at the free throw line, while Carroll converted on 6-of-11 freebies. The Pios finished 30-for-62 from the field (48.4 percent) and 5-for-18 (27.8 percent) from three-point distance.

Illinois Wesleyan finished with a 39-28 lead in rebounding, highlighted by a 13-9 edge on the offensive end. The Green and White finished with leads in points in the paint (46-38) and second chance scoring (13-9), while Carroll led in points off turnovers (15-14) and bench scoring (20-7).

Illinois Wesleyan takes a break to focus on academics as fall semester final exams are scheduled for the upcoming week. The Titans will return to action Saturday, Dec. 14, as host to Elmhurst University inside the Shirk Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.


 
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