Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
Kate Palmer shooting versus North Central
© AshtinElder
75
North Central (IL) NCC 6-8,2-3 CCIW
80
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 15-0,6-0 CCIW
North Central (IL) NCC
6-8,2-3 CCIW
75
Final
80
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
15-0,6-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
North Central (IL) NCC 19 10 20 26 75
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 20 16 25 19 80

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Titans Edge Cardinals

Free throws down the stretch ice the game

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The second-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team overcame foul trouble to win out in a physical game against North Central College Saturday, Jan. 11. The Titans edged the Cardinals, 80-75, to move to 15-0 overall and 6-0 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. NCC's record dropped to 6-8 on the year, 2-3 in league play.

Senior Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) notched the first double-double of her career in the contest, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while adding a pair of steals. Senior Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) went for a game-high 23 points, while senior Caite Knutson (Maryville, Ill.-Collinsville) added 10 points. 

Juniors Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) and Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) stuffed the box score. White tallied nine points alongside five assists and two steals, while Bardic contributed seven points, six assists, and four steals.

The Titans held a 44.7 field goal percentage, converting on 34-of-76 shot attempts, while the Cardinals went 27-for-61 from the field (44.3 percent). NCC hit five three-pointers to IWU's four and finished with a three-point field goal percentage advantage of 23.8 to 21.1. Illinois Wesleyan went 8-for-11 from the free throw line, while the visitor's knocked down 16-of-22 tries.

The Titans forced 20 turnovers, but committed 16 themselves as IWU led in points of turnovers, 26-17. The Green and White also secured leads in points in the paint (50-30), second-chance scoring (10-6), fastbreak scoring (22-7), and bench scoring (18-15). 

The Cardinals held a five-point, 7-2, lead in the early goings before the Titans' used their daunting run-and-jump press to climb ahead into the first media. Bardic assisted on back-to-back buckets to Huber before Huber hit senior Mallory Powers (Amboy, Ill.-Amboy) for a layup to put IWU on top, 8-7, with 4:47 left in the period.

North Central reclaimed the lead out of the timeout, but Knutson's putback gave IWU the lead right back. White then found Palmer for a shifty finish and junior Sarah Balli (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) converted a layup in traffic. Quick ball movement and a driving bucket by Huber upped the lead to seven, 18-11, but NCC used an 8-0 run to once again move in front, 19-18.

With time winding down in the period, Bardic made the veteran move to reset the offense. As time ticked down under 10 seconds in the period, Bardic drove and drew attention before finding Knutson for two points and a 20-19 Titan lead.

In the second quarter, Illinois Wesleyan held the lead despite a few North Central runs. Powers slipped a pass to White for a bucket on an out of bounds play and Bardic added a floater to lift IWU to a 36-29 lead into half.

The Titans came out of the break red-hot as an 18-5 run over nearly six minutes gave the home team a 56-40 advantage. Junior Laura Mahlum (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) picked off a pass near midcourt and cashed it in for a layup just before the media timeout. Bardic, Knutson, and Balli scored to give Illinois Wesleyan its largest lead of the day, 56-40, with 1:56 left in the period.

North Central chipped away over the final two minutes, but Mahlum swished a three on a kickout from White at the buzzer.

Leading 61-49 into the final period, the Titans saw their lead cut to three with 1:44 left to play. A Bardic three-pointer in front of the Titan bench doubled the lead, 75-69, off a pass from Knutson, but a four-point spurt by the Cardinals trimmed the lead to two, 75-73 at the 31-second mark.

North Central was forced to foul from there on out, but Illinois Wesleyan iced the game at the free throw line to escape with an 80-75 win. 

The Titans are back in action at home this Wednesday, Jan. 15, as IWU hosts Carthage College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.


 
Print Friendly Version