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Huber drains a layup, hits 1500 points against Carthage Jan. 15, 2025
© AshtinElder
42
Carthage CARTH 11-4,3-3 CCIW
63
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 16-0,7-0 CCIW
Carthage CARTH
11-4,3-3 CCIW
42
Final
63
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
16-0,7-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Carthage CARTH 10 7 9 16 42
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 22 17 12 12 63

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Stymies Firebirds

Huber becomes third Titan to eclipse 1500 points

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Strong defense and balanced offensive contributions led the No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team to a 63-42 win over Carthage College Wednesday, Jan. 15. IWU grabbed its seventh College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin win of the season, while improving to 16-0 overall. CC dropped to 11-4 and 3-3 in the CCIW.

An evenly matched effort on the glass saw the Titans and Firebirds pull away with 34 rebounds apiece as IWU led 13-10 on offensive boards while CC carried the advantage on the defensive glass, 24-21. 

Senior Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) led the way with 15 points and three assists while tying for a team-high seven rebounds with fellow senior Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva). Huber's 15 points pushed her past the 1500 career points mark, needing 13 entering the game today, becoming the third player in history to do so. Palmer totaled 10 points, an assist and a pair of steals. Juniors Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) and Laura Mahlum (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington) shared the team-lead three steals apiece and each contributed four points. 

Illinois Wesleyan converted 25-of-62 shot attempts, good for a 40.3 clip, while knocking down 6-of-23 three-point tries (26.1 percent). The Titans converted seven free throws on 10 attempts. The Firebirds finished 17-for-50 from the field (34 percent), and went six-for-20 (30 percent). CC only attempted two free throws, hitting both.

The Green and White run-and-jump wreaked havoc for the Firebirds, as the Titans turned in a 24-9 advantage in turnovers, leading to a 26-6 advantage in points off turnovers. IWU also held advantages in points in the paint (34-20), second-chance scoring (11-3), and fastbreak scoring (10-8). Carthage registered the advantage in bench scoring, 20-13, and each team finished with 34 rebounds. 

IWU came out strong in the opening quarter, as Powers net an open three ball to pick up an 11-2 lead early on. Off the inbound, IWU's unrelenting full-court press resulted in a quick steal by Huber who fed Palmer for the layup, forcing the Firebirds to call a timeout, as the Green and White led 13-2 with six minutes left to play in the first.

Palmer and Balli landed a pair of three-balls off assists from White and Huber, respectively. Knutson closed out the opening quarter with a layup as IWU held the 22-10 advantage into the second quarter. 

Powers ended two scoreless minutes to start the second quarter on a jumper to kickstart a nine point run for IWU, 31-10. Mahlum scored on a driving layup to give the Titans the 39-17 cushion going into halftime. 

Carthage picked up the first bucket out of the break but IWU would not let up as they carried a 51-26 lead into the final 10 minutes of play. 

A driving layup by Mahlum opened the final quarter followed by Bardic with a step back bucket as IWU moved to a 30-point lead on the Firebirds, 56-26. Carthage's Emma Thistle knocked down back-to-back three pointers before Knutson put away a turnaround jumper to halt the Firebird run. 

With 3:39 left to play, Feeney scored on a driving layup, upping the score to 63-34. Carthage managed to put up the final eight points of the game, nevertheless, the Titans came away with the 63-42 victory. 

Illinois Wesleyan will take a short trip to Decatur, Ill. Wednesday, Jan. 22 for a battle with the Millikin Big Blue at the Griswold Center.
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