BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The second half of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play begins Saturday, Jan. 25, with the second-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team playing host to Wheaton College inside the Shirk Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will serve as the front end of a doubleheader with the IWU men's basketball team. The contest will also serve as the annual PinkZone game along with Women's Basketball Alumni Day inside the Shirk Center.
    Illinois Wesleyan returns to the friendly confines of the Shirk Center with a 17-0 record and 8-0 CCIW standing. The Titans most recently bested Millikin University, 81-60, Jan. 22, in Decatur. Wheaton used some late game heroics to lift its record to 9-8, with a 4-4 CCIW mark, in its most recent outing. The Thunder edged Augustana College, 64-62.
    Matt Sosler and Brittany Carper will have the call on the live stream as well as on WESN, while live stats will be provided. Links on can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
PINK ZONE PARTY: Illinois Wesleyan will host Wheaton Saturday as part of its annual PinkZone game. Clothing with this year's PinkZone logo will be sold throughout the day while a silent auction will take place, as IWU raises money for Mary Kate Kroesch, a local high schooler battling a rare and aggressive form of sarcoma.
SUPER POWERS: The Titans came away with a win in Decatur, Jan. 22, behind a career day from Mallory Powers. The Amboy, Ill. native poured in a career-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds for the fifth double-double of her career. For good measure, Powers added a team-leading six assists with an efficient 7-of-9 shooting performance that included a 3-for-3 effort from beyond the arc. She also tied for the team lead with three steals.
EIGHT IS GREAT: Illinois Wesleyan completed a perfect run through the first half of conference play with its 81-60 win at Millikin, Jan. 22. The win snapped a five-game skid against the Big Blue and marked IWU's first win at the Griswold Center since claiming the 2022 CCIW Tournament title on MU's floor, Feb. 26, 2022.
IN RARE AIR: Lauren Huber eclipsed the 1500-career point mark in IWU's win over Carthage, Jan. 15. She is just the third player in program history to clear 1500 points. Huber's career point total of 1521 is 56 points behind Molly McGraw (1577) and 111 behind the program's all-time leading scorer, Traci Butler.
    Nationally, Huber is one of eight active Division III women's basketball players with 1500+ points and 750+ career rebounds. She is 20th across Division III among active players in scoring and is also 21st among active players with 769 career rebounds.
AGAINST THE THUNDER: Saturday's CCIW showdown between Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton will be the 93rd all-time meeting between the two conference foes. The Thunder hold a 56-36 edge in the all-time series, but the Titans have won eight of the past nine tilts including both of last year's meetings.
    The Green and White used a strong second half to earn a 59-45 win over Wheaton College, Jan. 4, in the first meeting this season. Lauren Huber put together a monster 21-point, 15-rebound double-double, while Ava Bardic poured in 17 points.
SCORERS SCORE: Illinois Wesleyan's offense has been one of the best around Division III this season. In fact, IWU's 1307 total points scored ranks 13th-most nationally, while its 76.9 points per game are slotted 15th.
DEFENSE LOCKED IN IN 2025: Since the calendar flipped to 2025, Titans have taken their defensive play to another level. In five games in the new year, Illinois Wesleyan is holding opponents to 52.0 points per game - an 8.1 point improvement from its season average of 60.1 points per contest. Opponents have connected on just 98-of-272 field goal attempts (36.0 percent) and 22-of-92 three-point tries (23.9 percent), while averaging 23.6 turnovers per game with 118 total over the five-game span.
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 30-year history, the women have won 265 of 349 of its home games, good for a .756 win percentage.
    This season, IWU is 6-0 inside the friendly confines of the Shirk Center. The Titans posted an 8-3 record on their home floor during the 2023-24 campaign.
POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan held steady inside the top-five in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Top-25 polls as of Jan. 21. IWU ranks second in the D3hoops.com poll, having earned one first-place vote, and held at third in the WBCA list announced Jan. 21. IWU's ranking in D3hoops is the program's highest since being No. 1 following the conclusion of the 2011-12 season.
SHE'LL TAKE THAT X200: 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. With four steals in Illinois Wesleyan's win over No. 18 Chicago, White hit 200 steals for her career, becoming just the fifth Titan in program history to do so. Her career total currently stands at 221 as of Jan. 24. 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, with White ranking fourth all-time.
    The Downers Grove, Ill. native, who set the program's single-season steals record a season ago, is 30th across Division III with 3.24 thefts per game, while her 55 steals are 19th-most.
PERFECT 10, IN SEARCH OF MORE: With their win over No. 18 Chicago, Dec. 17, the Titans ran their record to 10-0 on the season. Now at 17-0, IWU's off to its best start since the 2009-10 campaign, when the Green and White won its first 18 contests. IWU went on to finish 28-2 overall, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Tournament, where its season came to an end with a heartbreaking, 77-76, loss to UW-Stevens Point.
EXPERIENCE PAYING DIVIDENDS: Through 17 games, Illinois Wesleyan has shown immense poise by way of ball security. The Titans have dished out 266 assists to 242 turnovers, good for a 1.10 assist-to-turnover ratio. IWU's mark is ranked 22nd nationally, while its 14.2 turnovers per game are slotted 41st-best and its 15.7 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 17 games this year, IWU has outscored opponents 327-224, a difference of 103 points. The Titans have lost the quarter just twice over 17 games - 26-12, at Carroll, Dec. 7 and 24-9, at Trinity (Texas), Dec. 27.
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 514-207. 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 747-506 overall record. IWU's .596 all-time win percentage includes a 355-203 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.
CLIMBING THE COMMA CLUB: Senior Kate Palmer hit a free throw in overtime against Trinity (Texas) to push her career point total to 1000 through 98 career games. Palmer is just the 26th member of the exclusive club. The Geneva, Ill. native currently ranks 21st on the program's all-time scoring list (1059 points), trailing Katie Cantrell's 20th-ranked point total of 1060.
ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan will enjoy its second bye of the season during the midweek before traveling to R.A. Faganel Hall for a 2 p.m. bout with the Bluejays of Elmhurst University.
