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Ava Bardic vs. Trinity Texas at Champions Classic Nov. 15, 2025
Kodiak Creative
63
Trinity (TX) TrinTX 0-2,0-0 SAA
73
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 1-0,0-0 CCIW
Trinity (TX) TrinTX
0-2,0-0 SAA
63
Final
73
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
1-0,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Trinity (TX) TrinTX 13 13 23 14 63
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 25 9 23 16 73

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Tames Tigers For Season-Opening Win

Three Titans score in double figures

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 10 Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team began its 2025-26 season with a victory Saturday morning, Nov. 15, over Trinity University (Texas), 73-63, to kick off the Champions Classic inside the Shirk Center. The Titans climb to 1-0 on the young season, while the Tigers dip to 0-2. 

Illinois Wesleyan was led by senior Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire Ill.-Stevenson) in scoring with 22 points, adding three assists and three steals. Fellow senior Sara Balli (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) chipped in 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, earning the first double-double of her career. Senior Martha Lipic (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) also had career-highs in points with 12 and rebounds with eight coming off the Titan bench. Senior Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) dished out a game-high seven assists. 

The Titans held a large advantage in rebounding, including a 25-14 lead in offensive boards. Freshman Caitlin Leyden (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) paced IWU with nine offensive rebounds, 11 in total, in her Green and White debut. The rebounding disparity led to a 21-8 Titan advantage in second chance points. 

Several offensive rebounds led to the first few IWU buckets, including a Bardic three-ball and freshman Asia Kobylarczyk (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) three-pointer from a Leyden offensive board and assist to give the Green and White an early 6-0 lead. 

The Titan offense continued to fire on all cylinders in the first quarter, as a Lipic and-one off of a White steal ended the first quarter in a 25-11 IWU advantage. 

Trinity snuck up on the Green and White in the second quarter, getting as close as six points in the heart of the second period, but a sneaky inbound pass from White to Leyden gave the Titans momentum. As time expired in the second ten, a White steal and dish to Balli for a lay-in gave IWU a 34-26 lead heading into the break. 

The Tigers came within one fresh out of the intermission, but a three from Bardic, followed by a Balli trey pushed Illinois Wesleyan ahead, as the Green and White maintained a comfortable lead throughout the remainder of the game. Two Kobylarczyk layups gave the Titans their largest lead of the game, 65-49, with seven minutes remaining in the contest. 

Trinity gave Illinois Wesleyan one final scare, going on a 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter, but a White three put the Tigers to bed, giving IWU its first win of the 2025-26 campaign.

Illinois Wesleyan finishes up the inaugural Champions Classic tomorrow, Nov. 16, inside the Shirk Center with a 2 p.m. contest with 25th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
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