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Martha Lipic shooting
Kodiak Creative
60
Winner Wis.-Whitewater UWW 3-0,0-0 WIAC
51
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 1-1,0-0 CCIW
Winner
Wis.-Whitewater UWW
3-0,0-0 WIAC
60
Final
51
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
1-1,0-0 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Wis.-Whitewater UWW 13 15 15 17 60
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 13 20 10 8 51

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Fades in Loss to Warhawks

Lipic named to all-tournament team

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 10th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team ran out of steam in a top-25 matchup with No. 25 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Sunday, Nov. 16, on the second and final day of the Champions Classic inside the Shirk Center. The Titans (1-1) saw a second-half lead slip away, 60-51, as the Warhawks moved to 3-0 on the year.

Senior Martha Lipic (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest), IWU's lone all-tournament team selection, led the Green and White with a career-high 14 points alongside seven rebounds. Joining Lipic in double figures were fellow seniors Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic), Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson), and Sara Balli (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park). White chipped in 12 points, six boards, and four steals, while Bardic and Balli each finished with 11 points.

Illinois Wesleyan's offense was held to 20-of-57 shooting (35.1 percent), converting just 4-of-16 three-point efforts. The Titans knocked down 7-of-8 free throw tries. UWW knocked down 24-of-53 shots (45.3 percent) on the day. The Warhawks were 4-for-13 from beyond the arc and 8-of-13 at the charity stripe. IWU trailed in rebounding, 35-34, and lost the turnover battle, 19-18. UW-Whitewater compiled leads in points off turnovers (14-7), points in the paint (32-22), second-chance scoring (12-7), and transition points (8-2).

The matchup lived up to its billing as the two nationally ranked opponents went punch for punch. Bardic crossed up a defender and drove down the lane for a bucket late in the first quarter, but UWW converted free throws with 0.3 on the clock to tie the score, 13-13, after 10 minutes.

UW-Whitewater raced out to a nine-point, 24-15, lead in the second quarter before Bardic found freshman Caitlin Leyden (Park Ridge, Ill.-Main South) to spark a Titan run. A key offensive rebound by freshman Asia Kobylarczyk (Park Ridge, Ill.-Main South) led to a Balli three-ball, ending an 0-for-6 start from beyond the arc. Kobylayczyk found White for a three-pointer at the top of the key to cut the deficit to three, 26-23, with 3:56 on the clock.

Coming out of a Warhawk timeout, Bardic glided through the lane for a layup. Lipic followed with a jumper to give IWU a 29-28 edge. A pull-up by White and a 10-footer from Lipic lifted the Titans to a five-point, 33-28, halftime advantage.

Illinois Wesleyan controlled a majority of the third quarter, bolstering its lead to as many as seven, but the Warhawks scored the final four points of the frame to knot the game, 43-43, ahead of the fourth quarter.

The Green and White could not find a source of offense while the Warhawks scored the first nine points of the stanza to take control, 52-43. Working off a screen from Lipic, Bardic broke the lid off the basket with a three-pointer and then dished to White for a triple to trim UWW's lead to three, 52-49, at the under-five media timeout.

Turnovers and shot clock violations slowed the Titans momentum down the stretch as the Warhawks pulled away, 60-51.

Illinois Wesleyan looks to bounce back at the Hope Tipoff Tournament Friday-Saturday, Nov. 21-22. The Green and White goes up against Franciscan College Friday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m. ET before battling No. 23 Hope College Saturday, Nov. 22, at 3 p.m. ET.


 
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