BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 17th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Shirk Center this weekend, Nov. 29-30, as host to the 32nd annual Midwest Challenge. The Titans will welcome a loaded field that includes No. 16 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, No. 19 WashU, and DePauw University.
WashU and DePauw will battle in the first game Saturday, Nov. 29, at 2 p.m., while IWU and UWL will go at it at 4 p.m. The winners will advance to Sunday's title 4 p.m. title game, while the consolation final will be played at 2 p.m.
After nearly a week off from competition, the Titans return to the hardwood looking to improve on their 2-2 standing. The Green and White split a pair of games at the Michelle Schoon Classic hosted by Hope College, Nov. 21-22. IWU overwhelmed Franciscan University, 88-56, before falling in overtime to No. 23 Hope, 76-73. UW-La Crosse enters the weekend with a 5-1 record and a five-game win streak. The Eagles have won five straight since suffering an 82-61 season-opening loss to Hope, Nov. 7. UWL is coming off an 83-60 win over Luther College, Nov. 22. WashU sits at 4-1 on the year and is winners of four in-a-row. The Bears four-game streak includes an average margin of victory of 33.3 points and includes a 75-55 win at Millikin, Nov. 22. DePauw also travels to Bloomington off a win at Millikin (80-53), Nov. 19. The Tigers check in at 2-2 overall.
A live stream and live stats of each contest will be available on the women's basketball page of iwusports.com.
SCHOON STANDOUTS: The Titans saw two named to the Michelle Schoon Classic All-Tournament team. Asia Kobylarczyk and Sawyer White represented the Green and White on the team following their strong performances. Kobylarczyk tied for the team lead with 16.0 points per game on a field goal percentage of 70.6 percent. She hit 6-of-11 three-point tries, good for a 54.5 clip, and pullled in 5.0 rebound and 3.5 steals per contest. White chipped in 14.0 ppg alongside 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals a contest.
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT: Illinois Wesleyan came up short, 76-73,t in overtime in the psuedo championship game of Hope's Michelle Schoon Classic, Nov. 22. It was IWU's first OT game of the season and its first since taking Trinity (Texas) to OT Dec. 27, 2024.
Since the 2009-10 season, IWU holds a 9-6 record in games that require overtime. Over that span, the Titans have played one double overtime game - Jan. 28, 2012 at Wheaton, where IWU was topped by the Thunder, 76-74.
FUELED BY THE FIRST HALF: The Titans dominant win over Franciscan, Nov. 21, came on the back of a 55-point first half. IWU's scorching start saw the Green and White put up its most points in a half since dropping 58 at North Park Dec. 4, 2024. IWU carried a 25-point lead (55-30) into halftime against the Barons as nine players scored in the opening 20 minutes and the Titans ripped off a 14-point scoring run in the second quarter.
BENCH GOES OFF: Led by 13 points from Asia Kobylarczyk, Illinois Wesleyan's bench put up 39 points in its win over Franciscan, Nov. 21. Rena Robinson and Alyssa Epps added seven points apiece, while Ashley Mahlum talled six points. Luigi Lam chipped in four points, while Payton Jacob added two. IWU's 39 bench points were its most since scoring 41 in the opening round of last season's NCAA Tournament against Centre, March 7.
COUGHING IT UP: The duanting run-and-jump defense of the Titans feasted on the Barons, Nov. 21, as IWU forced Franciscan into 27 turnovers. The Green and White lifted 18 steals as Ava Bardic and Asia Kobylarczyk posted four each to lead the way. The 27 forced turnovers are the most by an opponent since Illinois Wesleyan forced Trine into 27 miscues in the second round of the NCAA Tournament March 8, 2024.
WINNERS, WINNERS, TURKEY DINNER: The Midwest Challenge will feature a coaching quartet that has amassed a combined 2,000 wins. DePauw's Kris Huffman has 743 to her name, followed by WashU's Lisa Stone (687), IWU's Mia Smith (527), UWL's Moran Lonning (43).
MIDWEST CHALLENGE: The Midwest Challenge is back for its 32nd go-around. The annual rotating tournament began in 1993 and featured IWU, WashU, and DePauw. The tournament expanded to include Blackburn, Illinois College, Bluffton, Franklin, Beloit, Thomas More, Kalamazoo, Coe, Central, Hendrix, and Olivet over the years. Rose-Hulman rounded out the field from 2017 until this season, when RHIT was replaced by UW-La Crosse.
WashU has seen the most success in the tournament, winning the weekend 15 times. IWU has eight wins, including each of the past three seasons, while DePauw has six wins in the tournament's history.
The Titans' path to the Midwest Challenge title last season included wins over DePauw and WashU. After edging DU, 65-59, the Green and White upended host and 11th-ranked WashU, 67-59. Lauren Huber led the way with 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Ava Bardic put up 20 points, four boards, and two steals.
TALE OF THE TAPE: Illinois Wesleyan holds a combined record of 19-34 against UW-La Crosse, DePauw, and WashU all-time. The Titans are level with the Tigers all-time at 11-11, but trail in the all-time series with WashU (22-9) and UWL (0-1).
The Titans have squared off against UW-La Crosse just once previously as Saturday will see IWU and the Eagles go at it for the first time since 1998. That meeting, which took place in Whittier, Calif., saw the Green and White drop a 72-71 heartbreaker.
IWU has won three straight against DePauw with two wins coming in the Midwest Challenge and the first of the three coming in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Four double-digit scores and a strong second half powered the Titans past the Tigers, 65-59, in St. Louis, Mo. Nov. 30, 2024. DePauw's last win over IWU came in the 2019 Midwest Challenge, where the Green and White fell, 69-67.
The Titans trail the all-time tally with WashU, 22-9, despite winning the past three meetings. If Illinois Wesleyan and the Bears matchup on Sunday, IWU will look to best the Bears in Shirk for the first time since Nov. 21, 2009 and snap a three-game skid against WashU in Bloomington.
THE DEAN OF THE CCIW: In her 27-year career at the helm of Illinois Wesleyan women's hoops, Mia Smith ranks second all-time in CCIW victories. With 292 wins to 95 loses in conference contests, Smith needs just four league victories to surpass Millikin's Lori Kerans and overtake the title of all-time winningest coach in CCIW history. Kerans holds the all-time record for wins with 556 in her 32-year career, as Smith lurks close behind with 527.
THE 55TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan is in its 55th year of women's basketball and has compiled a 760-510 overall record. IWU's .599 all-time win percentage includes a 363-204 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.
SHE'LL STILL TAKE THAT: Senior Sawyer White, who has been equally as well-known for her bench griddy celebration, was originally made famous for wreaking havoc on the defensive end throughout her Titan career. With 274 steals in her career, White needs just 22 steals to surpass current all-time steals leader Rebekah Ehresman, who accrued 296 during her outstanding career as a Titan from 2014-2018. White ranks second on the all-time steals list, ahead of Sydney Shanks (233). Her sophomore season, White set the program's single season steals record with 112 takeaways.
In the CCIW, White sits 130 steals behind Millikin's Jennifer Falbe, who had 404 takeaways in her career as a Big Blue from 1996-2000. In White's sophomore season, she set a single season steals record with 112, which ranks second all-time in a single season in league history.
POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan remains in the national polls through the first few weeks of the 2025-26 season. The Titans are 17th in the D3hoops.com Top-25 and No. 25 in the WBCA poll.
IWU is the lone College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin team featured in both polls, while Carroll jumped in to the D3hoops rankings at No. 24. The Pios are receiving votes in the WBCA rankings.
ON THE HORIZON: IWU lifts the lid on College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play Wednesday, Dec. 3, with a roadtrip to Rock Island, Ill. The Titans will take on the Vikings of Augustana College in a 5 p.m. tip at the Carver Center.
