BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Shirk Center will host the final two rounds of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's basketball tournament this Friday-Saturday, Feb. 28-March 1. The No. 1 seed in the field, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team will take on sixth-seeded Millikin University at 7:30 p.m. Friday evening, Feb. 28. Second-seeded Carroll University will spar with fourth-seeded Wheaton College in the first semifinal at 5 p.m.
Illinois Wesleyan, ranked third nationally, heads into tournament play with a 24-1 overall record. The Titans completed a 15-1 league schedule with a 65-54 triumph at Augustana College, Feb. 22. Millikin mustered its way into the semifinal round with a 63-57 upset of third-seeded Carthage College, Feb. 25. The Big Blue snapped a four-game losing skid and enters the weekend 9-17 on the season.
    Carroll, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, rolls into the Shirk Center after a bye in the quarterfinals. The Pioneers' record stands at 17-8, with CU looking to bounce back from a 93-88 overtime loss at Elmhurst University in its regular season finale, Feb. 22. Meanwhile, Wheaton punched its ticket to Bloomington with a gritty 70-57 win over Elmhurst in the quarterfinals, Feb. 25. The Thunder own a 15-11 overall record.
    Matt Sosler and Caden Sexton will call the action on the live stream, while live stats will also be available. Links can be found on the schedule page of IWUsports.com.
CEMENTING HER LEGACY: Lauren Huber continues to climb the IWU career record lists, establishing herself as one of the program's all-time greats. She is the only player in program history with 1500+ points and 800+ rebounds during their IWU career, as is one of just three to post 1200+ points, 600+ rebounds, and 200+ assists joining Kristen Schroff (1415p-726r-328a) and Rebekah Ehresman (1236p-604r-376a).
With 12 points in Illinois Wesleyan's regular season finale at Augie, Feb. 22, Huber broke the program's career scoring record. The mark of 1632 career points by Traci Butler had stood since 1996. The new program record holder, Huber has amassed 1637 career points as of Feb. 25.
Additionally, Huber is 51 rebounds away from tying the school record held by Elaine Hill (901). She currently ranks third all-time with 848 career boards, trailing Hill and Christina Solari (884).
ALL-CCIW HIGH FIVE: Illinois Wesleyan made conference history Monday, Feb. 24, as the Titans saw five student-athletes reel in All-CCIW accolades. Lauren Huber, a unanimous selection, was joined by Ava Bardic and Mallory Powers on the All-CCIW First Team. Kate Palmer and Sawyer White snagged Second Team All-CCIW status. It marked the first time since the league started awarding All-CCIW honors in 1986-87 that one institution garnered five selections.
    Huber became the first Titan in program history to earn first team honors four times in a career. Powers repeated as a First Team All-CCIW pick, while Bardic bumped up from a second team selection a season ago. Palmer reeled in Second Team All-CCIW status for the second consecutive year, while White hauled in the first all-conference selection of her basketball career. White had previously been named Second Team All-CCIW in soccer twice.
THAT'S OUR COACH: Included in the conference's postseason honors, IWU head coach Mia Smith was voted the CCIW Coach of the Year. It is the seventh time in her career she has reeled in the honor and the first since 2018. Smith guided the Titans to their third CCIW Regular Season Championship in the past four years and mentored a league-record five all-conference performers.
TITANS IN THE CCIW TOURNEY: Illinois Wesleyan is no stranger to the CCIW Tournament having appeared in the field in 24 of the 25 seasons since the league began hosting one in 2003. IWU missed the CCIW Tournament in 2015, but has appeared in the championship game 18 times. Overall, Illinois Wesleyan has amassed a 30-9 record in the CCIW Tournament since 2003, while Millikin sits at 9-8 in the league tournament all-time. The Big Blue have seen significant success in recent years, winning two of the past four league tournament titles.
BREAKING IT DOWN BY SEED: The Titans are familiar with being the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, as the Green and White have claimed the league's title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament seven times as the top-seed. Since 2003, team's holding the No. 1 seed have posted a 34-5 overall record and has claimed 17 of the CCIW Tournament crowns.
BATTLING THE BIG BLUE IN THE CCIW TOURNAMENT: Illinois Wesleyan and Millikin have met in the conference tournament eight times since the league began hosting one in 2003. IWU clings to a slim 5-3 edge in the all-time series, but MU came out on top in the latest postseason meeting between the two. The Titans were downed 82-65 in the semifinals of the 2023 tournament in Decatur, one year after IWU knocked off Millikin, 80-73, in the 2022 CCIW Tournament title game.
COMMA CLUB CLIMBER: 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 18th on the program's all-time scoring list (1143 points), trailing Gwynne Roberts 17th-ranked point total of 1163.
    Senior Mallory Powers is approaching 1000-point membership, sitting 32 points out of the club. The Amboy, Ill. native is 29th on the program's all-time scoring list with 968 career points.
POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan held steady inside the top-five in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Top-25 polls as of Feb. 24. IWU ranks third in the D3hoops.com and fourth in the WBCA poll.
FEAR THE SECOND TEN LIVES ON: Illinois Wesleyan has commonly used the second quarter to distance itself from opponents. Through 25 games this year, IWU has outscored opponents 494-321, a difference of 173 points. The Titans have lost the quarter just twice over 25 games - 26-12, at Carroll, Dec. 7 and 24-9, at Trinity (Texas), Dec. 27. IWU and Carthage went point-for-point, Feb. 8, with the quarter finishing even, 15-15.
EXPERIENCE PAYING DIVIDENDS: Through 25 games, Illinois Wesleyan has shown immense poise by way of ball security. The Titans have dished out 399 assists to 369 turnovers, good for a 1.08 assist-to-turnover ratio. IWU's mark is ranked 39th nationally, while its 14.8 turnovers per game are slotted 79th-best and its 16.0 assists per game are 44th across Division III. The Titans rank 20th nationally with a +7.24 turnover margin.
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 244 as of Feb. 20 and ranks second-most all-time. Rebekah Ehresman holds the record with 296 accrued during her career from 2014 to 2018, while Sydney Shanks is third with 233. Hope Schulte (223) and Christina Solari (216) are the only other two Titans to surpass 200 steals in their careers.
    The Downers Grove, Ill. native, who set the program's single-season steals record a season ago, is 19th across Division III with 3.24 thefts per game, while her 81 steals are also 19th-most.
THE 54TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, in its 54th year of women's basketball, has compiled a 754-507 overall record. IWU's .598 all-time win percentage includes a 362-204 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.
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 521-208. 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.
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 269 of 353 of its home games, good for a .761 win percentage.
This season, IWU is 10-0 inside the friendly confines of the Shirk Center.
WE AIN'T SHARING NOTHING: With a win at North Central, Feb. 19, IWU locked up its first outright CCIW Regular Season Championship since 2018 and its 11th regular season title overall.
ON THE HORIZON: The winner of Friday's bout between Illinois Wesleyan and Millikin will advance to Saturday's CCIW Tournament title game against the winner of the Carroll-Wheaton semifinal. Tipoff of the championship game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, March 1.
