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Kate Palmer, Ava Bardic and team huddle celebrating vs. Carroll 2.5.25
Ayodeji Okewole ayo_digital
75
Carroll (WI) CAR 14-6,9-2 CCIW
81
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 20-0,11-0 CCIW
Carroll (WI) CAR
14-6,9-2 CCIW
75
Final
81
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
20-0,11-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Carroll (WI) CAR 24 19 14 18 75
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 10 24 23 24 81

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Claws Back to Clip Carroll

Titans overcome 18-point deficit

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A rematch of last season's College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship game lived up to its billing Wednesday night, Feb. 5. In front of a boisterous crowd inside the Shirk Center, the No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team took down Carroll University, 81-75. The Titans (20-0, 11-0 CCIW) overcame an 18-point deficit to up its lead in the conference standings. The Pios dropped to 14-6 overall and 9-2 in the league with the setback.

Three Titans posted 20+ points, with junior Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) eclipsing 1000 points for her career. Bardic dropped a game-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting with four three-pointers. Senior Kate Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) dropped 21 points and fueled the comeback, while fellow senior Lauren Huber (Lombard, Ill.-Glenbard East) went for 20 points.

Huber, like Bardic, hit a career milestone as her seven rebounds gave her 800 for her career. Senior Mallory Powers (Amboy, Ill.-Amboy) pulled in a team-high nine rebounds and added seven points. Junior Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) posted team-highs of five assists and five steals.

The Green and White overcame a poor first quarter of shooting (4-for-14) to finish 50 percent from the field (28-for-56). IWU's strong effort extended beyond the arc, where the Titans hit 9-of-18 triple tries. Carroll also finished 50 percent from the field (29-for-58), but went 5-for-13 from distance (38.5 percent). CU made it to the free throw line more, but converted just 12-of-21 attempts, while IWU went 16-for-18.

Illinois Wesleyan won the tip and immediately fed Huber for a bucket to give the home team an early edge, but Carroll answered with a run to take control by double digits. 

Trailing 24-10 after 10 minutes, CU opened up an 18-point lead to force an IWU timeout with 8:22 to play in the second quarter.

Out of the break, White found Bardic for a corner three to get Illinois Wesleyan on track. Bardic drilled another triple moments later before back-to-back three-pointers by Palmer cut the Carroll cushion to eight, 40-32, with 2:47 left in the half.

Making a pass only she can make, White threw a half-court dart to fifth-year Caite Knutson (Maryville, Ill.-Collinsville) for a bucket in transition to keep the game within single digits, 43-34, into halftime. 

The Titans struck first in the second half, as Bardic pulled down a defensive rebound and quickly rewarded Powers for running the floor with a feed ahead for a layup. 

The Pios used a three-point play to push their lead to double digits, before Bardic drilled a stepback three ahead of the under-five media timeout. 

Trailing, 49-39, at the 3:48 mark in the quarter, Powers hit White for a triple from the wing. The play energized an already loud crowd and kicked off a 9-0 IWU run. Consecutive turnovers by the Pios opened the door as Huber rattled off four straight points before dishing to Powers for a layup. The bucket, which came off a steal by White, pulled the Titans within one, 49-48. 

Carroll used an and-one to slow the Illinois Wesleyan run, but it was only temporary. With the separation back up to five with under two minutes in the period, Huber converted a jumper and Bardic knocked down free throws to cut it to one, 55-54. 

With time ticking down, Huber drove into the paint and kicked to Palmer for a three-pointer to give the home team its first lead since the 9:42 mark of the first quarter. 

The Pios beat the buzzer with a floater in the lane to send the game to the fourth tied, 57-57.

In the fourth, the Green and White came out firing on all cylinders. The Titans used a 13-0 run over three minutes to turn the tables and claim an 11-point lead, 70-59, with 6:36 to play. The spurt featured buckets by five different players, while IWU converted 5-of-6 shots and went 2-for-2 at the free throw line over the stretch. 

With the crowd on their feet, Illinois Wesleyan was relentless over the final few minutes to keep Carroll from closing in. Bardic finished off the game with a pair of free throws with six seconds to play, the 1000th and 1001st points of her career, as IWU grabbed the 81-75 win. 

The Titans travel to Wisconsin this Saturday, Feb. 5, to take on Carthage College at Tarble Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will serve as the front end of a twin bill with the IWU men's basketball team.

 
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