BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The second-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team crosses state lines Saturday, Feb. 8, for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin bout at Carthage College. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Tarble Arena and will be followed by the IWU men's basketball team's game against the Firebirds.
    Illinois Wesleyan makes the 190-mile trip coming off a thrilling, 81-75, victory over Carroll University, Feb. 5. The win boosted the Titans' record to 20-0 on the year and 11-0 in league play as IWU maintained its position atop the conference standings. Carthage finds itself in a battle in the CCIW standings at 15-6 overall and 7-5 in league play. The Firebirds enter the weekend off a 62-50 loss to North Central College, Feb. 5. Carthage currently sits third at 7-5 in the league standings, with Wheaton (6-5) and Millikin (6-5) right on its heels.
    Saturday's CCIW doubleheader between the Titans and Firebirds will be broadcast on the Marquee Sports Network. Fans who do not have the Marquee Sports Network included in their normal television package can purchase a subscription through the Marquee Sports Network app, while Illinois Wesleyan will offer a radio broadcast on WESN. Matt Sosler will call the action on the radio alongside Joel Swanson, while live stats will also be provided. Links can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

BARDIC FOR 1000: With a free throw in the waning seconds of Illinois Wesleyan's, 81-75, win over Carroll, Feb. 5, junior Ava Bardic surpassed 1000 career points. Bardic, who transferred to IWU as a sophomore ahead of last season, scored 312 points as a freshman at Division II University of Illinois-Springfield. The Lincolnshire, Ill. native has scored 689 points during her Titan career as of Feb. 6 and is averaging better than 14.0 points per game at IWU.

MADE BUCKETS: The Titans finished off a comeback over Carroll behind strong shooting. IWU finished 28-for-56 from the floor, good for a 50 percent clip, and matched that from beyond the arc at 9-for-18. It marked Illinois Wesleyan's first game shooting better than 50 percent since posting a 53.7 clip against Wheaton, Jan. 25. Meanwhile, IWU's three-point clip was it's best since going 14-for-24  (58.3) from long distance at Carthage, Feb. 10, 2024.

95 PIZZAS FOR THE WIN: In a postgame interview with The Pantagraph's Randy Reinhardt, head coach Mia Smith praised the student crowd as being the difference in IWU's win over Carroll, Feb. 5. A rowdy student section, fueled by 95 pizzas, "was the sixth, seventh, and eighth man" according to Smith. Ava Bardic shared similar sentiments, "we had such good student support, all the energy was on our side."
    The game was pivotal in the race for a CCIW Regular Season title and hosting rights for the league tournament. With the win, IWU holds a two-game lead over Carroll along with the tiebreaker. The CCIW Tournament is scheduled to kickoff with quarterfinal games Tuesday, Feb. 25, before the semifinals and championship game, Feb. 28-March 1.

WE'VE HEARD OF 20/20, BUT 20/20/20!?!: The Titans were led by three 20-point scorers in their win over Carroll, Feb. 5. Ava Bardic led the way with 24 points, followed by Kate Palmer (21) and Lauren Huber (20). Coincidentally, the last time multiple Titans put up 20+ points included Huber and Bardic, as the duo went for 24 and 20, respectively, at WashU Dec. 1, 2024.
Moreover, it is the first time three Titans have posted 20+ points in the same game since Jan. 22, 2014. That season, IWU bested North Central, 115-106, on the road. Colleen McMahon led the Green and White with 28 points, while Shelby Jackson put up a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double. Gabrielle Holness chipped in 21 points off the bench.

FACING THE FIREBIRDS: Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage have met on the hardwood 81 times ahead of Saturday's CCIW clash with IWU holding a 53-28 lead in the all-time series. The Titans have won 18 straight against the Firebirds.
Illinois Wesleyan won this season's initial meeting, 63-42, inside the Shirk Center, Jan. 15. Lauren Huber led the Titans with 15 points and seven rebounds, with Kate Palmer tacking on 10 points and seven boards. IWU rode a 39-17 halftime lead to the win in a low scoring affair.

RISING THE RANKS: Continuing to climb the IWU career record lists, Lauren Huber has established herself as one of the all-time greats in program history. Huber currently sits third on the all-time scoring list, seven points behind Molly McGraw (1577), with 1570 career points. Additionally, with seven rebounds against Carroll, Feb. 5, Huber became the third player in program history to secure 800-or-more rebounds. With 800 career boards, Huber is behind program record holder Elaine Hill (901) and Christina Solari (884).
    Futhermore, she is the only player in program history with 1500+ points and 800+ rebounds during their IWU career. She is one of five players in program history to posted 1200+ points and 600+ rebounds joining Elaine Hill (1415p-901r), Kristen Schroff (1415p-726r), Sara Seebruch (1288p-611r), and Rebekah Ehresman (1236p-604r).

HUNGRY FOR MORE: With their win over No. 18 Chicago, Dec. 17, the Titans ran their record to 10-0 on the season. Now at 20-0, IWU's off to its best start since the 2008-09 season. That year, the Titans won their first 30 games before stumbling, 58-53, against WashU in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

IN RARE AIR: Lauren Huber eclipsed the 1500-career point mark in IWU's win over Carthage, Jan. 15. She is just the third player in program history to clear 1500 points. Huber's career point total of 1570 is seven points behind Molly McGraw (1577) and 62 behind the program's all-time leading scorer, Traci Butler.
Nationally, Huber is one of 11 active Division III women's basketball players with 1500+ points and 800+ career rebounds. She is 21st across Division III among active players in scoring and is also 21st among active players with 800 career rebounds.

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 (1091 points), trailing Gwynne Roberts 17th-ranked point total of 1163.
    Senior Mallory Powers is approaching 1000-point membership, sitting 91 points out of the club. The Amboy, Ill. native is 30th on the program's all-time scoring list with 909 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. 4. IWU ranks second in the D3hoops.com poll and held at third in the WBCA list announced Feb. 4. IWU's ranking in D3hoops is the program's highest since being No. 1 following the conclusion of the 2011-12 season.

EXPERIENCE PAYING DIVIDENDS: Through 20 games, Illinois Wesleyan has shown immense poise by way of ball security. The Titans have dished out 320 assists to 288 turnovers, good for a 1.11 assist-to-turnover ratio. IWU's mark is ranked 22nd nationally, while its 14.4 turnovers per game are slotted 52nd-best and its 16.1 assists per game are 45th across Division III.

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 229 as of Feb. 7. Rebekah Ehresman holds the record with 296 accrued during her career from 2014 to 2018, while Sydney Shanks is second with 233. Hope Schulte (223) and Christina Solari (216) are the only other two Titans to surpass 200 steals in their careers, with White ranking third all-time, four behind Shanks.
    The Downers Grove, Ill. native, who set the program's single-season steals record a season ago, is 28th across Division III with 3.15 thefts per game, while her 63 steals are 21st-most.

FEAR THE SECOND TEN LIVES ON: Illinois Wesleyan has commonly used the second quarter to distance itself from opponents. Through 20 games this year, IWU has outscored opponents 394-268, a difference of 126 points. The Titans have lost the quarter just twice over 20 games - 26-12, at Carroll, Dec. 7 and 24-9, at Trinity (Texas), Dec. 27.

THE 54TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, in its 54th year of women's basketball, has compiled a 750-506 overall record. IWU's .596 all-time win percentage includes a 358-203 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 517-207.  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.

COMEBACK KIDS: Since the start of the 2008-09 season, Illinois Wesleyan has posted 30 wins after trailing by 10-or-more points. The most recent comeback came against Carroll, Feb. 5, as IWU overcame an 18-point second-quarter deficit to win, 81-75. The double-digit comeback was IWU's fourth of the season, while it was the largest deficit the Titans have overcome since 2011. That year, Illinois Wesleyan fought back from down 23 in the first half to edge out George Fox, 61-60, in an NCAA Tournament game. Meanwhile, it is the largest comeback for the Titans against a CCIW foe since erasing Elmhurst's 20-point advantage Feb. 24, 2009.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans are back home this Wednesday, Feb. 12, for a rematch with North Park University. The game, which is the first of two straight home games for the Green and White, is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff inside the Shirk Center.