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Leah Palmer vs. North Park
© AshtinElder
39
North Park NPU 4-10,0-5 CCIW
77
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 10-4,5-0 CCIW
North Park NPU
4-10,0-5 CCIW
39
Final
77
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
10-4,5-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
North Park NPU 13 6 6 14 39
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 17 20 25 15 77

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Topples North Park

Titans host Millikin Wednesday, Jan. 14

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Fourteen Titans registered points as the 17th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team overpowered North Park University, 77-39, in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin action at the Shirk Center Saturday, Jan. 10. The Green and White extend its record to 10-4 overall and 5-0 in conference competition, while NPU falls to 4-10 (0-5 CCIW). 

North Park's 39 points mark the lowest point total IWU has held an opponent to since defeating Concordia Wisconsin, 86-38, as part of the Hope Tipoff Tournament Nov. 11, 2022.

Leading a lengthy box score, freshman Caitlin Leyden (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) totaled a game-high 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting with four rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Senior Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) was the lone other double-digit scorer in the game, putting up 11 points with seven assists, six steals, and four rebounds. Redshirt freshman Leah Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) tacked on nine points and seven rebounds, both of which were career-highs, while her seven caroms were a team-best. Freshman Luigi Lam (Kowloon, Hong Kong-Wa Ying College) tacked on seven points in eight minutes of action.

Illinois Wesleyan dominated the contest with advantages in nearly every statistical category. IWU owned a 53-34 lead in rebounding and a 21-5 advantage in second-chance scoring. The Titans turned the Vikings over 27 times, cashing in for a 22-8 lead in points off turnovers. The Green and White also notched the upperhand in points in the paint (46-18), fastbreak scoring (23-2), and bench scoring (37-14). 

The Titans went 33-for-80 from the field, but just 4-for-23 from beyond the arc in the contest. IWU drained 7-of-10 free throw tries, while NPU went 8-for-8 at the line. The Vikings were held to 25.9 percent shooting (14-of-54) overall and went 3-for-17 in three-point attempts.

Rallying behind the run-and-jump full court pressure, the Green and White jolted out to a 6-0 lead. After buckets from White and Leyden, a theft by White turned into a fastbreak layup for senior Sara Balli (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park) and a 6-0 IWU lead.

Leyden stretched the lead to eight, 14-6, at the 4:26 mark of the first quarter, but North Park knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull within four, 17-13, after 10 minutes. 

Illinois Wesleyan outscored NPU 45-12 over the next two quarters to take complete control. Freshman Rena Robinson (San Jose, Calif.-Archbishop Mitty) drained a triple off a handoff from White and Balli later fed Leyden to extend the lead to 18 into halftime. 

The Green and White came out with a 14-2 run to start the second half. A Palmer putback pushed the Titans ahead, 46-21, to force a Viking timeout at the 6:31 mark.

IWU drove its lead to as many as 41 in the final quarter en route to its fifth CCIW win of the year.

Illinois Wesleyan remains at home Wednesday, Jan. 14, for a battle with the Big Blue of Millikin University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will see the IWU women's golf team recognized at halftime. 

 
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