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Bench celebrating at Wheaton
Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative
77
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 12-4,7-0 CCIW
71
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL 6-9,2-4 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
12-4,7-0 CCIW
77
Final
71
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL
6-9,2-4 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 13 16 22 26 77
Wheaton (IL) WHEIL 18 15 18 20 71

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Escapes With Win at Wheaton

Titans trailed by as many as 13

WHEATON, Ill. - Two twenty-point efforts powered the No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team to a gutsy 77-71 win over Wheaton College Saturday, Jan. 17, at King Arena. IWU trailed by as many as 13 in the contest, but closed the game on a 13-4 run to climb to 7-0 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play and 12-4 overall. Wheaton stumbled to 6-9 on the year, 2-4 in the league.

Seniors Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) and Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) topped the Titans with 26 and 25 points, respectively. Bardic cut up the paint in a 12-of-21 shooting performance to go along with four boards, three steals, and two assists. White posted a team-high six thefts and also paced the team with five assists. Redshirt freshman Leah Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) joined the duo in double figures, posting a career-high 10 points with three rebounds and two steals.

Bardic opened the game with a hard-nosed layup through traffic before the press turned the Thunder over on the ensuing possession. Cashing in on the miscue, White found Bardic for a triple to give IWU a 5-0 lead early.

Wheaton responded with a 9-0 run until freshman Asia Kobylarczyk (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) hit a three-pointer from the wing to pull Illinois Wesleyan within one, 9-8. White knocked down a triple to keep the one-point deficit at 12-11 into the media timeout.

The Thunder continued to control the period as the Titan offense looked for answers, but the home team held an 18-13 lead into the second quarter.

A fadeaway 10-footer pushed Wheaton's lead to seven, 20-13, to force Mia Smith to call a timeout with 8:28 on the clock. 

Freshman Rena Robinson (San Jose, Calif.-Archbishop Mitty) drove into the lane and found White for a corner triple on a shifty pass to pull the Titans within four, 22-18. 

Wheaton was on fire from the floor in the opening half, connecting on 61.9 percent of its shots, but 14 first-half turnovers kept IWU within striking distance.

Illinois Wesleyan put together a 7-2 run over two and a half minutes aided by three Thunder turnovers to make it a one basket game, 31-29. Bardic swiped the ball on the defensive end and sped down the court for a layup through contact, but free throws gave the home team a 33-29 advantage at half.

Quick fouls led to the Wheaton free throws and IWU turnovers allowed the Thunder to seize control, 42-29, with 7:37 to go in the third as the home team took its largest lead of the day. 

Palmer converted a layup and freshman Caitlin Leyden (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) drained free throws to bring the visitors within single digits. Kobylarczyk pulled in an offensive rebound and stuck the putback moments later to trim the deficit to seven, 42-35, with 5:42 to go in the period. 

Bardic played through hefty contact for a bucket and completed the three-point play with a free throw. Playing in transition after a Leyden steal, White slipped a pass down court for a Bardic layup. Leyden was fouled hauling in a board on Wheaton's next possession and made the Thunder pay at the charity stripe to make it a one-point game, 43-42, with 4:11 on the clock.

With the Titan defense turning up the pressure, a frazzled Thunder squad turned the ball over three times late in the third. The Green and White made the most of the extra possessions, reclaiming its first lead since the opening minute, 51-50, on a Leyden steal into a Bardic layup. A free throw by Wheaton in the waning seconds tied the game at 51 ahead of the final quarter.

The game stood knotted, 60-60, at the under-five media timeout but Wheaton utilized free throws and an IWU turnover to claim a three-point cushion, 67-64, with 2:43 to play. 

Bardic shook her defender and splashed a stepback jumper and White followed with a bucket in transition. Leyden finished off a six-point run with a floater in the lane to force a Wheaton timeout with IWU ahead, 70-67.

Coming out of the reset with 1:14 to go, Kobylarczyk found nothing but net on a three-pointer from the wing. With the shot clock winding down and the possession looking discombobulated, Kobylarczyk eventually found herself with the ball on the wing and quickly fired up a three-ball. The trey, which came on the heels of Wheaton free throws, made it a two-score game, 73-69, with 42 ticks remaining.

Wheaton went on to score via two free throws, but White polished off the comeback at the charity stripe to escape with the victory.

The Green and White converted on 40.8 percent of its shots from the floor, going 29-for-71, with seven three-pointers. At the free throw line, IWU uncharacteristically went 12-of-21. Wheaton converted 50 percent of its shots, shooting 35 fewer than IWU as the Thunder were 23-for-46 on the night. The home team was limited to 3-for-12 from distance, but cashed in on 22-of-26 free throws.

Illinois Wesleyan owned leads in points off turnovers (28-17), points in the paint (42-36), second-chance scoring (11-6), fastbreak scoring (20-17), and bench scoring (10-3), but Wheaton held the advantage on the glass, 39-33. The Titans forced 20 turnovers and came away with 17 steals, while the Thunder led in blocks, 7-3.

Illinois Wesleyan heads to Tarble Arena Wednesday, Jan. 21, for a clash with Carthage College. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 

 
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