BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play gets underway with a top-25 matchup inside the Shirk Center Saturday, Jan. 3, as the 13th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team hosts No. 14 Carroll University. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will serve as the front end of a doubleheader with the IWU men's basketball team.
    The Titans enter the New Year with an 8-4 overall standing and own a 3-0 CCIW mark. Illinois Wesleyan is coming off a 1-1 showing in Florida, Dec. 28-29, where the Green and White edged out No. 19 Bethel University, 78-76. IWU closed the trip with a 71-61 setback to Wisconsin Lutheran College. Carroll holds an 8-3 record ahead of Saturday's showdown with a 2-0 league ledger. Similar to the Titans, the Pios return to action after a 1-1 showing in the Sunshine State. Carroll, playing in the Daytona Beach Shootout Dec. 19-21, toppled Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 64-48, before coming up short against eighth-ranked Washington & Lee University, 76-66.
    Matt Sosler and Michael Eganhouse will have the call on the live stream, while live stats will also be provided. Links on can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
2025 - A YEAR TO REMEMBER: Illinois Wesleyan enjoyed plenty of success in the 2025 calendar year. IWU posted a 23-6 overall record, winning the 2025 CCIW regular season and tournament championships, while also continuing the program's record-setting win streak. The Titans advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012 and saw a program record five student-athletes named to the All-CCIW teams. In all, the Green and White totaled two CCIW Player of the Week awards, five All-CCIW picks, and three all-region honorees in 2025. Lauren Huber and Mallory Powers were voted CSC Academic All-America selections, while Huber also reeled in WBCA and D3hoops All-America status. Additionally, Huber set the program's all-time scoring record, while Powers and Ava Bardic surpassed 1000 career points in 2025. This season, Bardic garnered preseason praise from D3hoops.com and was named to the national team of the week.
SHE TOOK IT: Senior Sawyer White snatched her 297th career steal six minutes into Illinois Wesleyan's game against Wisconsin Lutheran, Dec. 29, breaking the program's all-time steals record. White overtook the top spot on the all-time list as she surpassed Rebekah Ehresman, who accrued 296 during her outstanding career as a Titan from 2014-2018. This season, White has amassed 35 thefts.
    In the CCIW, White sits 107 steals behind Millikin's Jennifer Falbe, who had 404 takeaways in her career as a Big Blue from 1996-2000. In White's sophomore season, she set a single season steals record with 112, which ranks second all-time in a single season in league history.
    Moreover, White's 297 career thefts ranked eighth-most among active women's basketball players across Division I, II, and III. She has the second-most steals to her name of any current NCAA Division III student-athlete, trailing only Hunter's Alexa Charles.
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 276 of 362 of its home games, good for a .762 win percentage.
PLAYIN' THE PIOS: Illinois Wesleyan and Carroll will square off for the 34th time when the two battle Saturday afternoon. The Pios hold a 17-16 edge in the all-time series, but the Titans have held the upperhand since Carroll rejoined the CCIW. IWU has won 16 of the past 18 meetings, with the last six all being decided by 10 points or less.
    Illinois Wesleyan escaped last season with three wins over Carroll, with all three margins within nine points. IWU overcame an early deficit to knock off CU, 80-71, in Waukesha, Dec. 7, 2024. The Titans followed that up with an 81-75 triumph inside the Shirk Center, Feb. 5, before nabbing the CCIW Tournament title with a 95-86 win March 1. IWU's championship saw Lauren Huber erupt for 28 points and 11 rebounds. Mallory Powers notched 22 points, while Sawyer White added 17. Ava Bardic rounded out double-digit scorers with a baker's dozen.
TOP-25 TILTS: The Green and White will face yet another top-25 opponent in Carroll as CCIWÂ action resumes Saturday, Jan. 3. The Titans have faced six top-25 opponents so far this year, compiling a 3-3 record against nationally-ranked foes. Most recently, the Titans took down No. 19 Bethel, 78-76, Dec. 28. IWU also notched wins over UW-La Crosse and WashU when the two were ranked 16th and 15th, respectively. Illinois Wesleyan's three losses have come versus UW-Whitewater, in overtime at Hope, and on the road at Chicago.
BATTLE TESTED: Illinois Wesleyan and Carroll have played two of the toughest schedules in Division III this season according to NCAA stats. In fact, Carroll enters Saturday with the fourth-toughest schedule nationally thus far, while IWU's is ranked ninth. IWU's opponents have amassed 77 wins against 35 losses this season (.688), while CU's have posted a .706 win percentage (72-30).
DELIVERED IN DECEMBER: In the month of December, senior Ava Bardic took her play to another level. The Lincolnshire, Ill. native averaged 21.8 points per game through six contests. She connected on 44.9 percent of her shots (40-of-89) and 83.0 of her free throws (39-of-47). Bardic's elusiveness and shifty ball handling saw the senior convert 28-of-43 shots inside the arc (65.1 percent).
LIGHT WORK FOR LEYDEN: Freshman Caitlin Leyden registered the fourth double-double of her young career Sunday, Dec. 28, against No. 19 Bethel. Leyden hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds alongside 12 points to help lead IWU past BU, 78-76. Leyden's four double-doubles are second-most in the conference trailing only Elmhurst's Kristin Bukata (5). She is tied for second-most by a freshman in NCAA Division III this season. Howard Payne's Caitlyn Parsons (6) leads the rookie double-double list, while Leyden is one of three freshman with four-or-more this season.
THE 55TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan is in its 55th year of women's basketball and has compiled a 766-512 overall record. IWU's .599 all-time win percentage includes a 366-204 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.
THE DEAN OF THE CCIW: In her 28-year career at the helm of Illinois Wesleyan women's hoops, Mia Smith ranks tied atop the CCIW's all-time wins list. With 295 wins to 95 losses in conference contests, Smith needs just one league victory to surpass Millikin's Lori Kerans (295) and overtake the title of all-time winningest coach in CCIW history.
    Overall, Kerans holds the all-time record for wins with 556 in her 32-year career, as Smith lurks close behind with 533.
POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan remains in the national polls midway through the season. The Titans are 13th in the D3hoops.com Top-25 and No. 22 in the WBCA poll.
  IWU is one of two College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin teams featured in both polls, as Carroll is 14th in the D3hoops rankings and 21st in the WBCA poll.
ON THE HORIZON: The Green and White get an early bye in the league schedule and will enjoy a week off before playing host to North Park Saturday, Jan. 10. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. inside the Shirk Center.
