BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The second half of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play gets underway Saturday, Jan. 24, with a top-25 tilt between the 13th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team and No. 20 Carroll University at Van Male Fieldhouse. The game, which marks the third of the Titans' four-game roadtrip, will tipoff at 2 p.m. and precede the IWU men's basketball team's clash with CU.
    Illinois Wesleyan moved to 13-4 overall and completed an 8-0 first run through the CCIW with a win at Carthage, Jan. 21. The Titans toppled the Firebirds, 74-52, behind three double-digit scorers. Winners of five in-a-row, the Pioneers enter the weekend 13-4 on the season and 7-1 in league play. Carroll most recently rolled past North Park University, 79-63, Jan. 21.
    Matt Sosler and Eric Stock will call the action in an audio only broadcast with a live stream also available on the CCIW Network, while live stats will also be provided. Links can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

2 & 22 IN 26: The New Year has brought out the best in Illinois Wesleyan's senior starting duo of Ava Bardic and Sawyer White as the two have taken their play to another level. Through five games since the calendar turned, Bardic is averaging an impressive 20.6 points per contest while connecting on 51.2 percent (42-of-82) of her shots. She has pulled in 19 rebounds alongside 12 steals, 11 assists, and three blocks. Over that stretch, White is putting up 17.6 points per game on a 47.0 clip (31-of-66). She has been particularly strong from beyond the arc, connecting on 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) of her three-point tries. White has also paced the Green and White in steals (28), assists (21), and blocks (6) in 2026.
    Together, the two have combined for 49.1 percent of IWU's scoring since Jan. 1 as the two have scored 191 of Illinois Wesleyan's 389 points in 2026.

GETTING BETTER WITH TIME: Making the first start of her collegiate career, Leah Palmer put together quite a performance for the Titans in a win at Carthage, Jan. 21. In her seventh game donning the Green and White, Palmer posted a career-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting with a career-best nine rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Palmer's nine boards tied for the team lead, while the redshirt freshman's five offensive boards were a game-high.

PLAYIN' THE PIOS: Illinois Wesleyan and Carroll will square off for the 35th time when the two battle Saturday afternoon. The series sits tied at 17-17, but the Titans have held the upperhand since Carroll rejoined the CCIW.  IWU has won 17 of the past 19 meetings, with the six of the last seven decided by 10 points-or-less.
    Illinois Wesleyan used a first-quarter lead to knock off Carroll, 85-52, when the two met inside the Shirk Center Jan. 3, 2026. Sawyer White erupted for 37 points on the back of 13-of-19 shooting, highlighted by eight three-pointers. She tacked on eight steals and four assists, both team-highs. Ava Bardic added 18 points and Sara Balli chipped in 13 in the win.

TOP-25 TILTS: The Green and White will face yet another top-25 opponent in Carroll as CCIW  action continues Saturday, Jan. 24. The Titans have faced seven top-25 opponents so far this year, compiling a 4-3 record against nationally-ranked foes. The Titans took down No. 19 Bethel, 78-76, Dec. 28, and later notched a win over then-No. 14 Carroll, 85-52, Jan. 3. IWU also scored 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.

GIVE & TAKE: Through 16 games, Sawyer White has thrived as a facilitator while also feasting on opposing ball handlers. White has dished out 78 assists on the year, a number that ranks 20th across Division III. On the other end of the floor, White has swiped a CCIW-best 63 steals. Her thefts are 11th-most nationally.
White's exceptional all-around play puts her in limited company as one of four Division III women's basketball players nationally to rank in the top-20 in both assists and steals. She joins Brookyln's Brianna Johnson (steals -11th & assists 3rd), Penn-State Abington's Amina Reed (steals - 8th & assists - 6th), and Penn College's Breana Valentine (steals - 13th & assists - 9th).

NOBODY HAS WON MORE: In her 28-year career at the helm of Illinois Wesleyan women's hoops, Mia Smith has won more CCIW games than any women's basketball coach in league history. Smith notched the 296th CCIW win of her career with Illinois Wesleyan's 85-52 win over Carroll, Jan. 3, taking sole possession of the top spot in conference history.
    With 300 wins to 95 losses in conference contests, Smith sits ahead of Millikin's Lori Kerans (295) for 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 538.

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 63 thefts, good for 11th-most in Division III this season as of Jan. 22.
    In the CCIW, White sits 79 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 322 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.

POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan remains in the national polls midway through the season. The Titans are 13th in the D3hoops.com Top-25 and tied for 15th in the WBCA poll.
    IWU is one of two College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin teams featured in both polls, as  Carroll is 20th in the D3hoops rankings and 24th in the WBCA poll.

THE 55TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan is in its 55th year of women's basketball and has compiled a 771-512 overall record. IWU's .600 all-time win percentage includes a 371-204 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

ON THE HORIZON: A four-game road stint ends with a trip to Millikin University Wednesday, Jan. 28. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Griswold Center.