BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - For the first time in three weeks, the 19th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team will take the court inside the Shirk Center Saturday, Jan. 31, as host to North Central College. Tipoff for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest is set for 2 p.m.
    The Green and White got back in the win column Wednesday, Jan. 28, with a wire-to-wire win at Millikin University. The Titans rolled the Big Blue, 86-54, to improve to 14-5 on the season and 9-1 in league games. The Cardinals travel to Bloomington with a 12-7 overall record, including a 6-4 CCIW standing. NCC stumbled at 16th-ranked Carroll, Jan. 28, 74-63.
    Matt Sosler and Brittany Carper will call the action 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.

PINK ZONE PARTY: Illinois Wesleyan will host North Central Saturday as part of its annual PinkZone game. Clothing with this year's PinkZone logo will be sold throughout the day while a silent auction will take place, as IWU raises money for Mary Kate Kroesch, a local high schooler battling a rare and aggressive form of sarcoma.

NEARLY PITCHED A SHUTOUT: It took Millikin nearly seven minutes to crack the scoreboard in Illinois Wesleyan's wire-to-wire win, Jan. 28. The Titans raced out to a 17-0 lead before a layup gave the Big Blue their first points of the night at the 3:27 mark of the opening quarter. The Green and White's hot start saw the visitors lead 25-5 after 10 minutes of play. Millikin's five points in the opening period are the fewest Illinois Wesleyan has allowed this season and the least since limiting Carthage to four points in the opening quarter of a 74-53 win Feb. 18, 2023. The Titans stymieing defensive effort continued into a 45-15 halftime lead. Millikin's first-half scoring total marks the least amount of points IWU has allowed in a half since Feb. 16, 2019 against Carroll where the Titans held the Pios to 15.

LUCKY NUMBER 13: A total of 13 Titans scored at Millikin, Jan. 28, led by a pair of 17-point scorers in Ava Bardic and Sara Balli. Bardic drained four three-pointers, while Balli finished one point shy of her career-high. Leah Palmer tacked on 12 points off the bench, while the freshman grouping of Palmer, Caitlin Leyden, Asia Kobylarczyk, Ashley Mahlum, Kaidyn King, and Rena Robinson combined for 37 points on the night.
    IWU's 13 scorers marked the second time 10-or-more players have scored in a game since 14 did so in Illinois Wesleyan's win over North Park, Jan. 10.

MAHLUM MAKES MOST OF MINUTES: Freshman Ashley Mahlum did not need many minutes to make an impact at Millikin, Jan. 28, as the rookie totaled a career-high nine points in just seven minutes of action. She went 3-for-3 from the field, 1-for-1 from three-point range and hit two free throws in the win.

CLASHES WITH THE CARDINALS: Saturday night's CCIW contest between the Titans and Cardinals will serve as the 89th chapter in a history that dates back 40 years. Despite North Central winning the first seven showdowns, including an 81-76 win in the initial meeting in 1979, Illinois Wesleyan leads the all-time series 58-30. Additionally, IWU is 46-11 against NCC under the direction of Mia Smith and is winners of 16 of the last 18 meetings.

GIVE & TAKE: Through 17 games, Sawyer White has thrived as a facilitator while also feasting on opposing ball handlers. White has dished out 86 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 67 steals. Her thefts are 12th-most nationally.
    White's exceptional all-around play puts her in limited company as one of five Division III women's basketball players nationally to rank in the top-25 in both assists and steals. She joins Brookyln's Brianna Johnson (steals -12th & assists 2nd), Penn-State Abington's Amina Reed (steals - 7th & assists - 6th), Penn College's Breana Valentine (steals - 15th & assists - 10th), and Oberlin's Angela Kumler (steals - 6th & assists - 24th).

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 301 wins to 96 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 539.

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 67 thefts, good for 12th-most in Division III this season as of Jan. 29.
    In the CCIW, White sits 75 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 329 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 19th in the D3hoops.com Top-25 and 22nd in the WBCA poll.
    IWU is one of two College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin teams featured in both polls, as  Carroll is 16th in the D3hoops rankings and 23rd 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 772-513 overall record. IWU's .600 all-time win percentage includes a 372-205 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

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 279 of 365 of its home games, good for a .764 win percentage.

ON THE HORIZON: A brief stop back in the Shirk Center is followed by another trip to the Windy City Wednesday, Feb. 4, for a game at North Park University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.