Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
LeahPalmer-PinkZone01312026-PinkZone
ASHTIN ELDER PHOTO
71
North Central (IL) NCC 12-8,6-5 CCIW
80
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 15-5,10-1 CCIW
North Central (IL) NCC
12-8,6-5 CCIW
71
Final
80
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
15-5,10-1 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
North Central (IL) NCC 23 18 10 20 71
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 17 19 17 27 80

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Completes Comeback Against Cardinals

Palmer drops career-high 27 points

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 19 Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team battled back from a 15-point deficit to knock off North Central College, 80-71, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, inside the Shirk Center. IWU bumps its record to 15-5 overall with the triumph and 10-1 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play with the PinkZone win. NCC slipped to 12-8 (6-5 CCIW).

Redshirt freshman Leah Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) erupted for a career-high 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Her stat line included six rebounds, three steals, two assists, and a block. Joining her in double-figures were seniors Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) and Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) as well as freshman Caitlin Leyden (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South). Bardic totaled 21 points, connecting on three triples, while White tacked on a dozen. Leyden finished with 18 points and narrowly missed a double-double with nine boards. White and Bardic dished out a team-high five assists, while Leyden's four steals paced the Titans.

Illinois Wesleyan's strong second half saw the home team claim a 37-33 edge in rebounding, leading to a 13-11 advantage in second-chance scoring. The Green and White also picked up leads in points off turnovers (29-18), points in the paint (42-28), fastbreak scoring (18-4), and bench scoring (29-15). 

IWU connected on 50 percent of its shot attempts, going 34-for-68, despite converting just 3-of-16 three-point tries. The Green and White made all nine of its free throws, while NCC went 16-for-17 at the stripe. The Cardinals were cooled to a 39.3 percent clip (24-of-61), but used seven three-pointers to hang around.

A steal from Palmer following the first quarter media timeout gave Bardic an open three on the fastbreak to get the Titans within two, 13-11. On the following possession, Palmer tied it up with a driving layup of her own. NCC, however, would go on a 7-0 run near the end of the quarter to give the Cardinals momentum heading into the second. 

With the Titans facing as large as a 15-point deficit in the second quarter, a Bardic three as the shot clock expired gave the Green and White a much needed boost. With back-to-back Palmer buckets off of NCC turnovers, the Titans crawled within seven, 39-32. Freshman Rena Robinson (San Diego, Calif.-Archbishop Mitty) snatched the ball away quickly under the Illinois Wesleyan basket and laid it in as the Titans went into halftime facing a five-point deficit, 41-36. 

The Cardinals scored the first four points of the second half, before Leyden hit White for a jumper at the 4:45 mark. The bucket was a spark as Leyden and Palmer followed to pull IWU within three, 45-42, less than a minute later.

The run forced a North Central timeout, but Illinois Wesleyan did not shy away as Bardic and Palmer earned trips to the charity stripe with drives inside. After Bardic went 2-for-2, Palmer gave IWU its first lead of the day, 46-45, with 2:11 left in the third quarter.

The 15-point scoring run continued with back-to-back layups off White assists, with the last resulting in an and-one for Palmer as the Titans drove ahead by six. 

NCC used four free throws and a jumper to knot the game at 51, but Bardic soared in for a layup to give the home team a two-point cushion, 53-51, into the fourth quarter.

Bardic started the Green and White off strong in the final quarter, assisting on three Titan buckets. Leyden scored off an inbounds and Palmer followed with a second-chance bucket before Bardic once again found Leyden to reclaim a six-point advantage.

A three-ball by Bardic and a putback by Palmer catapulted the Titans lead into double-digits, 64-53. Illinois Wesleyan never relinquished the lead as North Central could not break within five.

The Titans get back on the road Wednesday, Feb. 4 for a date with North Park University. Tipoff inside Carlson Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m.

 
Print Friendly Version