BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - With the calendar flipped to November, basketball season gets underway Friday-Saturday, Nov. 6-7, as the 20th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team travels to Holland, Mich. for the highly-competitive Michele Schoon Tournament hosted by Hope College. The Titans will begin play with a 3:30 p.m. ET tipoff against 24th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan University at DeVos Fieldhouse Friday, Nov. 6, before tangling with either No. 4 Hope or University of Wisconsin-Platteville Saturday, Nov. 7.
    Illinois Wesleyan enters the 2026-27 season off its third straight 20-win campaign. IWU went 23-6 overall a season ago, winning the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament along with sharing the league's regular season title at 15-1. OWU went 21-6 last season. The Battling Bishops, like the Titans, saw their season end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Tournament host, Hope, went 26-4, while UW-Platteville posted an 18-9 mark.
  Fans can catch a live stream of the game, while live stats will also be provided. Links on how to follow along can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.
THE 55TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan, entering its 55th year of women's basketball, has compiled a 781-514 overall record. IWU's .603 all-time win percentage includes a 375-205 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.
RETOOLED ROSTER: The Titans lost a six-person class from the 2025-26 roster and head into this year with a new-look group led by a youthful core. IWU welcomes back 40 percent of its scoring and 62 percent of its rebounding. Caitlin Leyden, the CCIW Rookie of the Year, as well as Asia Kobylarczyk and Leah Palmer are the lone returners to average 10+ minutes per game last season. In all, the 2026-27 roster is comprised of 18 student-athletes, 14 of which are underclassmen.
TALE OF THE TAPE: Illinois Wesleyan holds a combined record of 2-5 against this weekend's field. IWU is 1-0 against Ohio Wesleyan and 1-5 in bouts with Hope. The Titans and UW-Platteville have never met on the hardwood.
    Illinois Wesleyan's lone meeting with OWU came during the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Titans downed the Battling Bishops, 80-51, to advance to the second round. Mallory Heydorn went for a game-high 17 points in the win, knocking down five three-pointers. Christina Solari stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven boards, and five assists.
    IWU and Hope are no strangers to one another, having met in each of the last four seasons. The Titans and Flying Dutch met twice a season ago, both resulting in overtime wins for Hope as the home team. The Green and White were edged 76-73 in a regular season game before suffering a season-ending 90-85 setback in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Hope has won all five matchups with IWU in DeVos Fieldhouse, with the Titans' lone win coming on a neutral court during the 2024-25 campaign.
POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan garnered a 20th-place ranking in the WBCA Coaches Preseason Poll released Tuesday, Oct. 28. The Titans put up 57 points and are one of two CCIW schools included (No. 24 Carroll). The Green and White also garnered votes in the D3hoops.com Top-25.
CCIW PRESEASON POLL: The Titans were selected to win the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin race, as announced in the Preseason Coaches' Poll, Oct. 16. Coming in with seven first-place votes and 63 points, the reigning CCIW Champions bested North Central and Carroll, who each grabbed a first-place vote. NCC ranked second with 54 points overall, and Carroll followed in third (50). Elmhurst and Carthage tied for fourth with 41 points apiece. Wheaton (27), Augustana (23), Millikin (17), and North Park (8) rounded out the poll.
FRESH FACEÂ FILES: Illinois Wesleyan hit the recruiting trail in a big way last offseason, finding seven new Titans to bring onboard this season. Avery Braden, Aubrey Lamberti, Layne Nordstrom, Bri Harms, Averie Wolfe, and Emily Currey join IWU following exceptional high school careers. Olivia Corson returns to her hometown following two seasons at NCAA Division II McKendree after a standout tenure at Normal Community.
THE DEAN OF THE CCIW: In her 28-year career at the helm of Illinois Wesleyan women's hoops, Mia Smith ranks second all-time in CCIW victories. With 315 wins to 102 loses in conference contests, Smith became the all-time winningest coach in CCIW history during the 2025-26 season. Millikin's Lori Kerans holds the all-time league record for wins with 556 in her 32-year career, as Smith lurks close behind with 548.
TEAMMATES STICK TOGETHER: Caitlin Leyden and Asia Kobylarczyks' names can be found side-by-side on the Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball roster, sporting #23 and #24, respectively. The duo is already very familiar with one another, as both hail from Park Ridge, Ill. and played high school basketball together at Maine South. The pair won an IHSA Class 4A regional title in 2025 and are now joined by former high school teammate Emily Currey on IWU's roster.
ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan continues its tour of the midwest Friday-Saturday, Nov. 13-14, for the second annual Champions Classic. The rotating tournament is set to be hosted at Kachel Gymnasium by UW-Whitewater. IWU and UWW will tipoff at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, with the Titans slated to take on Augsburg Saturday, Nov. 14, at 3 p.m.
