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WHEATON, IL - NCAA Basketball - #16 Illinois Wesleyan at Wheaton at King Arena on January 17, 2026. #16 Illinois Wesleyan defeated Wheaton 77-71 to improve to 12-4 overall and 7-0 in conference play. Wheaton dropped to 6-9 overall and 2-4 in conference play. (Photo by Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative)
Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative
65
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 1-1,0-0 CCIW
73
Winner Hope Hope 2-0,0-0 Michigan Intercol. Ath. Assn.
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
1-1,0-0 CCIW
65
Final
73
Hope Hope
2-0,0-0 Michigan Intercol. Ath. Assn.
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 18 9 14 24 65
Hope Hope 10 17 21 25 73

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women’s Hoops Comeback Not Enough in Loss to No. 4 Hope

Palmer and Corson named to all-tournament team

HOLLAND, Mich. - In its second top-25 matchup in as many days, the 20th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team nearly knocked off No. 4 Hope College Saturday, Nov. 7, in the Michele Schoon Tournament Championship at DeVos Fieldhouse. IWU (1-1) led after one quarter, but was upended by Hope (2-0), 73-65. 

Junior Olivia Corson (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) poured in a career-high 23 points with four assists and three rebounds to pace the Titans. Sophomores Rena Robinson (San Jose, Calif.-Archbishop Mitty) and Asia Kobylarczyk (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine West) joined her in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Junior Leah Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) tacked on seven points with a game-high 13 rebounds. 

The Titans converted on 23-of-66 shot attempts (34.8 percent) and 7-for-28 from beyond the arc. IWU hit 12-of-15 free throw attempts. The Flying Dutch knocked down 26-of-64 shot attempts (40.6 percent), including 8-of-24 three-pointers. Hope went 13-for-16 at the charity stripe. 

Illinois Wesleyan won the turnover battle, 12-9, while HC took the rebounding edge, 43-39. 

The home team scored the first four points of the game, before two free throws from Corson pulled the Titans within a bucket, 4-2, two minutes in. Freshman Averie Wolfe (Effingham, Ill.-Effingham) hit a layup and Kobylraczyk found Corson for a three-pointer to give IWU its first lead, 7-6, with 5:32 on the clock.

The run continued with a swipe and score by Corson. A block and board from Kobylarczyk led to another Corson bucket in transition. A five-point spurt by Robinson, featuring a triple and a jumper, capped the 14-0 run as Illinois Wesleyan took control, 16-6. Robinson fed Corson for a layup to send the game into the second quarter with IWU in front, 18-10.

Hope flipped the script over the next 10 minutes, leaving the score knotted at 27 going into halftime. 

The Flying Dutch reclaimed the lead in the third quarter and extended it to as many as 12 in the fourth. IWU mounted a late comeback, using free throws along with buckets by Koblyarczyk, and Robinson to cut the deficit to four, 69-65, with 38 seconds to play. 

Hope closed out the game at the free throw line, halting Illinois Wesleyan's upset bid, 73-65.

The Green and White are back in action Friday, Nov. 13, for a 4 p.m. tipoff at No. 25 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater as part of the second annual Champions Classic. 

 
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