BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - In the midst of its final regular season homestand, the 18th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team welcomes Carthage College to the Shirk Center Wednesday, Feb. 11. The Titans and Firebirds will clash for the second time this season in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest set for 7 p.m.
    Ahead of the midweek matchup, the Titans rose to 19th in the last Women's Basketball Coaches Association Poll, while fellow CCIW school Carroll University ranked 21st.
    The Green and White roll into the second game of its four-game homestand with a 17-5 record overall to go along with its 12-1 league mark. IWU won its fourth game in-a-row Saturday, Feb. 7 taking down Elmhurst, 77-59. Carthage enters the sequal with a 12-9 record with an even 6-6 clip in the CCIW. Also riding a four game win streak, CC most recently knocked off Millikin University, 72-54, on Senior Day at Tarble Arena.
    Matt Sosler and Brittany Carper 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.

STREAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: Stacked at the top of the CCIW with Carroll University, Illinois Wesleyan enters Wednesday with a four-game win streak to its name. Last falling at No. 14 Carroll Jan. 24 the Titans have responded with wins on the road over Millikin and North Park, while capturing victories at the Shirk Center against North Central and Elmhurst. Propelling the streak for IWU has been the offense, outscoring opponants 314-216.

BALLIN BARDIC: Senior Ava Bardic has fueled the Titan offense averaging 21.3 over the course of the last four contests. Powered by 28 points last time out against Elmhurst, Bardic has tallied five 20+ point games since the calendar turned over to 2026. The Lincolnshire, Ill. product cashed 22 points and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds in the first meeting between IWU and CC.

STEALING HEARTS: During conference play, three Titans rank at the top in steals per game. Sawyer White and Caitlin Leyden average 3.8 and 3.0, respectively, while Ava Bardic rounds out the trio averaging 2.7 steals per game.

THIRD QUARTER DOMINANCE: Since switching from halves to quarters prior to the 2015-16 season, Illinois Wesleyan has limited opponents to single digits countless times. IWU limited NPU to just three points in the third quarter, Feb. 4, marking the lowest scoring period by an opponent in program history. North Park went 1-for-9 from the field, 0-for-3 from three-point range, and 1-for-2 at the free throw line over the 10-minute segment. Saturday's game against Elmhurst, saw the IWU defense at it again. After allowing 17 points in the opening quarter, the Titans clamped EU in the remaining quarters. In the third quarter, Illinois Wesleyan held the Bluejays to five made field goals holding them at 38 percent in for the quarter.

(N)O (P)OINTS FOR YO(U) - ROUND II: The Green and White used exceptional defense, especially in the middle quarters, to topple North Park, 71-32, in the Windy City, Feb. 4. It represented the third time this season IWU has held an opponent below the 50-point mark, but moreover it tied for IWU's fewest points allowed in a game since the 1977-78 campaign.
    Illinois Wesleyan's 32 points allowed in the win were the fewest by a Titan opponent in a game since limiting Millikin to 32 points Feb. 18, 2003. Additionally, it marked the 19th time since 1977-78 that IWU has held an opponent below 40 points.

BATTLING THE FIREBIRDS: Meeting for the second time in 21 days, Wednesday's CCIW clash will mark the 83rd all-time meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage. With the first meeting coming during the 1986-87 campaign, the Titans own a 54-29  mark in the all-time series. Throughout the last decade, Illinois Wesleyan has met CC 20 times with IWU coming out victorious in 19 of them.
    In the prelude to Wednesday's match, IWU sprinted to a double-digit halftime advantage and controlled the second half to best CC at Tarble Arena.  The Titans featured three scores in double-figures as Ava Bardic (22),  Leah Palmer (19) and Caitlin Leyden (15) fueled IWU to a 74-52 win.

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 281 of 366 of its home games, good for a .767 win percentage.

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 304 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.

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 68 thefts, good for 15th-most in Division III this season as of Feb. 3.
    In the CCIW, White sits 74 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 330 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.

GIVE & TAKE: Through 22 games, Sawyer White has thrived as a facilitator while also feasting on opposing ball handlers. White has dished out 97 assists on the year, a number that ranks 28th across Division III. On the other end of the floor, White has swiped a CCIW-best 77 steals. Her thefts are 10th-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-30 in both assists and steals. She joins Brookyln's Brianna Jackson (steals -7th & assists 2nd), Penn-State Abington's Amina Reid (steals - 9th & assists - t9th), Cedar Crest's Ginger Kerdock (steals - t23rd & assists - t13th), Penn College's Breana Valentine (steals - t23rd & assists - t19th).

THE 55TH YEAR OF IWU WOMEN'S HOOPS: Illinois Wesleyan is in its 55th year of women's basketball and has compiled a 775-513 overall record. IWU's .601 all-time win percentage includes a 375-205 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

ON THE HORIZON: The Green and White will host Wheaton College inside the Shirk Center for its final midweek game of the regular season Wednesday, Feb. 18. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.