BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 18th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team eyes a midweek matchup with North Park University in the Windy City Wednesday, Feb. 4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
    Illinois Wesleyan carries a 15-5 record into the game, including a 10-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark. IWU most recently upended North Central College, 80-71, Jan. 31. North Park sits at 5-15 overall, 1-10 in league play, and has lost five straight. The Vikings most recently faltered at home, Jan. 31, losing to Carthage College, 71-54.
    Matt Sosler will call an audio only broadcast, while a live stream on the CCIW Network kand live stats will also be provided. Links can be found on the women's basketball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

RIGHT WHERE SHE BELONGS: Illinois Wesleyan's mid-year transfer Leah Palmer landed on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week, Feb. 3, after a strong showing in leading IWU to two wins. Palmer averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 block per game over the week. She shot an incredible 75 percent from the field, going 15-for-20, and was also strong at the free throw line (8-of-9).
    Palmer's big game came against North Central, Jan. 31, as the redshirt freshman erupted for a career-high 27 points. She connected on 11-of-15 shots from the field and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. She added in six rebounds, three steals, and two assists to help IWU erase a 15-point deficit.
Palmer's honor marked the second time this season a Titan has been named to the national team of the week. Sawyer White reeled in a spot, Jan. 6.

20/20 VISION: Illinois Wesleyan's win over North Central, Jan. 31, saw Leah Palmer and Ava Bardic put up 20+ points. Palmer posted a game-high 27 points and Bardic followed with 21. It is the second time two Titans have eclipsed 20 points in the same game this season and the first since Bardic and Sawyer White accomplished the feat at Wheaton, Jan. 17.

CARDIAC KIDS: Since the start of the 2008-09 season, Illinois Wesleyan has posted 32 wins after trailing by 10-or-more points. The most recent comeback came against North Central, Jan. 31, as IWU overcame a 15-point second-quarter deficit to win, 80-71.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Illinois Wesleyan and North Park will square off for the 84th time since the series began Wednesday night in the city. The Titans hold a commanding 67-16 advantage in the all-time series and have won 42 of the past 45 meetings with the Vikings dating back to the 2004-05 season.
    Earlier this season, the Green and White dismantled NPU, 77-39, inside the Shirk Center, Jan. 10. Fourteen different Titans scored in the win, with Caitlin Leyden (16) and Sawyer White (11) leading the way. White sprinkled in seven assists and six steals in the win.

GIVE & TAKE: Through 20 games, Sawyer White has thrived as a facilitator while also feasting on opposing ball handlers. White has dished out 91 assists on the year, a number that ranks 23rd across Division III. On the other end of the floor, White has swiped a CCIW-best 68 steals. Her thefts are 15th-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 -9th & assists 3rd), Penn-State Abington's Amina Reid (steals - 8th & assists - 7th), Cedar Crest's Ginger Kerdock (steals - 17th & assists & 17th), and Penn College's Breana Valentine (steals - 17th & assists - 17th).

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 302 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 540.

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.

POLLING PLACE: Illinois Wesleyan remains in the national polls midway through the season. The Titans are 18th in the D3hoops.com Top-25 and 20th 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 21st 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 773-513 overall record. IWU's .600 all-time win percentage includes a 373-205 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans return to the Shirk Center Saturday, Feb. 7, to host Elmhurst University in a 5 p.m. tipoff. The game will serve as the program's Senior Day, with IWU set to recognize Sawyer White, Sara Balli, Payton Jacob, Laura Mahlum, Ava Bardic, and Martha Lipic pregame.