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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
71
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 16-5,11-1 CCIW
32
North Park NPU 5-16,1-11 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
16-5,11-1 CCIW
71
Final
32
North Park NPU
5-16,1-11 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 14 17 27 13 71
North Park NPU 12 6 3 11 32

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Record Night for Defense Leads Women’s Hoops Past NPU

Ties IWU record for fewest points allowed in a game

CHICAGO - A record-tying defensive performance led the 18th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team to a 71-32 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin triumph at North Park University Wednesday night, Feb. 4. The Titans roll to 16-5 overall, 11-1 in league play with the win, while the Vikings dip to 5-16 (1-11).

NPU's 32 points tie the lowest allowed by the Titans in program history. The last time IWU held a team to 32 was Feb. 18, 2003 against Millikin in a 50-32 victory. Additionally, the Illinois Wesleyan defense forced 36 turnovers on the night, which is the most since the Titans forced 39 miscues in a non-conference win over Hendrix College Dec. 29, 2023. 

Senior Ava Bardic (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) scored a game-high 19 points on the night. Senior Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) and freshman Asia Kobylarczyk (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) added 13 and 11 points, respectively. White topped the team with six steals and Kobylarczyk put up seven rebounds. 

Illinois Wesleyan shot 25-for-67 from the floor (37.3 percent) with a 6-of-20 showing from distance (30.0 percent). IWU knocked down 15-of-19 free throws against a 4-for-9 performance at the line by NPU. The Vikings were slowed to 13-of-43 shooting (30.2 percent) and went just 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) from long range.

In a dominating effort, the Titans held leads in rebounds (43-36), second chance points (9-2), bench points (21-14), fastbreak points (11-5), points off turnovers (34-8), and points in the paint (36-20)

Bardic scored Illinois Wesleyan's first seven points of the night, but the Titans trailed by three, 10-7, with three minutes to go in the first period. 

After free throws from Kobylarczyk, Bardic converted a layup to move ahead, 11-10. Setup from an offensive rebound by senior Sara Balli (Bloomingdale, Ill.-Lake Park), redshirt freshman Leah Palmer (Geneva, Ill.-Geneva) found Kobylarczyk for a three-ball and a 14-10 lead.

Leading by just two, 14-12, into the second quarter, Bardic hit Kobylarczyk for an and-one to extend the lead to five. The three-point play proved to be the start of nine-point spurt for the Green and White. Sophomore Alyssa Epps (Berkeley, Ill.-Montini Catholic) dished to White, who rolled off a screen and drained a three-pointer to stretch the lead to double-digits, 22-12.

The Titans never looked back, taking a 31-18 lead into the intermission. Illinois Wesleyan was relentless out of the break as the visitors outscored the home team, 27-3, in the third to blow the game open. 

The second half featured buckets by freshmen Kaidyn King (North Aurora, Ill.-Batavia), Ashley Mahlum (Barrington, Ill.-Barrington), and Sofia Flynn (LaGrange Park, Ill.-Trinity), as well as Epps and junior Liv Meyers (Elmwood, Ill.-Elmwood).

Illinois Wesleyan returns to the Shirk Center for Senior Day Saturday, Feb. 7, marking the start of a four-game home stretch to conclude the regular season. The Titans will recognize seniors Sawyer White, Sara Balli, Payton Jacob, Laura Mahlum, Ava Bardic, and Martha Lipic prior to tipoff of the 5 p.m. contest.
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