The Titans men’s and women’s basketball teams faced off in a CCIW clash against bitter rivals Augustana, hosted at Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center on Saturday, February 8th.
Expectations and emotions ran higher than a typical Saturday double-header as both teams celebrated senior night alongside the pep band.
The women’s team blew blast the Vikings, posting an impressive 83-57 victory en route to their third straight win.
The Vikings jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but the Titans didn’t relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
The Titan attack was balanced and lethal, as five players finished the game with nine points or more.
Junior Kendall Sosa and sophomore Brooke Lansford led the way, putting up 15 points a piece, while junior Samantha Munroe caught fire from beyond the arc and posted 14 points of her own.
The Titans finished the game with 22 team assists, 12 steals, seven blocks and converted 50 percent of their shots.
The victory improved the Titans record to 15-6 overall and 9-3 in CCIW play putting them in second place trailing North Park, a team they beat 85-51 earlier in the season.
Senior Sydney Shanks was honored before the game for her impressive career at IWU.
In a touching moment at half-time, the senior members of IWU’s pep band were honored at center court as well.
The team came out and gave the Titan Band seniors high-fives, showing appreciation for an essential part of the game-day experience.
“I was pretty surprised when they came out to congratulate us,” senior Lauren Yep said.
“I’m so used to us showing each other support but with them on the court and us in the stands.
I thought it was pretty special when they came up and said thanks to the band seniors when we got recognized,” Yep said.
The men’s team lost a hard-fought clash 78-64.
The Titans were neck-and-neck with the Vikings at halftime trailing 41-39, but were outscored 10-0 by the Vikings in the first two minutes of the second half before taking a timeout.
IWU was able to cut the deficit to eight late in the game, but Augustana pulled away and took home the victory.
Seniors Bernie Corderre and Alex O’Neill were honored before the game as part of the Senior Night festivities.
Both teams will travel to Wheaton College on Saturday, Feb. 15, for a clash with the Thunder.
Tipoff for the women is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will serve as the first leg of a doubleheader with the IWU men’s basketball team tipping off at 7 p.m.