Photo: Isabel Sperry
Illinois Wesleyan University women’s basketball again faced postponements and long breaks from competition after having two more games scheduled against Augustana last week postponed.
Coming off of this week-long break, the Titan women faced off against North Park at North Park Gymnasium in Chicago, Ill. February 23. The Titans were victorious 55-48 after two dominant performances from seniors Kendall Sosa and Riley Brovelli.
Sosa, who recently broke the all-time record for points scored in a game, led the team shooting 8-16 from the floor and 3-3 from the free-throw line totaling 18 points, paired with four steals and three rebounds.
Brovelli had a double-double in points and rebounds, earning 15 total points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
“If you would have asked me in the first semester if I thought we would get any games in, I would have definitely said no. We understand that any game we play could potentially be our last, so it definitely motivates us to cherish the moment, Brovelli said.
Photo: Isabel Sperry
The win at North Park gave the Titans a 3-1 record as they headed into the rubber match against North Central that took place on February 23 at IWU’s own Shirk Center.
“I’ve felt like our team has done an excellent job this season, so far, of staying positive and focused even through all the postponements and cancellations of this atypical season, and I think if we keep that up, that’ll be the thing that helps us grow the most the rest of the season,” Lansford said.
IWU fell just short to North Central in a back and forth battle that ended with them losing 62-66. This recent loss means the Titans lost the series to North Central 1-2. This has a major impact on CCIW tournament seeding because North Central is currently ranked last while IWU is fighting for the No. 3 seed with North Park.
This effort from the game against North Central was again led by Sosa with 23 points, three steals and three rebounds as well as junior Brooke Lansford who had seven points, one steal, three assists and five rebounds.
With the conference tournament starting on March 2, the next two final regular-season games for the Titans are crucial, and both will be against North Park. The current conference leader is Wheaton College with a 9-1 record, followed closely by Millikin and North Park who are 8-3 and 7-3 respectively.
The team will travel again to North Park on February 25 and then host the North Park Vikings in the final regular-season game on February 27.