Photo: IWU Sports
Last Wednesday, Illinois Wesleyan women’s basketball dropped the Elmhurst Bluejays in an 85-60 home victory. The IWU women’s team now stands 12-7, 9-1 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play.
The senior powerhouse duo of Brooke Lansford and Catie Eck led the Titans offensively. Lansford produced 16 points on her own, including four three-pointers, three steals and a team-high six assists. Eck managed 10 points for the Titans.
Also finishing with double-digits was freshman Kate Palmer with 12 points. Senior Kaia Bowen snagged six rebounds and the team-high of the game, as well as three steals, four assists and seven points.
Also in the offensive mix was junior Kelly Carlson with five points overall, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
“On top of the huge victory, this game was extra special because all of us got a chance to play. It makes the games so much more fun for us and really makes us feel like a team. I can’t guarantee that the elevated sportsmanship helped our morale, but I definitely think that was part of it,” Carlson said.
The Titans managed an early 10-0 lead with seven minutes left in the first quarter that the Bluejays never fully recovered from. A three-pointer from Elmhurst put the team on the board, but junior Katelyn Heller made short work of widening the gap with a steal and a score to push the Titans up 18-5.
The Bluejays managed to creep up in the second quarter, closing the Titans’ lead to single digits. Carlson pulled IWU back up with back-to-back buckets, followed by Lansford and Heller, resulting in a 36-19 lead.
By the end of the third quarter, a combined effort by Carlson, Eck and a three-pointer from Palmer pushed the Titans to their highest lead of the night, an astonishing 72-29.
The Titans kept the offensive storm coming, ending with an 85-60 sweep.
Wesleyan outscored Elmhurst with 37-of-81 from the floor, compared to the Bluejays’ 23-of-52 attempts, 8-of-25 three-pointers and 3-of-11 from the free-throw line. The Titans fell behind only in rebounds, which Elmhurst took 40-37.
Due to acclimate weather, the Titans faced a delay for their CCIW rematch against Millikin University. The game was rescheduled for Thursday, February 3 and will see the women’s basketball team travel to Decatur, Ill. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.