Illinois Wesleyan remains unbeaten as CCIW women’s basketball race intensifies
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women's basketball standings saw significant movement over the past week, with standout individual performances and shifts in team rankings as the season approaches its midpoint.
Carroll University's Natalie Gricius continued her strong season, leading the No. 20-ranked Pioneers to an undefeated week in conference play. Gricius averaged 26 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, earning both CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week and D3hoops.com Team of the Week honors. Her performance included a 33-point, 11-rebound effort against Millikin and a follow-up 23-point game at North Central. She currently leads the conference in scoring with an average of 22 points per game, placing her fifth nationally.
Illinois Wesleyan University maintained its unbeaten record in conference play, improving to 6-0 after two wins last week. The No. 16-ranked Titans limited North Park to just 39 points—the Vikings’ lowest total against Illinois Wesleyan since 2022—and secured a win over Millikin behind senior Ava Bardic’s career-high 30 points and five assists. Bardic is now second in conference scoring at nearly 19 points per game.
Other notable individual achievements include Elmhurst’s Kristin Bukata leading NCAA Division III in both total assists (121) and assists per game (8.1). In a recent matchup against Carthage, Bukata narrowly missed a triple-double with 27 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds while playing all forty minutes. On defense, Illinois Wesleyan’s Sawyer White stands out with national top-15 rankings for steals.
North Park recorded its first league victory by overcoming an eleven-point deficit to defeat Augustana by one point. Aliyah Hershberger led North Park with sixteen points during their comeback win.
Carthage responded to an earlier loss by defeating Elmhurst on the road, thanks to Alyssa Orozco's double-double performance of twenty-three points and ten rebounds.
North Central demonstrated defensive strength by holding Wheaton to five first-quarter points en route to a win last Saturday; Jocelyn Trotter contributed ten points and eight rebounds for North Central.
Elmhurst managed a narrow victory over Augustana last weekend by dominating inside scoring opportunities; Maia Lewers and Natalie Robinson each tallied fifteen points for Elmhurst.
Wheaton closed out non-conference play strongly with a win over Olivet as Jenna Hunter scored a career-high twenty points.
Heading into this weekend's games, Illinois Wesleyan (6-0) leads the CCIW standings followed closely by Carroll (5-1). Upcoming matchups include Carroll at Augustana and Carthage at Millikin on Saturday afternoon before Illinois Wesleyan faces Wheaton later that day. The following Wednesday will see Illinois Wesleyan travel to Carthage for a contest scheduled for live broadcast on Marquee Sports Network.