Dupage Policy Journal

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2012. The Titans, ranked fourth, secured their spot with an 82-50 victory over No. 13 Trine University on Saturday, March 8. The game took place in Bloomington, Illinois.

Junior Ava Bardic led Illinois Wesleyan's scoring efforts with 26 points and five three-pointers. Senior Caite Knutson contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, while senior Mallory Powers added eight rebounds and 14 points. Junior Sawyer White also scored in double digits with 11 points, alongside three rebounds and six steals.

Illinois Wesleyan displayed strong shooting skills by making 30-of-59 shots from the field and converting 10-of-28 three-point attempts. They achieved a perfect record at the free-throw line with a score of 12-for-12. In contrast, Trine managed only an 18-for-54 shooting performance (33.3 percent) and struggled beyond the arc with a score of 4-for-19.

The Titans forced Trine into committing 27 turnovers, which resulted in a significant advantage of 35-10 in points off turnovers. They also led in several other categories: points in the paint (34-28), fastbreak scoring (12-0), and bench scoring (17-7). Despite this dominance, Trine had a slight edge in second-chance points at 9-4.

Trine initially gained an early lead after a late shot clock basket but was quickly overtaken by Illinois Wesleyan following seven consecutive points from Bardic and Powers. Although Trine briefly regained an advantage at one point during the first quarter, Illinois Wesleyan ultimately reclaimed control through consistent offensive plays from key players like Bardic and Knutson.

As they head into next weekend's sectional round hosted inside Shirk Center on March 14–15th against No.11 University Wisconsin-Oshkosh; tipoff is scheduled for Friday evening at approximately half-past seven o'clock local time after Baldwin Wallace University's match-up versus Ohio Wesleyan University earlier that day starting around five p.m., anticipation builds among fans eager to see how far these talented athletes can go within this prestigious tournament setting once more!