Titan women, men clinch share of CCIW titles with wins at Carthage

Posted on February 17, 2018
Illinois Wesleyan women and men can clinch outright CCIW titles with wins on Tuesday. (Photo Eric Stock/WJBC)

By Greg Halbleib

KENOSHA, Wis. – Illinois Wesleyan’s basketball squads earned shares of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships with victories on Saturday at Carthage College.

WOMEN: Illinois Wesleyan 85, Carthage 77

Number 17 Illinois Wesleyan was led by 21 points from senior Rebekah Ehresman along with nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Molly McGraw added 19 points along with 12 from Maddie Merritt and 10 from Ashley Schneider, who also pulled down nine rebounds.

The CCIW regular season title is the eighth in program history. The Titans (21-3, 14-1 CCIW) can clinch the title outright with a victory at Elmhurst on Tuesday.

Carthage fell to 17-7 with a 10-5 mark in the conference. Both teams have clinched spots in the CCIW postseason tournament with the Titans currently occupying the top seed with Carthage currently third.

PODCAST: Listen here as IWU coach Mia Smith reviews the win.

MEN: Illinois Wesleyan 92, Carthage 63

Number 23 Illinois Wesleyan dominated Carthage in the second half for the victory, giving the Titans a share of their 30th overall CCIW championship and their first since 2014.

IWU (19-5, 12-3) can earn its 24th outright title with a win at Shirk Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against North Central. The game can be heard on AM 1230 and WJBC.com.

The Titans committed only seven turnovers while forcing 14. Sophomore Alex O’Neill led IWU with a season-high 17 points and eight rebounds. Colin Bonnett and Brady Rose each added 13 points and sophomore Miles Curry chipped in 12.

PODCAST: Listen here to the postgame interviews with freshman Grant Wolfe and Titan coach Ron Rose.

 

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