CHICAGO, Ill. – A scoring burst midway through the first half propelled the Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team to an 18-point halftime lead and the Titans went on to an 85-60 win at North Park in Chicago, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 11.

Illinois Wesleyan won for the third straight time and improved to 9-5 overall and 3-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Vikings are now 8-6 overall and 1-2 in the league.

Illinois Wesleyan limited the Vikings to just 30 percent from the field (18 for 60) and held a commanding 50-38 edge in rebounding while forcing 22 turnovers. The Titans trailed 17-16 with 10:45 to play in the first half but outscored North Park, 29-10, the rest of the period to claim a 45-27 halftime lead.

"I thought our bench players did really well tonight and I liked our production all the way through the lineup," said Mia Smith in a postgame WJBC radio interview. "We had good ball movement and better balance tonight."

North Park played without two starters – Dominikque Williams, their leading rebounder, was out with a concussion, and Rachel Torres, who is the current CCIW "Player of the Week", was attending a funeral.

Illinois Wesleyan Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .441 (30 of 68)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .250 (4 of 16)
Free Throw Percentage - .656 (21 of 32)
Senior Katy Seibring (15 points, 7 rebounds)
Freshman Gabrielle Holness (15 points)
Senior Taylor Reaber (12 points)
Senior Lexi Baltes (10 points, 5 assists)
Junior Kasey Reaber (7 rebounds)

North Park Statistics and Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .300 (18 of 60)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .167 (5 of 30)
Free Throw Percentage - .792 (19 of 24)
Soly Roman (10 points, 6 rebounds)
Brittany Pitas (10 points)
Nikki Przybyslawski (5 rebounds, 5 assists)

Who's Next?
The Titans play at the Shirk Center against Millikin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15. The Big Blue is 6-8 overall and 0-3 in the CCIW after a 76-63 loss at Elmhurst on Saturday.