Illinois Wesleyan, WashU, meet in Top 15 battle today at the Midwest Challenge
The battle between the eighth-ranked Titans and 11th-ranked Bears is one you won't want to miss
I hope you’ve got your popcorn ready and some time aside for the Midwest Challenge championship game this afternoon. Because it’s going to be must-see TV in St. Louis, when eighth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan battles No. 11 WashU at 5 p.m. ET (link to watch).
IWU is aiming to add a second Top 15 road win to its resume in this week alone, after taking down No. 4 UW-Whitewater on Tuesday. WashU seeks its first Top 25 victory of the season and hasn’t lost at home since NYU, the defending national champs, got the better of the Bears at the end of last season.
Both teams could legitimately find themselves in the Top 5 at some point later this season. After the way last year’s matchup played out, with IWU winning the Midwest Challenge, 87-80, in overtime, this is the kind of game in which every possession carries momentum, and the lead changes hands multiple times. Both rosters are basically the exact same, with IWU and WashU returning some of the highest percentages of 2023-24 production amongst Region 8 teams. Will we get another OT duel? It’s certainly possible. Either way, one team will walk out of the St. Louis Field House with a marquee victory when the final buzzer sounds this evening.
» IWU opened the Midwest Challenge with a noteworthy 65-59 win over DePauw, who has struggled early against a strong schedule, but is still a formidable opponent. It was tied at 32 apiece at halftime, and not until a 13-2 run in the early minutes of the fourth quarter did IWU truly gain separation. Credit to DePauw, who really challenged the Titans well, and out-rebounded them too, 45-28. Rebounding remains an area in which IWU has struggled, though the Titans have seemingly made up for it, in large part due to their defense, which forced 19 turnovers. Getting to the FT line helps as well, and IWU shot eight more free throws yesterday (9/13 to DePauw’s 3/5). A balanced scoring effort saw Ava Bardic (17), Lauren Huber (14), Kate Palmer (10), and Mallory Powers (10) score in double figures, as Mia Smith used a small rotation of just eight in the win.
» WashU got in the win column as well against Rose-Hulman, setting up today’s clash between the Titans and Bears. The 105-54 win saw WashU score at least 22 points in all four quarters, including a dominant 29-11 run in the fourth. Hope Drake’s 19 points in 15 minutes highlighted the day, and as a team, WashU shot it incredibly well, finishing 14-of-25 from beyond the arc and 64.5% from the field. 50 points came in the paint, but as you can see from that 3-point number, defending the perimeter is equally important against the Bears, who can knock it down from long-range with consistency.
» Lexy Harris, WashU’s preseason All-American, didn’t suit up against Rose-Hulman yesterday, and her status for today’s game is unknown. With her on the floor, the Bears have a solid rebounding advantage against the Titans, not to mention a huge scoring presence, as Harris averages 20.5 PPG and 12.3 RPG. Now, if she doesn’t play, WashU still has a very good chance at winning, in my opinion. After all, this was a team that scored 105 yesterday without her on the floor at all. Jessica Brooks is one of the best guards in the country, and freshman Hope Drake is coming into her own, with double-digit scoring performances in three of her last four appearances, all off the bench.
UW-La Crosse hands No. 23 Concordia (MN) a second-straight loss
» After coming up just short (and I mean, literally 3 points short) in each of their first Top 25 tests against Gustavus Adolphus and Hope, UW-La Crosse broke through with a nationally-ranked win on Saturday night. On its home floor at the Gundersen Hotel & Suites Thanksgiving Classic, UWL took down the Cobbers, 62-58.
» It marks Concordia’s second-straight loss, both of which came to WIAC programs, as the Cobbers dropped a 72-54 contest on Tuesday at UW-River Falls. Concordia broke into the Top 25 last Monday after its 86-75 victory at UW-Stout.
» Early on, Concordia certainly appeared to be the better team, as UWL struggled on possession-after-possession. The Eagles ended up shooting just 1-of-15 in the first quarter, and trailed 14-5. But it seemed an 8-0 run heading into halftime shifted the momentum in UWL’s favor, as the Eagles had begun slowly chipping away at Concordia’s lead. The Cobbers led 25-24 at the break.
» Even in the second half, though, it seemed that Concordia had enough to hang on. They led by as many as eight points with 7:46 to go, until Kailee Meeker sparked an 8-0 run that knotted the score at 54 with 2:35 left. While Concordia led, 56-54, at the 2:05 mark, the Cobbers missed their final three shots down the stretch, and UWL scored the next five points, taking the lead and never giving it back.
» The other big difference? Concordia was just 4-of-8 at the FT line in the fourth, while UWL went 8-of-12. Neither was perfect, but in Concordia’s case, it especially hurt considering the margin of defeat.
Ripon takes down No. 13 Carroll in home opener
» In the other “big win” of the day, Ripon’s home opener proved to be memorable, as the Redhawks upset the nation’s 13th-ranked team, 71-62. It marked Ripon’s first win over Carroll in the last four meetings, and the Redhawks first victory against the Pioneers since 2019.
» The crucial shift came early in the fourth quarter. Carroll had led for much of the game, and opened the fourth with a fast-break score from Olivia Rangel, making it 49-46. But Ripon’s Natalie Rauwolf answered with a 3. Then Emilie Wizner took the lead back for Carroll with a layup. And Laney Havlovitz answered with….another 3. The lead changed hands twice more, with Ella Ten Pas’ layup putting Ripon in the lead for good. The Redhawks outscored Carroll, 25-14, in the fourth.
» Carroll was 0-for-4 from 3 in the fourth, and just 3-of-16 in the game. It continues a tough trend for a team that shot 37.8% beyond the arc last season, and is just 30.1% from 3 thus far. That’s also a credit to Ripon’s defense, which is allowing an average of 51.2 PPG.
» Ripon shot an impressive 54% from the field, and converted on nine 3-point attempts, marking their second game of the season with a 3-point percentage above 50% (52.9%).
On the Rise
(Teams to keep an eye on that are currently trending upwards, but outside of the Top 25 conversation)
Pomona-Pitzer could end up being a serious player in the SCIAC after a really solid start. The Sagehens are 6-2, their lone losses coming to Smith and Linfield, and they have wins over Redlands (#90 in Massey) and George Fox (#59 in Massey). They added to that yesterday, beating Clark, 63-57, who entered with a 7-1 record. Sophomore guard Jadyn Lee is currently averaging 17.7 PPG.
Look out for Linfield, too. The Wildcats are off to their best start in program history with a perfect 7-0 record through the month of November. Though they trailed Redlands, 24-17, at the half yesterday, Linfield found its offense in the second half. The Wildcats put up 29 fourth-quarter points and won, 65-59, marking their second Massey Top 100 win this season.
I think it’s worth noting that Hendrix has already surpassed last year’s overall win total in one month alone under new head coach Wes Sullivan. The Warriors are 5-3 after yesterday’s 86-70 win over MUW, besting the four wins Hendrix had in the entirety of last season. Ava Knoedl leads the team with 13.0 PPG and 3.5 APG.
Elmhurst is now off to its best start since the 2016-17 season under first-year head coach Cameron Tucker. The Blue Jays took down Manchester in a tight 69-67 contest yesterday, improving to a perfect 6-0. And three of their six victories have been games decided by two possessions or fewer, according to Elmhurst’s postgame story.
Today’s Games to Watch (all times ET)
Bates vs University of New England, 1:00 p.m.
No. 16 Smith at Trinity (CT), 3:00 p.m.
No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan at No. 11 WashU, 5:00 p.m.
College of St. Benedict at UW-La Crosse, 5:00 p.m.