NAPERVILLE — Illinois Wesleyan closed the regular season by securing its third consecutive College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women’s basketball regular-season championship, and senior guard Ava Bardic was subsequently named the league’s Student-Athlete of the Week. The league office announced the honor on Tuesday.
Bardic earned the recognition following Illinois Wesleyan’s final two regular-season games during which she averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals per contest. She shot 42.4 percent from the field (14-of-33) and converted 5-of-12 attempts from three-point range (41.7 percent).
The Titans completed the regular season at 20-5 overall and 15-1 in CCIW play. With the regular season concluded, Illinois Wesleyan secured the No. 2 seed in the CCIW Tournament and will begin postseason play in the tournament semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. in Waukesha, Wis.
Bardic opened the week last Wednesday in Illinois Wesleyan’s 71-38 win over Wheaton, scoring a team-high 16 points in 28 minutes. She shot 50 percent from the field and added four rebounds as the Titans remained tied atop the conference standings.
She followed with her top scoring output of the week in the regular-season finale on Saturday against Augustana, helping lead Illinois Wesleyan to an 86-68 victory. Bardic finished with 26 points and recorded a career-high seven steals to pace the Titans’ defensive effort. Her performance included a personal 7-0 run in the third quarter, featuring back-to-back three-pointers followed by a steal on an inbounds pass and a layup that extended the lead.
2025-26 CCIW Women's Basketball Student-Athletes of the Week
Feb. 24: Ava Bardic, Illinois Wesleyan
Feb. 16: Kate Oliver, Wheaton
Feb. 9: Natalie Gricius, Carroll
Feb. 2: Kristin Bukata, Elmhurst
Jan. 26: Emilie Wizner, Carroll
Jan. 19: Kristin Bukata, Elmhurst
Jan. 12: Natalie Gricius, Carroll
Jan. 5: Sawyer White, Illinois Wesleyan
Dec. 22: Kristin Bukata, Elmhurst
Dec. 15: Biz Daly, North Central
Dec. 8: Nikkel Johnson, Millikin
Dec. 1: Natalie Gricius, Carroll
Nov. 24: Kristin Bukata, Elmhurst
Nov. 17: Anna Kleszynski, Elmhurst
Nov. 11: Grace Cord, Carthage
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).