WAUKESHA, Wis. — Illinois Wesleyan secured the 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Women’s Basketball Tournament championship Saturday at Van Male Fieldhouse, defeating Carroll 74-70 in overtime in a matchup of the league’s regular-season co-champions.
 
The Titans improved to 22-5 with the win and earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The result also marked Illinois Wesleyan’s second consecutive tournament title and the 12th in program history. Saturday's game marked the third overtime in CCIW Women's Basketball Tourmament history, and the first championship game to require an extra period.
 
Senior Ava Bardic led Illinois Wesleyan with 23 points, including a three-pointer in overtime that put the Titans in front for good. Sawyer White finished with 19 points, six steals and five rebounds, while Asia Kobylarczyk added 11 points. Leah Palmer recorded 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Carroll (22-5) was led by Natalie Gricius with 21 points. Julia Lokker scored 17 points and Emilie Wizner added 10, while Katie Barger pulled down 11 rebounds.
 
Illinois Wesleyan led for more than 40 minutes and took its largest lead at 11 points in the third quarter before Carroll closed regulation on a 17-8 fourth-quarter run. Anna Nielsen’s jumper with one second remaining tied the game at 68-68 and forced overtime.
 
Carroll briefly regained the lead in the extra session on a Gricius layup at the 3:01 mark, but Illinois Wesleyan answered on Bardic’s three-pointer off a White assist. The Titans held Carroll scoreless the rest of the way, and late free throws by Palmer and Alyssa Epps finalized the score.
 
Prior to tip-off, Illinois Wesleyan’s Payton Jacob, Luigi Lam and Martha Lipic were recognized as the Elite 26 award winners, presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average in the tournament championship game.