MARION, IND. - No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan women's basketball earned a NAIA National Tournament First Round victory on Friday evening, defeating 16-seed Philander Smith 85-51. Lilli Frasure led the Wildcats with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Her 4th steal of the game pushed her past NAIA Hall of Famer Liz Howerth for most career steals in program history with 316. IWU advances to the second round where they will face 8-seed Grand View who defeating 9-seed Olivet Nazarene 95-77.
 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Location: Marion, Ind. | Luckey Arena
• Records: IWU: 30-2  | PSU: 20-11
• NAIA Seeding: IWU - #1 | PSU - #16

WHAT HAPPENED

• Both offense struggled through the first 6+ minutes of the first quarter but after the Panthers took a 9-7 lead the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run to close the quarter. Lilli Frasure scored 6 of the of the 9 and assisted the other made field goal.
• The IWU offense kept the momentum into the second frame, outscoring PSU 33-14 in the second quarter. The red and gray shot 62% from the field on 21 attempts. Taylor Folkema exploded for 17 points on 7-7 shooting and Frasure added 7 on 3-3 from the field.
• Indiana Wesleyan continued to pull away after halftime, outscoring Philander Smith 25-8 in the third. The Panthers went just 2-11 from the field while Indiana Wesleyan shot over 61% again in the frame. Frasure led the way with 9 on 4-4 shooting.
• The Wildcats struggled offensively in the fourth with the starters on the bench for most of the frame. The team went 4-11 form the field and committed 8 turnovers but the deficit was far too big for the Panthers to overcome. IWU grew their lead to as much as 45 early in the fourth before PSU cut the lead to 34 at the final buzzer.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 316: With 4 steals, Lilli Frasure reached 316 for her career, passing NAIA Hall of Famer Liz Howerth's program record.
• 52: IWU found a big advantage in the paint outscoring Philander Smith by 22 (52-30) inside.
• 7:  The Wildcats kept the Panthers offense out of sync all night, holding them to just 7 assists for the game while committing 16 turnovers.

KEY WILDCATS

• Lilli Frasure: 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
• Taylor Folkema: 23 points, 9-11 FG, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
• Jade Nutley: 8 points,  7 rebounds, 5 assists.

LOOKING AHEAD

• The Wildcats will host 8-seed Grand View with a trip to Sioux City on the line at 5:00 PM.
• Links for video and live stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com
• Tickets can be purchased at IWUWildcats.com

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