WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

head coach Lindsay Schultz has departed Carroll :
https://gopios.com/news/2026/7/27/lindsay-schultz-steps-down-from-womens-basketball-program.aspx
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[iwu70]

Tough loss for IWU with Leyden, perhaps their best returning player 

Why so few home games on the IWU schedule -- just nine out of 25? 

Looks like a rebuilding year to me.  Lots of freshmen and sophomores, very few returning upper class women. 

IWU'70

[Green Beer]

Why so few home games on the IWU schedule -- just nine out of 25? 

Looks like a rebuilding year to me.  Lots of freshmen and sophomores, very few returning upper class women. 

IWU'70

 I didn't realize that. I had to go back and count for myself. Yeah, 9 games.  Maybe the invites to the tournaments were too good to pass up. Just guessing.  Maybe someday they could add a women's component to the Sikma invitational, and get some top women's teams to come to Bloomington. In my deeams I guess.

 Yeah, I'd call it a rebuilding year, but Mia has all the components for another fab freshman team.  For me, the women's team will be much more interesting to watch this year than the men's team.

[iwu70]

That's a pretty rough IWU schedule with so many away games, pretty much all of the Fall.  With a rebuilding year, this could be a tough road.  Leyden's loss is huge, for scoring and for rebounding.  With the newbies, it could be initiation by fire . . . learn fast to survive the gauntlet. 

I'm sure Mia will come up with something interesting . . . but it looks pretty tough to me. 

IWU'70

[lmitzel]

NCC's had seasons of 9 home games in my time (1 non-conference, then the regular slate of CCIW games) from time to time, but it's been the exception and not the rule. Just depends on how home-and-home agreements fall, what kind of tournaments you get, things like that.

[Jbothe]

IWU will be OK. Rest of CCIW is struggling on the women's side. Carroll coach leaving makes a difference.

[iwu70]

Jbothe, I hope you are right.  Still seems a strange schedule to me.   The Leyden loss is big. She was the best player coming back.  We'll see about a team with mostly sophomores and freshpeople.  Except for Palmer and Kobylarczk, not much set incoming this year.  It's going to be very dependent on how fast the fresh people, the newbies settle in and make major contributions.

Yes, a big change at Carroll. 

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

head coach Lindsay Schultz has departed Carroll :
https://gopios.com/news/2026/7/27/lindsay-schultz-steps-down-from-womens-basketball-program.aspx
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That's a very tough loss. She will be difficult to replace. The four-year stretch the Pios have just enjoyed is the best four consecutive seasons they've ever had under the CCIW aegis.

[RogK]

Carroll has selected Brianna Murphy as new WBB head coach. She immediately announced that all Pioneer uniform numbers would be even numbers. (not really -- just kidding ... welcome to the CCIW)
https://gopios.com/news/2026/8/23/murphy-named-head-coach-of-pioneer-womens-basketball-program.aspx
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[iwu70]

Well, Chatsters, here comes the season, with practices beginning in a few weeks. 

A few thoughts on IWU.  I think it is pretty much a mystery what this new edition of the Titans might be. A very young, inexperienced team with only three upper classpeople, and one of the most untested groups in a long time, in many a season  Perhaps a rebuild not a reload for a change.  With their tough schedule and so many away games against difficult teams, this could be an ugly learning process early on.

Such huge losses to graduation in Sawyer White, Ava Bardic and Sara Balli -- some of the top players, record-holding players in the history of the IWU women's program.  Gone.

And, if it is true that Caitlyn Leyden is out, lost to the season due to injury, that's particularly tough.  She was likely the best returning player from last year's Titan squad.

Returning and likely to play major parts:

Leah Palmer
Asia Kobylarczyk
A possible PG in Rena Robinson
Alyssa Epps

Only Luigi Lam, Epps and Liz Meyers as upperclassmen.  So this new group dominated by sophomores and many fresh people.  Newbies.

I guess there are high hopes for Olivia Corson.

So so many newbies/freshmen:
Avery Braden
Aubrey Lamberti
Layne Nordstrom
Bri Harms
Averie Wolfe
Sofia Flynn
Emily Curry
Olivia Corson
and more?

I guess it all comes down to how fast these new players contribute, adjust to the speed and physicality of CCIW play.

Of others coming back -- I guess we could expect some rotational roles for Kadyn King, Hymes and Mahlum.  If they are healthy.

No way to predict a starting group at this point, though seems pretty clear the starting group will include Palmer and Kobylarczyk.   After that, really hard to say.  Epps is challenged on offense and Lam is challenged on defense and Robinson is prone to turnovers . . . so we'll have to see what improvements and new phases some of these returning players may exhibit.  Robinson is quick and good on defense, Lam is a great three-point shooter, and Epps is a good rebounder.  So, pick your poison.

It's going to be a challenge of a major type for Mia Smith and the coaching staff this season. 

I would not be surprised to see this team have a losing record in the pre-CCIW phase, before taking on the Conference schedule, with still a good chance to compete for a conference title.

IMHO.

IWU'70