San Antonio, TEXAS – The Trinity women's basketball team will head to Illinois this week for the Champions Classic on Nov. 15-16, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. After a 58-85 loss to Emory in the season opener, they will be looking to regain some momentum.
The Tigers struggled to contain Emory's three-point shooting in last weekend's loss, as the Eagles hit 12 shots to Trinity's 5. Their rebounding also faltered, giving up 52 boards while grabbing just 35. The Tigers shot the ball efficiently to start the game and were able to keep things within striking distance, but things began to slip away in the second half as the shooting percentage faltered. In the first half of play, Trinity shot 47% from the field and 44% from three, although with a noticeably lower volume of three-pointers taken than the Eagles. In the second half, those numbers dropped to 31% and 9%, and the Emory lead became too much to overcome.
Despite the scoring woes, three Tigers ended up in double-digits.
Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) led the Tigers in points, rebounds and assists, with 12, 5 and 3, respectively.
Lily Sauvageau (Houston, Texas / Second Baptist) also recorded 12 points to go along with her 4 rebounds.
Ivory Scott (Waco, Texas / Waco) set a new career-high with 10 points while grabbing 5 boards.
Preview - Champions Classic
On the Illinois Wesleyan Titans: The Titans enter the season ranked 10th nationally after a dominant 2025 campaign in which they held a record of 28-2 and made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. They spent 5 weeks ranked second in the nation last year, at times even stealing votes away from the undefeated national champion, New York University. On average, the Titans outscored their opponents by 17.5 points and were elite on the defensive end, forcing an average of 21.7 turnovers per game. They will be bolstered by the return of top scorer, senior guard Ava Bardic, who averaged 15.0 points and 2.3 steals per game. The Titans only return three other players who averaged double-digit minutes per game last season, so their season opener against Trinity will be a big test for their fresh roster.
The two teams met last year in San Antonio, when the Tigers came within seconds of beating the Titans, then ranked third nationally. Despite having four players with more than 15 points, the Tigers fell just short, losing 91-94 in OT.
On the Millikin Big Blue: The Big Blue is 1-0, fresh off a narrow win over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 71-68. They were led by senior guard Ella Dudley's 16 points and sophomore guard Nylaia Carter's double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Millikin had 19 turnovers to Rose-Hulman's 10, but was able to slip away with the win regardless. Millikin struggled last season, posting a 9-18 record and going 7-9 in CCIW conference play before falling in the conference tournament semifinals to Illinois Wesleyan. They were outscored by an average of 8.8 points and had trouble putting the ball in the hoop, shooting 39% from the field and 30% from three.
Looking Ahead
Trinity will make their way back to Texas after the tournament to take on Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University on Nov. 21-22. Hardin-Simmons bested the Tigers in their one matchup last season, 79-75. McMurry and Trinity faced off three times last season, with the Warhawks taking two of those matchups. Trinity's one win was the most crucial of the three, however, as the Tigers took down McMurry in dramatic fashion, 65-64, to advance to the SCAC Championship game.
