No. 3 IU South Bend vs. No. 6 IU Northwest Tuesday, Feb. 22 | 7:00 p.m. Student Activities Center | South Bend, Ind. Game Notes | Live Stats | Streaming Video

Tipoff

• IU South Bend opens postseason play on their home court, as the No. 3-seeded Titans welcome No. 6 IU Northwest in the CCAC Tournament quarterfinals.
• The Titans are winners of nine in a row, with an average margin of victory of 23.8 points per game during the win streak.
• Nine straight victories mark the third-longest win streak for IUSB in the Steve Bruce era (2006-07).
• The team's third-place finish in the CCAC regular season is the highest result since 2010-11, when they also finished 3rd.
• Maddie Gard leads the team with 16.2 points per game, and ranks 4th in scoring in the CCAC.
• The Titans are averaging 75.4 points per game, good for 3rd-most in the CCAC. IU Northwest enters play ranked 7th in the league, scoring 68.0 points per game.
• The Titans allow an average of 59.6 points per game on defense, good for 2nd-best in the CCAC. IU Northwest ranks 4th in the league, with 60.4 points allowed per game.
• With the win over Trinity International on Feb. 12, IUSB head coach Steve Bruce reached 250 career wins at the helm of the Titans. With a career record of 253-213, Bruce is the winningest active head coach in the CCAC.
• The Titans have made five appearances all-time in the NAIA Tournament, and are searching for their first NAIA postseason berth since 2005.
• The Titans will qualify for the NAIA Tournament if either No. 1 Saint Xavier, No. 2 St. Francis, or No. 3 IU South Bend win the CCAC Tournament.

Series History

• IU South Bend leads the series 13-10 over IU Northwest since the 2002-03 season.
• Tuesday marks the first matchup between the Titans and Redhawks in the postseason.
• Both teams split the season series, each winning on the road over the other.
• The only overtime contest in the series came in 2017, a 90-83 road win for the Titans.

Playoff Picture

• With the win over St. Ambrose on Saturday, IU South Bend secured the No. 3 seed for the CCAC Tournament.
• The top two seeds earn two of the CCAC's three automatic bids into the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship. The third automatic bid goes to the CCAC Tournament champion.
• If the tournament winner has already earned an auto bid, then the No. 3 seed claims the final spot and will represent the CCAC at the NAIA Tournament.

About IU Northwest

• The Redhawks enter the tournament with a 19-10 record and 14-8 mark in league play. IUN dropped their last two games of the regular season, closing with a 68-60 road loss to St. Francis.
• Michaela Schmidt leads the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game, and is the Redhawks' leading rebounder as well, averaging 7.2 boards per game.
• Sarah Martin is the only other player to average double figures, at 10.9 points per game, and is 10th in the CCAC with 91 total assists on the year.
• Head coach Jesse Ford is in his first season at IU Northwest, following four seasons as the head coach at Fisher (Mass.).
• Tuesday marks the second CCAC Tournament appearance in three years as a conference member for IU Northwest. The Redhawks reached the semifinals last season before falling to tournament runners-up Saint Xavier.

Last Time Out

• Following the Senior Day festivities on Saturday afternoon, IU South Bend secured the No. 3 spot in next week's CCAC Tournament, with a 71-65 victory over St. Ambrose in the regular season finale.
• Katie Gard led the way for the Titans, scoring 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and a 5-for-6 performance from the free throw line. Rachel Robards tallied 15 points off the bench, while Maddie Gard scored 11 on 4-of-7 shooting.
• The Bees tied the game with a three to open the second quarter, but IU South Bend would go on an 11-0 run behind three three-pointers by Robards to claim a 30-19 advantage. The Titans would hold the lead the rest of the way to secure the win.

IUSB in the Polls

• The Titans were unranked in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, released on Feb. 9.
• IUSB last appeared in the NAIA's Top 25 on Jan. 15, 2020, when the Titans were ranked 20th in Division II.
• The Titans were picked fourth in the CCAC preseason poll on Oct. 25. IU Northwest was picked tenth in the preseason ranking.

Student Activities Center

• Home of IUSB basketball and volleyball, the Student Activities Center is celebrating its 20th season as the Titans' home court.
• In 2019-20, IU South Bend recorded a all-time high of 13 wins in the Student Activities Center, going 13-4 at home.
• This season, the Titans are 12-3 in the SAC, and can match the program record for wins on Tuesday against IU Northwest.

Player Notes

• Junior guard Maddie Gard leads the Titans with 16.2 points per game, and has led the team in scoring in 12 of 30 games this season.
• Gard scored a season-high 31 points in the win over Lourdes (Ohio) on Oct. 27, the highest point total for the Titans this season, and two points shy of her career high of 33.
•Gard recorded one of her two double-doubles on the year in the matchup with St. Francis, scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds against the Saints on Nov. 3.
• Gard ranks 4th in the CCAC, with 66 steals on the season.
• On offense, Gard is 4th in the league in scoring (16.4 ppg), and 9th in field goal percentage (48.1%).

• Junior guard Katie Gard is averaging a career-best 14.6 points per game.
• Gard scored a career-high, leading the Titans with 24 points in the win over Lincoln on Dec. 16.
• Against Trinity International on Feb. 12, Gard registered her first career double-double, with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
• Gard ranks 6th in the CCAC, with 156 made field goals this season, and 12th in the CCAC in free throw shooting (74.4%).
• Gard is also among the league's top ten in scoring, ranking 10th in points per game.

• Senior guard Sara Doi is averaging double figures for the first time in her career, with 11.0 points per game.
• Doi spent her first two seasons at Huntington (Ind.) before coming to IUSB for the 2020-21 season.
• As a Forester, Doi collected 247 points, 129 rebounds, and 72 assists in 57 games through 2018-20.
• In the win over Bethel (Ind.) on Dec. 8, Doi collected a career-high 24 points, knocking down six three-pointers in the win.
• Doi ranks 4th in the CCAC in assist-turnover ratio (2.0), and 5th in three-point shooting (38.1%).

• Senior forward Rachael Robards is averaging 8.8 points per game.
• Robards set a career high with 28 points, going 7-for-11 from three-point range in the Titans' win at Midway (Ky.) on Nov. 6. 
• Robards has hit five or more three-pointers in four games this year, all in wins for IUSB; seven at Midway (Ky.), and five each over Oakland City (Ind.) (12/9), Lincoln (12/16), and at Judson (1/3).
• Robards ranks 10th in the CCAC in three-point shooting percentage (33.3%), and 8th in the league with 57 three-pointers made.

• Junior guard Emma Fisher has started 29 of 30 games this year for the Titans, and is averaging 6.6 points per game.
• Fisher is the team's leading rebounder, with 5.7 rebounds per game.
• Fisher ranks 8th in the CCAC in total assists (100).
• Fisher earned her first career double-double in the win over Bethel (Ind.) on Dec. 8, with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
• Fisher set a new career high on Jan. 28, with 18 points against No. 20 Saint Xavier.

• Junior forward Maddy Schumacher has appeared in 29 of 30 games this season, and is averaging 6.2 points per game.
• Schumacher has one start on the year, making her debut in the starting five this season in the Titans' win at Judson on Jan. 3. 
• Schumacher scored a career-high 20 points in a win over Huntington (Ind.) in her freshman season of 2019-20.
 The Titans won that game 80-71, with current IUSB guard Sara Doi scoring nine points off the bench for Huntington.

• Senior center Courtney Haynes has played in all 30 games for IUSB this year, making 24 starts and averaging 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, second-most on the team.
• Haynes pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in the loss at Saint Xavier on Nov. 17, the most in a single game this season for IUSB.
• Haynes finished career-high 23 points in the win over Olivet Nazarene on Feb. 3,

• Senior guard Taitlyn Trenshaw has 21 appearances this season, after starting for the IUSB women's volleyball team this fall.
• Trenshaw has averaged 3.3 points per game since making her season debut during the win over Governors State on Nov. 23.
• Trenshaw finished with a season-high nine points in the Titans' win at Judson on Jan. 3, going 3-for-4 from the floor and pulling down six rebounds.
• Trenshaw averaged 1.8 digs per set for the Titans, who made an appearance in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championship Opening Round earlier this year.

• Freshman guard Kylee Stepp has played in 20 games this year, averaging 2.9 points per game.
• Stepp scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in her collegiate debut, pulling down three rebounds in the win over IU Kokomo on Oct. 23.
• Stepp scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the win over Governors State on Nov. 23.
• Stepp pulled down six rebounds in the win at Calumet on Feb. 9, setting a new career best.

• Freshman guard Amaya Rufus has played in 26 of 30 games this year, and is averaging 2.2 points per game.
• In the win over Concordia (Mich.) on Oct. 30, Rufus went 3-for-3 from the field, scoring a career-best 8 points. She matched her career high with three made field goals in the win at Lincoln on Jan. 22.

• Freshman guard Sullivan Kessler has played in 21 games this year, averaging 1.4 points per game
• Sullivan had her best performance of her early career at Judson on Jan. 3, matching a career-high four points with three rebounds and three assists.

• Junior forward Taylor Klenner has seen action in 17 games this year, making her season debut at St. Francis on Nov. 3.
• Klenner scored a career-high six points in the win over Trinity Christian on Jan. 31, along with a new career-best four rebounds.

• Freshman center Bailey Stamper has four appearances this year, and played a season-long seven minutes in the win at Judson on Jan. 3., finishing with two assists, a blocked shot, steal, and rebound.

Up Next

• With a win on Tuesday night, IU South Bend would advance to the CCAC Tournament semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 24. Depending on the result of their quarterfinal matchup, the Titans would either travel to Joliet to face No. 2 St. Francis, or host No. 7 Holy Cross at the Student Activities Center.
• The opening round of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship is scheduled for Friday, March 11.