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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Illinois
4Wesleyan Women's basketball team on winning the NCAA Division
5III National Championship; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Illinois Wesleyan beat third-ranked George Fox
7University, 57-48, on March 17, 2012 at Hope College; the
8Titans, who had more losses entering the Final Four than the
9other 3 teams combined, won the tournament through their
10defense and the scoring of tournament MVP Olivia Lett; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Both teams shot 32% as Illinois Wesleyan beat
12George Fox in the national tournament for the second
13consecutive time; the Titans won a national quarterfinal
14matchup last season to reach their first Final Four; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Illinois Wesleyan (28-5) overcame a 48-43 deficit
16with 3 minutes, 46 seconds remaining; the Titans took the lead
17on a Melissa Gardner 3-pointer with 1:06 to go; Melissa set a
18Titans' single-season record for 3-pointers this year; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Olivia Lett, who netted a game-high 22 points,
20scored the final 6 points by making all of her free-throw
21attempts; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Coach of the Titans is Mia Smith; the
2Assistant Coaches are Andrea Travelstead, Melanie Ward, Chad
3Cusac, and Tasha Gaston-Bell; the Titans are Brittany
4Hasselbring, Kasey Reaber, Melissa Gardner, Lexi Baltes,
5Colleen McMahon, Abbey White, Whitney Scurlock, Taylor Reaber,
6Michelle Bilek, Olivia Lett, Katy Seibring, Amy Burton, Karen
7Solari, Annie Brown, and Shelby Jackson; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Head Coach Mia Smith was named the 2012 Schelde
9North America/Women's DIII News "Coach of the Year"; she led
10the Titans to a 28-5 overall record and the 2012 Division III
11national championship; in her 14th season at Illinois Wesleyan,
12she has an overall record of 282-108 and is 145-51 in the
13College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (.725) with 6
14league championships and 7 NCAA Division III appearances; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Her 2011 team finished fourth in the nation; she
16has coached 5 All-Americans, including 2012 D3hoops.com
17"Player of the Year" Olivia Lett, 35 all-conference selections
18and 4 CCIW "Most Outstanding Players"; she has been the CCIW
19"Coach of the Year" 4 times, regional coach of the year 3
20times, and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Division
21III "Coach of the Year" 3 times; therefore, be it
 
22    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

 

 

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1NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
2we congratulate the Illinois Weslyan University Titans and
3Coach Mia Smith and wish them continued success in the future;
4and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6presented to the Titans and to Coach Mia Smith as a symbol of
7our respect and esteem.