WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

Started by wheatonc, March 03, 2005, 06:18:19 PM

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Jim Matson

Great win for Wheaton tonight over Augie.  The CCIW isn't quite as forgiving as those teams out in California!  A nice strong finish avoided the upset.  Nice!
Managing Editor, D3soccer.com

cciwsuburbs

I was at the Wheaton/Augie game on Thursday night and it was very entertaining.  I was very impressed with both teams.  Take a way a two minute stretch in the later part of the second half where Wheaton's freshman got on a roll and scored eight straight points, Augie would have pulled off the upset.  Good work by both teams.   

Gregory Sager

I'm still shaking my head over North Park's 64-60 overtime loss on Saturday to #8 Wheaton. It was such a winnable game for the Vikings, but they gave it away at the FT line.

The two teams were as even-steven as two teams can get. There were seventeen ties and nine lead changes in regulation, and the biggest lead either team enjoyed was a mere five-point bulge for NPU midway through the first half. But with five minutes left in regulation and a 50-46 lead in hand, the Vikings had to feel good about their chances. Unfortunately, it was at that point that their free-throw shooting went south in a big way. NPU had gone 15-17 from the charity stripe to that point, but during those last five minutes of regulation they went 5-10 from the line ... and the bricklaying continued into overtime, as the Vikes went 3-6 from the line in the extra session.

You can't blame that on the coaching, or the refs, or give the credit to your opponents, or anything else. When you lose the game at the FT line, you lose it yourselves.

Nevertheless, the Vikes still could've won in regulation, as they had a chance to have the last crack at scoring by holding possession with no shot clock left and the game tied at 55. But Laura Mount dribbled the ball off her foot and out of bounds as she drove the baseline with 5.8 seconds left. Nobody can hold that against her, though, as she was easily the best player on the floor on Saturday afternoon, scoring a game-high 24 points with 6 assists and 4 steals. I think that if you asked Wheaton coach Beth Baker, she'd be the first to tell you that Mount belongs on the All-CCIW team this season.

Give credit to Wheaton for keeping their composure and for having a little more left in the tank in OT than did NPU. But the Vikings left the floor on Saturday disappointed yet well aware that they are quite capable of staying with, and beating, the Wheaties. Baker's team is going to have their hands full on February 4 at King Arena.

I just hope that the Vikes can shake off the tough loss and gear back up against Elmhurst tomorrow night.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

Laura Mount's tumbling-head-over-heels layup at the buzzer hung on the rim for an eternity before dropping in to give North Park an ugly but thrilling 42-40 victory at home over Elmhurst.

It was a protracted nailbiter, as neither team led by more than two points for the last six minutes and change of the ballgame. Elmhurst had led by nine at the half, 22-13, and enjoyed 11-point leads at 26-15 and 31-20 in the second half, as NPU proved totally incapable of knocking down an open jumper the entire evening. But an airtight defense that held the 'jays to 5-29 from the field in the second half, combined with a huge rebounding effort by Mount, Evie Peterson, and Megan Slattery and a concerted effort to pound the ball inside against the weaker 'jays frontcourt, slowly got the Park back into the game. NPU finally caught up with Elmhurst for the first time at 36-36 with 5:46 left on a Shandrel Young layup.

With the Vikings clinging to a one-point lead, Ashley Stein knocked down an 18-footer to put Elmhurst up, 40-39, with 29 seconds remaining. Mount missed a shot, but Evie Peterson's seventh offensive rebound of the game retained possession for NPU, and she was fouled with nine seconds left. After Elmhurst attempted to ice her with a timeout, Peterson made the first FT but missed the second. Heather Furr rebounded the ball and was fouled by Peterson with six seconds left and the score tied at 40.

Furr must've had her crucial missed front end of a 1-and-1 with 14 seconds left in the Elmhurst loss to Carthage last Tuesday in the back of her mind, because she clanked both ends of the double bonus. Mount rebounded the ball and called a timeout with 4.4 seconds left. After the timeout, she drove through the entire Elmhurst defense and laid the ball up on the rim as she somersaulted out of bounds, barely getting it out of her hands before the buzzer sounded. The rest, as they say, is history.

Mount led all scorers with 19 points, and added nine rebounds. Peterson had a double-double with 12 and 11. Slattery added 10 boards. Aja Terrier was the only Elmhurst player in double figures with 13 points to go with her 8 boards, as Stein garnered nine boards and Furr pulled down eight.

It was a real cardiac-arrest affair, but the bottom line is that NPU won a very sloppy game. They are going to have to seriously ratchet up their level of play, particularly their shooting, if they are to beat Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

TitanPride24

Big win today by the Titan Women's Basketball team. They won at #6 Wheaton 63-60.

Gregory Sager

Big night for road upsets. Not only did Illinois Wesleyan win at Wheaton, Carthage won at North Central by a score of 63-55. Millikin held serve at home, easily beating Augustana, 70-53.

There's now a three-way tie for first in the CCIW:

Carthage  3    1 
Millikin  3    1 
Wheaton  3    1 
North Park  3    2 
Ill. Wesleyan  3    2 
North Central  2    3 
Elmhurst  1    3 
Augustana  0    5 
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Gregory Sager

There's some amazing and uncharacteristic parity at work in the CCIW this season. Elmhurst is currently mired in seventh place, but they've lost their last three games by a grand total of seven points.

I agree with you about Fox and Cooper, Rog. They and senior PG Irene Kim were the Wheaties who impressed me the most. Conversely, I think that the best thing about Jill Trenz's game is that she's so dang tall.

The biggest surprise in last night's game at the crackerbox was the fact that Evie Peterson only went 5-17 from the field. The five shots she made were all layups, mostly of the putback variety, and the twelve shots she missed were almost all baseline jumpers. What's surprising about that is that the midrange game is her specialty. One crucial element that Jack Surridge's NPU teams have lacked in recent years is a forward who can consistently knock down the 8-to-15-footer. They really haven't had one since Julia Kyte (NPU '01). Peterson's only a sophomore, and if she can improve her dribble-drive and develop more aggressiveness in the post she can become a powerful presence in this league.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

wbbfan32

What's happening at Millikin?!  I will be honest:  I did not think the team would have as great of a year as they did last year...but this?!  I thought they would at least keep their presence in the top of the CCIW and the Top 25.  But after 3 conference losses, I don't know what they're going to do.  With it being so early in conference play, it looks like they might not make it to the conference tournament.  The Wheaton game was, personally, a very big let down.  It should have been so much closer.  If Millikin had cut down their turnovers and picked up a few more rebounds, the game would have been much better.  It was very frustrating to see so many silly mistakes in a game that had so much hype.  Hopefully, the girls can pick it up and do better in the next few conference games; get their feet back under them.

Side note:  Does anyone think that the outcome might have been different if Millikin still had scoring threats in Vollmer and Blackburn?  Two constant scorers not on the team anymore?  In my opinion, I think they would have...

buf

wbbfan32-

Why aren't Blackburn and Vollmer on the team anymore?  Injured? Quit? Kicked-off?  Just curious!!!

mr_b

Final score from Decatur: North Park 66, Millikin 65.  This victory, coupled with the Viking men's home win over the Big Blue, complete the season sweep of Millikin by both the Viking men's and women's teams.  Congratulations to all the Vikings on this accomplishment!

Gregory Sager

#70
Evie Peterson passed out of a double-team to an open Megan Slattery on the weakside block with five seconds left and NPU down by one, and Slattery's layup gave the Park the victory and the sweep. Peterson had a double-double with 20 points and 10 boards, and she also had 5 assists. Laura Mount added 20 points and 6 assists, and Slattery had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Lindsay Ippel led Millikin with 19 points and 8 boards, Joanna Conner chipped in 17 points, and Karin Olson added 15 off the bench.

Wheaton came back from a seven-point halftime deficit and won at North Central, 63-52, behind 17 points from Chase Pouns, 16 from Elizabeth Fox, and a 13-and-7 performance by Jill Trenz. Shay Green led North Central with ten.

Elmhurst smacked Augustana in the Quad Cities, 60-49. Aja Terrier scored 22, and added six rebounds and six steals to the Elmhurst cause. Heather Furr had 13 and 8, and Brittany Bobruk added 10 points. Nancy Marcum had 14 and 9 and Kelly Sikora had 11 and 7 for Augie.

Illinois Wesleyan used a 16-3 run in the second half to pull away from Carthage and win, 68-57, in Bloomington. Heidi Harnisch had 17 points for the Titans, and was joined in double figures by Mallory Heydorn with 16 and Katie Blonn with 14. Blonn also had seven rebounds, and Brianna Baker-Carvell led all players with 15 boards. Erika Buchholtz led the Lady Reds with 16 points, and Jenny Wuest chipped in 13 and 8.

Current CCIW standings:

Wheaton 6-1
Ill. Wesleyan 6-2
North Park 5-3
Carthage 4-3
Elmhurst 3-4
Millikin 3-4
North Central 3-5
Augustana 0-8
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Mr. Ypsi

I think the CCIW women may be EVEN wackier than the men this year.  I think it is safe to say that the Titans were an EVEN more prohibitive favorite in the men's than the Big Blue were in the women's - and each are currently 3 games out of first!  (Well, technically, the Titan men are only 2.5 out, pending tomorrow's game.)

Raise your hands, all those who thought the Titan men would be 4-3, or the Big Blue ladies would be 3-4.  Anyone raising a hand is either a genius or an idiot, and I tend towards the latter.  And I wonder what the coaches are thinking about the Viking women being 5-3?

CCIW = CRAZY.

Gregory Sager

#72
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on January 29, 2006, 01:43:15 AMAnd I wonder what the coaches are thinking about the Viking women being 5-3?

I'm willing to bet that there isn't nearly as much gamesmanship going on when the CCIW women's coaches cast their ballots in the preseason poll as there is among their men's team colleagues. Therefore, I'm much more inclined to believe that they were on the up-and-up in predicting NPU to finish seventh -- and that the answer to your question as to what they're thinking about NPU being in third with a 5-3 record is, "We screwed up."   :D

My bias aside, I was actually fairly certain that the Vikings were picked much too low in the preseason poll. This is a senior-dominated team, and prior to their off year last season the same core of players finished fourth and went to the CCIW tourney as sophomores. They do miss the outside shooting of Tiffany Campbell, who chose not to play this season, and they aren't deep (a problem magnified by the loss of their first player off the bench, guard Lauren Martin, to a torn ACL). But it's always an asset to have a group of battle-tested seniors of the caliber of Megan Slattery, Shandrel Young, and Laura Mount.

Plus, I don't think that the other coaches in the league expected sophomore transfer Evie Peterson (12.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg overall, 14.1 ppg and 8.0 rpg in CCIW play) to be such an immediate impact player for the Park.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Jim Matson

Wheaton sure has a bright future.  Trenz was just named CCIW co-player of the week for the 2nd time this year.  Nice work!
Managing Editor, D3soccer.com

roaring0506

Wheaton loses tonight, 63-56, to Carthage.