WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

Millikin (without Bailey Coffman) stunned Carthage with a 21-1 1st quarter and won 62-42.

It got worse than that for the Firebirds. They were down 31-3 with four minutes and change left in the half. When I saw that on live stats, I had to check at the next CU @ NPU timeout to see if Carthage was missing a bunch of players, a la North Park. As it turned out, Addison Ebeling was the only Firebird who sees at least semi-regular playing time who was missing today. That, and the fact that the Big Blue played without Coffman, makes MU's win even more impressive.

[RogK]

A 26 to 5 turnover differential explains a significant portion of Illinois Wesleyan's 81-48 thumping of Augustana.
Among the Titans who did well :
Brooke Lansford 18 pts 6 assists
Kate Palmer 16 pts 4 stls
Lauren Huber 12 pts 8 rebs
Kaia Bowen 9 rebs 2 blocks 4 steals
for Augie :
Lauren Hall 11 pts 11 rebs
Gabriela Loiz 10 pts 4 assists

[iwu70]

Yes, in a game that was never close, the Titans go to 6-0 in the league.  RogK has captured it well, esp. the TO margin.  Run and jump doing its dirt.  Now the big game Wednesday of the two top, undefeated teams in the CCIW race, so far.

A few impressions . . .  IWU learning more and more how to play well with their personnel and style.  Lansford, Powers and Palmer really finding the range from three.

Kate Palmer is going to be awesome, right up there with Huber and Powers, in her Titan career.  Tonight Huber 12 and 8.  Palmer, in 19 minutes, 16 points, 5-10 from the field, 3-5 from three, and 3-3 FTs)  If she continues that kind of line consistently, she's going to be an awesome CCIW player for years to come.  She and the other freshmen work so so hard, on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

Another shout out to Kaia Bowen, everywhere on D, on run and jump -- tipping balls, deflecting passes, causing mayhem.  Tonight 6 point, 9 rebounds and 4 steals.

When the Titans score 70 or more and have this kind of TO margin, they are likely going to win.  Shooting 40% from the field and 39% from three.

Now comes Millikin into the Shirk Center . . .  Olivia Lett is familiar with the place and with the opposing coach and her thinking.  Should be a great game . . . on home court, I think an upset is possible.  Looking forward to it and to the strategies both coaches employ.

Just before the men's game, a special ceremony to honor the great career, all the many awards and plaudits for Kendall Sosa.  Such an amazing array of awards and recognitions . . .  so well-deserved.  Glad to see Kendall and her parents on the Dennie Bridges Court to receive the thanks and applause of the Titan nation.  Mike Wagner did a great job of outlining Kendall's many basketball achievements, team spirit and contributions, as well as community service during her time at IWU.  Thank you Kendall!   

IWU'70

'70

[RogK]

Congrats to Brooke Lansford, new CCIW Player of the Week, now also shown as Women's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week.
Either way, well done!

[iwu70]

My congrats as well to Brooke Lansford.  Just a tremendous week for her in the two dominating IWU wins this past week.

The big one on Wednesday night -- 7 p.m. at The Shirk -- IWU hosting Elyce Knudsen, Olivia Lett and the Millikin Big Blue.  The game of the undefeateds. . . 

I'm hoping we send Coach Lett back to Decatur with the same result we sent Jon Baines back to EU today . . . on the men's side.  Some great coaches out there who are IWU grads . . .

'70

[RogK]

The new D3Hoops poll features one CCIW team, with Millikin receiving 9 points worth of votes.
Halftime at Naperville, AUG vs NCC.

[lmitzel]

Probably the best game the Cardinals have played all year as they knock off Augie 75-59.

First 24 minutes or so were pretty much all Cardinals, the Vikings cut it to six at halftime and four early in the third, but a quick Cardinal run pushed it back to double digits and the hosts were more or less able to cruise.

For NCC:
Allison Pearson: 17 pts, 5 ast
Mitrese Smith; 14 pts, 7 reb
Megan McClure: 8 pts, 6 reb
Elle Sutter: 4 pts, 8 reb

For Augie:
Emily Brenneisen: 14 pts, 4 reb
Gabriela Loiz: 13 pts, 4 reb
Macy Beinborn: 13 pts, 4 reb

North Park comes to the Hangar on Wednesday.

[RogK]

        conf     nonconf
MIL   7-0         6-3
IWU  6-0         3-6
CRL   3-3        8-0
NPU  3-3         7-1
CTG  3-4         5-3
WHE  3-4        8-0
NCC  2-3        3-6
AUG  1-5        6-3
ELM  0-6         2-6
      28-28     48-28 (.632)
76 of the 81 originally scheduled nonconference games have occurred.
28 of the 72 scheduled conference games have been played.
Where there was a tie in conference records, I listed the teams alphabetically according to height.

[Enginerd]

Told you not to push the panic button on IWU, IWU...LoL

Even when IWU is "down" the way they play really creates havoc and speeds the other team up and it's all mathematics from there. I consider WashU, despite their record, to be one of the most talented 25-30 teams in the country and IWU hung with them despite the disparity in talent and, but for some really bad shot selection and some even worse turnovers in the 2nd half especially, should have made it much closer than 11 points.

I haven't seen much of Millikin but it just feels like IWU is another year and one more recruiting class away from being a serious threat to win the CCIW - but if they could clip them at home tonight and if they can hold serve and run the table with the games they have left, we could have one of the more intriguing matchups of the night on Feb 2nd.

[iwu70]

Yes, Enginerd, I share much of your analysis here.  After a rough start, IWU has really learned how to play with their personnel and style.  Mia Smith is a good coach, knowing what to do with the talent she has . . . without many talented bigs, and not much presence in the paint at times, she has, as in the past, relied on speed and defensive pressure, on "run and jump."  Once a few of the perimeter players found their trey range, things started to change.  The key game was the rout of Wheaton on their court, truly demolishing one of the supposed top teams.  A real confidence booster.  You could see it in the players eyes as that game ended.  Especially Lansford.  It has been building well since then, esp. as the seniors -- Bowen, Lansford and Eck -- play solidly and consistently . . .and as the three freshmen -- Huber, Palmer and Powers -- really learn fast and come into their own in the rotation.   All three will be excellent, even all-conference players in the next three years.  If IWU can create just enough havoc tonight, shoot a good percentage especially from three, and keep the rebounding line pretty even, they will have a chance . . .  of course, MU has a lot of talent and also good coaching, so this should be a good one, a contrast of styles and a chess match between Olivia Lett and Mia Smith . . . who, of course, know each other extremely well . . . I'm looking forward to watching it all in person.

With IWU's rough start, I really thought this was a .500 or even below .500 team and year, but as things have progressed, and the Titans learned how to play well with their personnel and style, as "run and jump" improved, I'm far more optimistic now.  Thank you Lou Holz. . . .   I'd say 15-10 or even better is possible . . . and now the Titans in a good position to compete for the CCIW regular season championship.  MU could run the table, and WC may have Annie Tate back . . . and IWU still needs to take on North Park, so lots of basketball to be played.  However, things are surely looking up at this stage in the season.

The initial news on the recruiting front for next year is also very positive . . . so perhaps IWU will develop or recruit some additional talent, some bigs to go with the freshmen talent they now have.  Of course, Carlson and Heller return next year too.  So a good core will be there, no matter.   Some of the current pine-sitters will have their chance . . .  two or three look pretty decent and could contribute, improve for next year's Titan edition.

IWU'70

[iwu70]

In the big game at The Shirk of the undefeateds:   IWU 73 MU 51.

It was a demolition (similar to the game at Wheaton earlier), with the Titans running the Big Blue out of the gym . . . doing pretty much all they needed to do to achieve the upset, though one would wonder at this if it was an upset.  Save for Knudsen, MU is not a very fast or good passing team.

Yes, Knudsen is very good, getting hers -- 20 and 13, but the Titans held her down well to 6 points in the first half, and led at the half by 18.  The key again TOs:  Turning MU over 25 times, only committing 10 TOs.  Lansford playing well, mostly controlling the tempo. 

For MU:

Knudsen 20 and 13
Staton 9

Most surprisingly, Coffman and Hildebrand playing, but only scoring 5 points between them.  Some great boxing out by Bowen, Huber, and Carlson.

For IWU:
Palmer 20 on 4-8 from three
Huber 15 and 11
Lansford 12
Powers 12, with some very good minutes guarding Knudsen, shared defensive work with Heller on her . . .
Bowen 6 and 8

IWU made 8 treys, did what they needed to do to win -- create some havoc with run and jump, shoot a decent % especially from three (making 8), and rebounding well.  They did all these things . . . and there you go.  A blowout win.

For the life of me, after all these years of IWU attacking with the "run and jump," I just don't understand why opposing CCIW coaches don't prepare their players, their teams for the chaos and havoc of this type of full court pressure.  And, of all people. Coach Lett.  I just don't get it.  Can anyone explain this to me?

Anyway, a great win, with IWU now in the driver's seat for the regular season conference race at 7-0.  Of course, more tough games ahead, with NPU, the return game with WC (at home) and a visit to the Griz to play MU again.  But, for now, for tonight, a totally satisfying evening.  Great job Coach Smith, great job Titans . . .  loved the defense, yet again.

IWU'70

[Gregory Sager]

Overtime final from the hangar:

North Park 84
North Central 79

Esther Miller: 25 pts, 6 rebs, 3 stls
Jayla Johnson: 24 pts, 10 rebs
Chantel Hairston: 13 pts, 8 rebs
Lauren Lee: 13 pts

Jessica Kowalczyk: 22 pts
Allison Pearson: 13 pts
Megan McClure: 12 pts, 7 rebs
Elle Sutter: 8 rebs
Mitrese Smith: 6 rebs

North Park coughed up a double-digit second half lead, and the pesky Cardinals forced overtime with three made Allison Pearson FTs in the final couple of seconds. But NPU jumped out to the early overtime lead and hung on for the road win in spite of the fact that Jayla Johnson and Chantel Hairston had both fouled out of the game.

Career high for Esther Miller tonight, who also played all 45 minutes. I've really enjoyed watching her develop into a serious weapon for the Vikings at both ends of the floor.

Any win is a good win, especially on the road in league play, and especially on a night in which the two big guns from beyond the arc were silent and the team didn't shoot well from the free-throw line. Kudos to the Cards for making such a game of it late, though.

[lmitzel]

I don't know what it is, but pretty much every time North Park comes to the hangar, you're in for a good game. This was more of the same as the Cardinals fought back from trailing the entire game to force the extra session, but the Vikings got more 50-50 balls and return to the north side with an 84-79 overtime victory.

Jayla Johnson: 24 pts, 10 reb, 3 stl
Esther Miller: 25 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl
Chantel Hairston: 13 pts, 8 reb
Lauren Lee: 13 pts, 7 reb

Jessica Kowalczyk: 22 pts
Allison Pearson: 13 pts, 4 reb (including three free throws with 2.6 left in regulation to force overtime)
Megan McClure: 12 pts, 7 reb
Elle Sutter: 9 pts, 8 reb

[lmitzel]

Career high for Esther Miller tonight, who also played all 45 minutes. I've really enjoyed watching her develop into a serious weapon for the Vikings at both ends of the floor.

She was really impressive tonight. I knew Jayla Johnson was really good (and she played a phenomenal second half), but Miller was fun to watch. Such a good inside game. Honestly surprised she finished with just six rebounds.

[GoPerry]

Wheaton over Augustana 56-47

The Thunder do a much better job at taking care of the ball with only 12 TOs vs 19 for Augie. 

Annika Richardson with yet another pretty impressive scoring line:  21 pts, 6/13 FG, 5/9 3FG