WBB: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[WLCALUM83]

Pairings:

#8 LC at #1 WLC
#7 RC at #2 CUW
#6 CUC at #3 MBBC
#5 Alverno at #4 Benedictine

My first round guesses:   8 vs. 1.      Lakeland wins if:  Eisner & Mayo have a field day on the glass, and Muskes hit their 3s
                                                      WLC wins if:        Play 40 minutes of solid D , hit 3s
                                                      X-factors             Warriors' Dillon, WLC's 6th man.
                                                      Pick:                   Warriors in another tight one.

7 sv. 2   Rockford wins if:  CUW comes out flat and has an off day shooting.
                                       Zietlow and Luethe are slowed down just enough.
                                       X-factor:  (psychology):  It took a Hendrickson buzzer-beater to knock the Regents off in the playoffs a couple of years back. I don't espect the Falcons want history to repeat itself.
                                       Pick:  CUW at home 

6 vs. 3.  MBBC wins if:     Crusaders establish themselve on the glass, play solid D and get to the line.,
             CUC wins if:       They create a lot ot turnvers and keep Genke & Rickett on the floor.
             X-factors:          Crusaders' 6th man. 
             Pick:                  Maranatha gets it done at home.

5 vs. 4   Alverno wins if:   Gorman and the others on the front line get a lot of rebounds and Inferno shoot well.
             BU wins if:          They're hitting their 3s, Hafleigh and either Gaede or Novak score big and they get a lot of points off turnovers.
             Pick:                   Benedictine                                       

[Captain_Joe08]

Lakeland at Wisconsin Lutheran: Coach K will have the Warriors focused on the bigger goal here on a third straight NCAA postseason appearance. The Muskies won't go quietly but the Warriors advance in the end.

Rockford at Concordia Wisconsin: CUW was not expecting to enter the tournament on a two game losing streak. Rockford has some athletes that could give the Falcons trouble but CUW wins here.

Concordia Chicago at Maranatha: If Maranatha does not want their first (and last) conference tournament appearance to be a one and done they need to shoot the ball well and play D against a CUC team that enters the tournament winning eight of their last twelve. I'll take the Crusaders in a tight one.

Alverno at Benedictine: This is the toss up of this round....Alverno needs to do what they have done previously to advance however I think BU gets the win.

[thrunt01]

Winners:

WLC
CUW
CUC
BENU

[Captain_Joe08]

Taking a look at the WLC-Lakeland game and popping into the other games.

[WLCALUM83]

CUC/Maranatha up shortly:

[Captain_Joe08]

First timeout at the Rex

Wisconsin Lutheran 12
Lakeland 4

Lakeland 0-4 from three point land early.

[Captain_Joe08]

Wisconsin Lutheran 22
Lakeland 15

4:00 1st

WLC has cooled off shooting wise which has allowed Lakeland to crawl back into it.

[WLCALUM83]

Maranatha 39, CUC 25  Half   (Rickett buried a 3 at the buzzer). 

CUC not shooting that well. Crusaders have hit several 3s and got to the line (old fashioned 3-pt plays).

[Captain_Joe08]

Wisconsin Lutheran 24
Lakeland 18

Half

Sloppy ending for the WLC....kept turning the ball over.

[Captain_Joe08]

Other Quarterfinal Halftime scores

Concordia Wisconsin 35
Rockford 26

Benedictine 16
Alverno 13

[WLCALUM83]

14:18 left 2nd half:

Maranatha 47, CUC 31  (Peotter on the bench after picking up her 3rd foul).

[WLCALUM83]

Maranatha 54, CUC 37  9:09 left in 2nd half.

[WLCALUM83]

Final:  Maranatha 67, CUC 50  (It was the Cougars' turn to shoot poorly tonight. DeLozier and the other Crusader talls were able to repeatedly break the Cougar press and work the ball down low for buckets inside. DeLozier got to the line a lot.)

(former Crusader players Colleen Goff, Amanda Moses, Korinne Israel, and the one who was known as  "Bond-- Kim Bond" during her playing days -- cheering. . . . )

Gatorade soak for Maranatha follower libero:  "1, 2, 3, heave--SPLASH!!"

[Captain_Joe08]

Wisconsin Lutheran 65
Lakeland 40

Final

WLC broke it open midway through the second half.

Game breaker for Lakeland: 3/20 from three point land.

Concordia Wisconsin 72
Rockford 54

Benedictine 53
Alverno 42

[WLCALUM83]

Semi-Finals:

Benedictine/WLC:
Maranatha/CUW:

(Earlier matchups:  BU/WLC had a tight one -- Falcons and Crusaders played each other twice previously-MBBC won by 2 in Mequon, and then the Falcons won big in Watertown in the return matchup.)