WBB: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[WLCALUM83]

2-23-23 NACC Finals:

St. Norbert 72, Edgewood 45 (Green Knights got 23 pts off 21 Eagle turnovers)
WLC 64, CUW 51 (Falcons cut deficit to 8 late, but Warriors hit clutch FTs to get to the NACC Final)

St. Norbert vs. WLC 2/25 for the NACC AQ.

[WLCALUM83]

2-25-23 NACC Final:

St. Norbert 48, WLC 42 (2nd half Green Knight comeback was the difference here).

[Riley Zayas]

How is Kate Benes not named all-conference? Averaged 24.3 PPG. Granted she only played 16 games...but still

[WLCALUM83]

I'll put in a good word for Marian's Paris Harris (7th in NACC in scoring-12.3 PPG); 24th in rebounding (5.0 per game); .709 FT Pct. (Perhaps the reason she missed out was more on her overall stats).

[Captain_Joe08]

Transylvania picks up the national title today over CNU. WLC gave them fits in late December. Warriors played a very tough NC slate last year with five teams finishing with 20 or more wins and three that made the NCAA's.

[WLCALUM83]

Lakeland has a new head coach:

https://lakelandmuskies.com/news/2023/5/30/05-30-2023WBBLona.aspx

[Second Wind]

An entertaining season opener at Geiseman yesterday as CUC edged Illinois College 93-88 in double OT.

NACC fans, keep an eye on Khaliah Reid this year. She'll make her share of freshman mistakes, but her ability and hustle can more than make up for them. Reid hit the game tying three at the end of regulation and finished with 25 points.

Mikalah Ellis' final season started out with a bang. She lead all scorers with 31 points, much of it going to the basket but also adding a couple of threes for good measure. Also coming up clutch for the Cougars were Ali MacGregor with nine points and 17 boards (14 on offensive end) and Prentciss Gates hitting 9-10 FTs, many of them in the late going.

Jalyn Patterson led the Lady Blues (1-1) with 21 points and 11 boards, followed by Ashlyn Wightman (14, 11) and Kendra Bass (14 points). The visitors played very competitively but were hurt by losing three of their starters to fouls in the extra sessions. Tough loss, but they should go on to have a good season.

Cougars now hit the road for five straight including a California trip. Be interesting to see their record when they play next home game on Nov. 28.

[Captain_Joe08]

This weekend's scores

11/17

St. Norbert 74 Northland 27
Pomona-Pitzer 61 Concordia Chicago 58

11/18

Aurora 66 Beloit 57
North Park 70 Dominican 40
Edgewood 83 North Central 55
UW-Superior 72 Alverno 23
MSOE 55 Elmhurst 47
St. Norbert 79 Olivet 65
Marian 68 Lake Forest 52
Redlands 89 Concordia Chicago 48

Standings

Aurora 4-0
Concordia Wisconsin 2-1
Lakeland 2-1
MSOE 2-1
Concordia Chicago 2-2
St. Norbert 2-2
Wisconsin Lutheran 1-1
Rockford 1-1
Edgewood 1-3
Marion 1-3
Alverno 0-2
Benedictine 0-3
Illinois Tech 0-3
Dominican 0-4

[WLCALUM83]

WLCALUM 83's take on the NACC Tournament:

#8 Rockford didn't lose by much earlier vs. WLC

2 other teams to watch--St. Norbert moved up toward the end while Edgewood slipped at regular season's end.

[Captain_Joe08]

St. Norbert I am wary of but also Edgewood as well. They played WLC tough twice this season. Not too concerned with RU tomorrow. My main concern is that WLC is very streaky with their shooting and not being automatic at the line (which has been a major issue in the last few seasons).

[Captain_Joe08]

WLC 48
Rockford 42

Warriors shot under 30% for the game but barely scrapes by the Regents thanks to going 18/24 from the line. Please Warriors, I don't want to have a heart attack the next two games.

St. Norbert 70
Benedictine 53

Edgewood 71
Concordia Wisconsin 54

Aurora 61
MSOE 59

Semifinals

WLC (21-4) hosts Aurora (19-6)
St. Norbert (17-9) hosts Edgewood (15-11)

[Riley Zayas]

Yeah, what a game that was. I was impressed by Rockford's defense, but the Regents just couldn't put the ball in the basket. 5-of-14 from the FT line won't win you many games, not to mention shooting below 30% from the field...interested to see if it was a sort of wake-up call for WLC as well. Need to be focused with their only path to the NCAA Tournament almost certainly being via Pool A and winning the NACC Tourney.

[Captain_Joe08]

WLC has been known for their defense under Knueppel so that isn't surprising. As stated earlier, WLC the last few years has been very streaky with their shooting with being on point some nights and others...well you get what happened against Rockford. They haven't had a strong inside presence since Schulz to clean up any missed opportunities from the perimeter. Can't afford another off night against a tough Aurora team coming to town tonight.

The other semifinal will be one to watch. Edgewood was leading the league most of the year but stumbled when it counted against WLC and St. Norbert to end the regular season. Can the Eagles channel some of their mid season form up in De Pere or will it be a disappointing ending setting up round 3 of WLC-St. Norbert in the finals?

[Captain_Joe08]

Semifinal Scores

Wisconsin Lutheran 63
Aurora 51

St. Norbert 59
Edgewood 46

NACC Finals

Wisconsin Lutheran (22-4) vs St. Norbert (18-9)

[Captain_Joe08]

Thoughts on the NACC Final.

Honestly I see this as a toss up. WLC beat St. Norbert in the lone regular season matchup but since then the Green Knights haven't lost since (WLC hasn't either). WLC's performance in the conference tournament hasn't been the best despite winning and they can't afford a clunky offensive performance against a hot team in SNC. I think WLC wins late but I could see the Green Knights pulling it off here too.