WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[WLCALUM83]

Both Friday games for CCIW teams are set for 5pm Central. Not to mention conflicting with re-runs of Streets of San Francisco and The Addams Family.

Neat! Sweet! Petite!

You rang?

Esther Miller of NPU traded in her basketball jersey for a track singlet immediately after the basketball season ended for the Vikings on Tuesday -- and I mean immediately, as the CCIW's indoor track & field championships were held this past weekend at Carthage.

Esther immediately made her presence felt, finishing third in the league in the triple jump with a jump of 10.85 meters. She was also added to North Park's women's 4 x 400 relay team on late notice, and the team promptly shaved six seconds off of their best time this season.

I'm always impressed when a student-athlete can excel in more than one sport. But I'm doubly impressed when a student-athlete can switch sports on the fly and excel at a second sport in which she or he has not practiced or competed all season long to that point.

Those fast-break drills will do it every time--

[RogK]

Greg, if you attend a track meet, wait for the runners to be in your vicinity and yell "hey, what's the hurry?"

[WLCALUM83]

Greg, if you attend a track meet, wait for the runners to be in your vicinity and yell "hey, what's the hurry?"

--
Except don't do it on a 4 person-relay event, (you might get a baton thrown at you)--

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, if you attend a track meet, wait for the runners to be in your vicinity and yell "hey, what's the hurry?"

Rog, the next track meet I attend will be the first one ever. And, trust me, if I ever attend one it will be under duress.

Track & field is undoubtedly an exciting and worthwhile activity for a student-athlete, and it has fitness and personal discipline components that make it a valuable springboard to a lifetime of good health practices. I applaud and encourage every student who chooses to participate as a track & field athlete. And I will heartily salute the achievements of my alma mater's track & field athletes, particularly those who achieve something under extraordinary circumstances (such as Esther Miller did).

But as a spectator sport it's right up there with watching paint dry.

Just one man's opinion.

[RogK]

I always feel sorry for the group that loses the coin toss and has to be the receiving team in the javelin event.

[RogK]

Lauren Hall was the top rebounder per game in the CCIW in both over all and conference-only play.
If she doesn't return for a 5th season, Augie will want/need to get improved rebounding from others.
Here are their rebounds per minute from this season (players with 10+ rebs) :
seniors :
Lauren Hall .312 (231/741)
Daina Riser .222 (20/90)
Chaadah Hodges .109 (12/110)
non-seniors :
Hannah Simmer .251 (127/506)
Erin Morrisey .188 (69/368)
Kylie Jozwik .173 (39/225)
Gabriela Loiz .170 (131/771)
Linnea Johansen .160 (24/150)
Grace Nestich .140 (19/136)
Macy Beinborn .126 (97/771)
Emily Brenneisen .115 (70/608)
Emma Berg .101 (49/487)
Those numbers at the bottom are OK for players who are usually not near the basket.
Of course, there could be great rebounders among any '22-'23 newcomers. And without Hall around grabbing so many, others will naturally get a few more.

[iwu70]

Good luck to the Big Blue and to the Titans tomorrow as the D3 national tournament begins.

Make the CCIW proud!

IWU'70

[RogK]

Millikin 81, Wartburg 68
Outstanding 36 pt game by Elyce Knudsen : 5/7 3FG, 9/14 2FG, 3/3 FT plus 4 assists.
Jordan Hildebrand had 4 steals, 5 rebs and 18 pts.
Bailey Coffman added 13 pts, 5 rebs. Miranda Fox had 6 assists. Also 4 steals from Chelsea McCullum.
Good work, too, from Sophie Darden and Aubrey Staton.
Wartburg's top scorers were Sara Faber (22) and Jaedon Murphy (17, 8 rebs).

[GoPerry]

IWU 56
DePauw 55

Looks like a Kate Palmer 3 pointer with a second left in the game was the winner.  It was the only field goal she made for the game but it really counted!

From the stats, it doesn't look like it was a terrific game for either team.  IWU shot a mere 33.3% from the field but took advantage of a +9 margin on turnovers.
Nice job Titans on a big win.

[RogK]

The Titan defense surely was more consistent than their shooting.
IWU offense      2FG      3FG
1st Q              6/10       4/9
2nd Q             1/5         1/10
3rd Q             2/10        1/4
4th Q             4/10        2/5
sum              13/35      8/28
It all added up to a 1 point win, exactly as iwu70 predicted.

[Gregory Sager]

The Titan defense surely was more consistent than their shooting.
IWU offense      2FG      3FG
1st Q              6/10       4/9
2nd Q             1/5         1/10
3rd Q             2/10        1/4
4th Q             4/10        2/5
sum              13/35      8/28
It all added up to a 1 point win, exactly as iwu70 predicted.

You can't defend the free throw line, though, and it was a missed free throw by Ava Hassel of the Dannies with twelve seconds left that was the difference between Palmer's heroics winning the game and merely sending it into overtime.

Millikin 81, Wartburg 68
Outstanding 36 pt game by Elyce Knudsen : 5/7 3FG, 9/14 2FG, 3/3 FT plus 4 assists.
Jordan Hildebrand had 4 steals, 5 rebs and 18 pts.
Bailey Coffman added 13 pts, 5 rebs. Miranda Fox had 6 assists. Also 4 steals from Chelsea McCullum.
Good work, too, from Sophie Darden and Aubrey Staton.
Wartburg's top scorers were Sara Faber (22) and Jaedon Murphy (17, 8 rebs).

I watched bits and pieces of this game. Millikin's offense was a well-oiled machine, and Knudsen was at her most Knudsenesque self. The Big Blue's off-ball defense was a little lacking, although they made up for it in part with good rim protection, but a better team than the Knights will cut MU to pieces if the Big Blue doesn't improve in that area. But probably best not to nitpick such an impressively dominating victory over a nationally-ranked opponent.

[iwu70]

Great to see both CCIW teams get a win, into the round of 32 . . .  the Big Blue can probably go further . . . 

Congrats to the Titans . . . and Kate Palmer!  The Titans continue to amaze . . .

'70

[Mr. Ypsi]

The Titan defense surely was more consistent than their shooting.
IWU offense      2FG      3FG
1st Q              6/10       4/9
2nd Q             1/5         1/10
3rd Q             2/10        1/4
4th Q             4/10        2/5
sum              13/35      8/28
It all added up to a 1 point win, exactly as iwu70 predicted.

You can't defend the free throw line, though, and it was a missed free throw by Ava Hassel of the Dannies with twelve seconds left that was the difference between Palmer's heroics winning the game and merely sending it into overtime.

Millikin 81, Wartburg 68
Outstanding 36 pt game by Elyce Knudsen : 5/7 3FG, 9/14 2FG, 3/3 FT plus 4 assists.
Jordan Hildebrand had 4 steals, 5 rebs and 18 pts.
Bailey Coffman added 13 pts, 5 rebs. Miranda Fox had 6 assists. Also 4 steals from Chelsea McCullum.
Good work, too, from Sophie Darden and Aubrey Staton.
Wartburg's top scorers were Sara Faber (22) and Jaedon Murphy (17, 8 rebs).

I watched bits and pieces of this game. Millikin's offense was a well-oiled machine, and Knudsen was at her most Knudsenesque self. The Big Blue's off-ball defense was a little lacking, although they made up for it in part with good rim protection, but a better team than the Knights will cut MU to pieces if the Big Blue doesn't improve in that area. But probably best not to nitpick such an impressively dominating victory over a nationally-ranked opponent.

Greg, quit denigrating our FT defense!

It is our secret weapon!

[iwu70]

Greg, I take your point.  But, overall, the Titans last night were able to win ugly . . . and that has not often been the case this year.  They shot it poorly, got out rebounded, and still won. . . through tough half-court D, and, of course, as usual, winning the TO line.  You won't see many IWU games when Brooke Lansford goes 2-11 and the Titans still win . . .  though she did get into the lane on that last play, draw the defense to her and then kick out for the assist, the killer game-winning trey by Kate Palmer.  When Palmer gets a good look and gets squared up, it can often be only net. 

I expect the game tonight vs. a big, talented ranked Whitewater team to be very tough.  These kinds of big, strong teams are often the ones the Titans have great trouble with . . . esp. on the boards and any kind of paint scoring or presence.  I do expect a much closer game tonight different from the 30+ point blowout that WW put on the Titans early in the season, when IWU shot it very very poorly and stunk it up pretty good.  This is an entirely different IWU team now, knowing how they need to play, having a good three-point percentage and playing in their style and tempo.  I don't know if WW can be pressured or speeded up, but that will be the Titans M.O. tonight, very likely.  If IWU follows its normal winning formula again tonight, I think they have a chance . . . but still the decided underdog.  The formula is:  speed it up, hit a good percentage esp from three, keep the rebounding line within reason, and win the TO line.  They will need all they can get on the boards from Bowen, Carlson, and Powers . . .  and a good floor game, with few TOs from Lansford.  We'll see.

Winning over ranked DePauw a great plus, a confidence-builder . . . so why not over WW too?  IWU continues to over-achieve and surprise me with how far they have come, how well they have developed and changed . . . 

Catie Eck got the career blocks record last night -- for the IWU program.  Congratulations to her!   

Go TITANS!

IWU'70

[RogK]

We should note that Mallory Powers led IWU with 13 pts via good shooting.
She tallied 12 pts from 11 FG att, yielding a .545 eFG%. Also 1/1 FT.
While each Titan who got in the game contributed in various ways, Powers's shooting was a major factor in the win.
Hopefully both of our CCIW squads emerge with victories this evening.