WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[lmitzel]

Game was tied with about 7 minutes to go, but the Cardinals close the game with a 23-5 run to beat Elmhurst 76-58.

Mitrese Smith: 23 pts, 12 reb
Alli Pearson: 18 pts, 5 reb
Megan McClure: 15 pts, 5 reb

Taylor Harazin: 12 pts
Anna Kleszynski: 10 pts, 10 reb
Lindsay Novak: 12 pts

[GoPerry]

Thunder 63
Titans 57

Kate Oliver   21 pts, 8 rebs
Anna Fernandez, 14 pts, 4 stls
Caroline Sikkink, 10 pts 8 rebs

Lauren Huber  19 pts, 14 rebs
Mallory Powers  9pts, 9 rebs

Congratulations to the Wheaton ladies on this very big come from behind road win.  This was a really terrific game for the Thunder and the coaching staff.  The only way they were going to stay in this game was to limit the turnovers in the press and slow the game down to a halfcourt grind.  They were successful on both to keep it close.  In fact, they really had very few issues with the pressure so big props to the coaching staff.

But then they needed some other big performances and they got it from the two freshman, Oliver and Fernandez, who accounted for all 23 of Wheaton's 4th quarter points.  Oliver's ballhandling and ability to drive gave the Titans defensive fits late in the game.  And Fernandez hit several big shots down the stretch as well.

Caylee Hermanson drew Lauren Huber and she did a really good job in containing her defensively.  IWU was ice cold from three, 5-24 for 20%  or the outcome might have been different.  Still the home team had their chances in the end but couldn't knock down a key shot.

Nice to head into Christmas break with a key win.  Way to go Wheaton!

[Gregory Sager]

@ Carthage 68, Augustana 56
@ Millikin 72, Carroll 57
North Central 76, @ Elmhurst 58
Wheaton 63, @ Illinois Wesleyan 57

[Gregory Sager]

Thunder 63
Titans 57

Kate Oliver   21 pts, 8 rebs
Anna Fernandez, 14 pts, 4 stls
Caroline Sikkink, 10 pts 8 rebs

Lauren Huber  19 pts, 14 rebs
Mallory Powers  9pts, 9 rebs

Congratulations to the Wheaton ladies on this very big come from behind road win.  This was a really terrific game for the Thunder and the coaching staff.  The only way they were going to stay in this game was to limit the turnovers in the press and slow the game down to a halfcourt grind.  They were successful on both to keep it close.  In fact, they really had very few issues with the pressure so big props to the coaching staff.

But then they needed some other big performances and they got it from the two freshman, Oliver and Fernandez, who accounted for all 23 of Wheaton's 4th quarter points.  Oliver's ballhandling and ability to drive gave the Titans defensive fits late in the game.  And Fernandez hit several big shots down the stretch as well.

Caylee Hermanson drew Lauren Huber and she did a really good job in containing her defensively.  IWU was ice cold from three, 5-24 for 20%  or the outcome might have been different.  Still the home team had their chances in the end but couldn't knock down a key shot.

Nice to head into Christmas break with a key win.  Way to go Wheaton!

What impressed me is that Fernandez, Sikkink, and Richardson all played the last four and a half minutes of the game with four fouls apiece; in fact, the latter two played most of the fourth quarter with four fouls each. That could've been fatal for Wheaton, which is not a deep team. Yet none of them fouled out of the game, and they obviously continued to play good defense.

[Gregory Sager]

Another day, another dollar for Elyce Knudsen, who had 31 points in the Big Blue's winning effort today against Carroll.

[RogK]

I attended the NC - ELM game. Those 23 points by Mitrese Smith were a career best, surpassing her 20 vs Concordia-Chicago (actually River Forest) on 11/20/21 and her 11 rebs matched her career high.
-
Carthage made 13 of 19 threes in their win. Four players did that : Margueret Spear 5/6, Ayanna Ester 4/5, Emma Thistle 2/4, Lauren Knight 2/4.
In that contest, Augie's Corey Whitlock did well : 11 rebs, 9/11 2FG, 3/4 FT.

[RogK]

CCIW standings 22% done (16 of 72 games) :
4-0 MIL
2-1 CRL CTG WHE
2-2 AUG IWU
1-2 NPU
1-3 NCC
0-4 ELM

[RogK]

Congrats to Mitrese Smith, the new CCIW player of the week :
https://cciw.org/news/2022/12/19/womens-basketball-nccs-smith-named-cciw-student-athlete-of-the-week.aspx
- - -

[lmitzel]

Kind of a back and forth second half in a matinee at the hangar. A 12 point Cardinal lead at halftime was erased as Concordia Chicago River Forest took a four point lead into the fourth and led by as many as seven early in that frame. But Allison Pearson took over late to propel NCC to an 83-74 win.

Pearson: 32 pts (7-13 3PT- the 7 three's tie the program record for most in a game)
Megan McClure: 22 pts, 15 reb
Natalie Stavropolous: 6 pts, 10 ast (0 TO)

Top scorer in the nation Katherine Benes: 22 pts
Jaylene Wade: 19 pts
Jada Dixon: 10 pts (3-15 FG, 2-11 3PT), 7 reb

North Central goes on break for a few days before heading to Florida next week.

[Gregory Sager]

Final from Florida:

#16 Trine 65
North Park 51

Victoria Perry: 16 pts
Felicia Sunden: 15 pts, 6 rebs
Esther Miller: 13 pts
Chantel Hairston: 6 rebs

The Vikings faded down the stretch, going 1-11 from the field and scoring only three points in the last six minutes of the game as Trine pulled away at the free throw line. Great defensive effort by the Vikings, though, who got three steals apiece from four different players.

[RogK]

Allison Pearson's 32 included an extraordinary 11 pts in 86 seconds.
She made all four of her shots (three 3FGs and a 2FG) in that 4th Q stretch from 5:29 remaining through 4:04 remaining.
Credit to her teammates for their defense and rebounding during that time, of course.
Eleven points in less than a minute and a half is very impressive.

[lmitzel]

Allison Pearson's 32 included an extraordinary 11 pts in 86 seconds.
She made all four of her shots (three 3FGs and a 2FG) in that 4th Q stretch from 5:29 remaining through 4:04 remaining.
Credit to her teammates for their defense and rebounding during that time, of course.
Eleven points in less than a minute and a half is very impressive.

Those 86 seconds, by the way, spanned roughly three minutes of real time.

Unfortunately the video feed had cut out just prior to her personal 11-0 run. Fortunately... I know how to pull audio from WONC's archived feed. Honestly, I'm not sure who went harder: Andy Jachim on the play by play or me in the background.

[GoPerry]

Elmhurst's Lady Jays were able to go 1-1 in Daytona, FL coming out with the win today over the Thiel Tomcats, 70-53.  Taylor Harazin had quite the afternoon with 32 pts and 15 rebs.  Anna Kleszynski added 19 pts.  I'm sure it was a nice trip to a sunnier place for the team.  But coming out with at least one win makes it that much more enjoyable.

[GoPerry]

In St Petersburg, North Park went down to the Lions of Mt St Joseph, 63-46.  Park was led by Victoria Perry's 12 pts and 6 rebs.

In Kenosha, the Carthage Ladies were all over Benedictine, 71-29.  10 pts and 7 rebs for Marianna Morrissey but a whole bunch of Firebirds saw playing time.

[RogK]

The conference has edged above .500 in regular season non-conference action.
Currently 34-31, with 15 to go.
Within conference play, the league is at exactly .500, as presciently forecast by both lmitzel and Greg over three years ago.