WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

Some interesting stats from the North Central - Wheaton game :
NC's Becky Bylina really got involved when she was in, grabbing 13 rebounds in 17:00, adding 11 pts, but committing 5 fouls. I think the 13 and 11 override the 5 fouls. Besides, fouls are not necessarily bad.
Wheaton's Breanna Bohlen blocked 4 shots and now has 22 in their 12 games. She has 19 steals, too. She's pretty good in all facets of the game.

[bflong]

Congratulations to both LL and Solari for being named Co-players of the week!! Much deserved for leading tboth of their teams to a 2-0 record for the week!!

[iwumichigander]

RogK - some observations about IWU and Carthage rematch:

I don't think you find a combined 55 turnovers between the two teams.  Nor, do I anticipate Carthage making just 25% of FG in a half getting down by 22 at half time.  Certainly the Lady Titans won't anticipate Carthage going cold in the 1st half.

This simply would have been a much different contest if Carthage had hit for average in that 1st half in the Shirk.  Like you, I'm interested in Titan Q's observations.

[RogK]

Good point, iwumichigander.
I wonder if Carthage's poor shooting was attributable to tight IWU defense or a shortage of oxygen in the Carthage team bus (making them a little off-balance!).
On another topic, can someone that has functioning email today (I don't) send one to mkrizman@cciw.org and ask him to revise the player of the week write-up to show that Lyndsie Long had 18 pts against Millikin, rather than 8. Thanks.
update : correction has been made!

[Titan Q]

I'll direct this to Titan Q, since he attended the IWU-Carthage game :
Why do you expect that their matchup in Kenosha will be much closer?
Home court advantage? Did Carthage do some good things Saturday, despite getting whipped?
The Lady Reds' shooting stats were pretty crummy all around -- 13/36 on 2FGs, 2/8 threes and 16/24 FTs.
Carthage could take care of the ball better, reducing TOs from 30 to some lower amount. IWU had 25 TOs, so they too could improve that category next time.
I was way off, thinking that game would be 62-57 -ish, not specifying a winner.

I'm not necessarily basing that comment on anything in particular...no specific X's and O's or anything like that.  I just think it will be a completely different game on Carthage's floor...Carthage is a good team that just had a terrible game Saturday.  I'd expect them to play much better in Kenosha vs IWU.  

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU rises two more first place votes (now 20 firsts, and 5 seconds).

Carthage is the beneficiary of that respect, as they fall only ONE spot after being blown out - now number 12.

Either that, or IWU is the beneficiary of respect for Carthage!

At any rate, it is good to see TWO CCIW teams so respected.

[RogK]

Since Hoosier Titan is currently in the UK, I wonder if she now introduces her husband as her "bit of stuff."

[bflong]

LADY JAYS BEAT CARTHAGE!!! On a 7 game winning streak now... They played touch defense and made smart decisions on offense.

[thunder38]

great game at King tuesday night.  i was very impressed with Potts and Wheaton's post defense really making Lani Kastens a nonfactor.  great win for the Thunder playing without Brianna Bohlen.  Jones had a double-double and Brenneman really stepped up down the stretch.  Potts played great post defense.  as young as Wheaton is they're playing pretty good basketball and could play spoiler at some point in the CCIW race.

Augustana looks like they have the personnel and the bench depth to be a good team but they turn the ball way too much.  30 turnovers tonight and too many ill-advised passes.  Staples is a nice point guard and Warnken showed in the gym range tonight.  Having seen Kastens since high school she's a great post player but struggles with turnovers and really got shut down by Potts, Ballenger, Bowen, and Brooks.

We're really gonna know a lot more about this Thunder team next week hosting IWU and Elmhurst.

[Wydown Blvd.]

So Elmhurst made me eat my words with the win over Carthage. I know they are a very talented team, but was expecting Carthage to play lights out coming off of that ugly loss. With that being said, the d3hoops headline really speaks to what I already said... Elmhurst is "not to be overlooked" and at least has a shot at the upset against IWU.

Anyone with comments on the Carthage v. Elmhurst game?

[Titan Q]

IWU 64
Millikin 42

http://www.iwusports.com/custompages/WBB/WBB2010/HTML/iwuwbb14.htm

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/article_b89ac238-fffe-11de-8c09-001cc4c002e0.html


The Titans won their 52nd straight regular season game and 29th straight CCIW game.

[Old Hoosier Baller]

I attended the Elmhurst-Carthage game last night.   It was a dog fight with the Bluejays prevailing in an extremely hostile environment.  Lyndsie Long, Meghan Merklein, and Megan Ney proved too much for the Lady Reds to handle at the end of the day.  The offensive punch of Long and Merklein and the defensive effort of Ney were the keys to the victory.  I believe that Ney held Jacklin to one basket the entire second half, and the excellent interior defense forced Carthage to resort more to the perimeter game.  The Elmhurst starters played heavy minutes, and I was most impressed with their conditioning and strength down the stretch.  Looking forward to watching IWU vs. Elmhurst on Sunday!

[RogK]

A nice win for Elmhurst, for sure. They will certainly need to stay in high gear and keep mistakes to a minimum against IWU.
Carthage's Rosie Dorn must be playing hurt, I think. Over 48 minutes in the last two games, she was 0-for-9, very unlike her usual good self.
Katie Klemke was sharp from behind the arc, making 5 of 8 threes.
On the Bluejay side, Maggie McTeague's 6 rebounds in 9:00 must have been a good boost for the team.

[RogK]

thunder38illini, I concur with your review of the Augie-Wheaton game.
Elisabeth Potts showed a lot of versatility: the defense you mentioned, plus she shot nicely and also helped get the ball through Augie's full-court press.
That press, implemented mostly in the 2nd quarter, was fairly good (inducing a few turnovers) and can get better with more use.
In addition to players you mentioned, I thought Gianna Pecora showed promise of good things to come.
Augie started the game ineffectively, scoring just 10 points in the first 10 minutes. After that, they were as good as I've seen 'em be in years.
Sure, they were disappointed by not winning, but it looks like they'll be getting better.
Wheaton also has a number of good young players, providing reason for optimism for them this season, as well.

[RogK]

Just checked the Wheaton roster. Only Sarah Jones is a senior. Brooks, Ballenger, Bowen and McAlvey are juniors.
Potts and Brenneman are sophs, as is Laura Karsten who played last year and is injured at present.
All five freshman look like they have abilities that will be useful, now or soon.
In the other game last night, North Park topped North Central in Naperville, 61-49. Lyndsey Thompson scored 18, Kamauria Acree 16. Sarah Peterson returned, with 9 pts 8 rebs in 22:00. Dana Christensen also had 8 rebs, plus three steals.
NC's Christine Karl had 20 pts, 10 rebs, 4 assists, 3 steals.