WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

Concordia is predicted to be in the middle of the pack in their conference according to this :
http://naccsports.org/sports/wbkb/2013-14/releases/20131023zkm668
North Park has numerous good athletes.

[Gregory Sager]

I had to miss the scrimmage on Saturday due to my North Park football broadcasting duties, although NPU will host another scrimmage next Saturday morning against Lake Forest. But I heard very good reports from Saturday's scrimmage.

The freshman to watch is Rachel Torres (DeKalb). She's CCIW-starter ready, from what I've been told. Liz Rehberger (Resurrection) is another wing who has a really bright future ahead of her as a Viking. NPU also has a new point guard named Nikki (can't recall her last name at the moment, and the roster isn't posted yet) who may step in and start right away, and another backcourt player named Tiffany (again, can't remember her last name) who is a pure shooter and will probably get a lot of playing time. The Vikes have also added a skilled front-liner who has the mobility to start at power forward right off the bat. (Sorry, I can't remember her name at all.)

It's going to be a really young team, with only one senior who was in last year's rotation (Dominikque Williams), so defense and ball discipline will probably be what coaches euphemistically call "areas of growth" for the Vikings in the early going. The tradeoffs are that the Vikes should be deeper, more athletic, and better shooters as a unit. And, to be perfectly frank, the huge advantage that the Vikes had in experience last season, with so many seniors in the rotation, ended up not being an advantage at all in terms of how endgames played out; NPU lost a lot of close games that senior-laden teams ought to win. I think we'll see NPU do a lot more full-court pressure this season than the Vikings have done in years past.

This should be a fun group. I'm looking forward to watching this NPU team this year.

[RogK]

Carthage had a 5 point lead mid-1st-half at Iowa State but ended up on the short end of a 78-49 final, seen by 9,586.
Not bad for the Lady Reds, considering that the hosts are expected to be among the best D1 teams.
http://www.cyclones.com/pdf9/2561209.pdf?ATCLID=209300912&SPSID=46667&SPID=4253&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10700
Haley Stercic topped Carthage with 9 pts and Taylor Boardman led with 6 rebs.

[iwu70]

Really?  9,500 for a women's basketball exhibition game at Iowa State?  Wow, must be a very boring town . . . or fan loyalty beyond belief.  (or both).

Season upcoming now, only about a week away.  Titan women heading for Baltimore and two games at Johns Hopkins.

IWU70

[RogK]

Fan loyalty is your answer, iwu70. See this :
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/reports/Attend/13att.pdf

[Gregory Sager]

Women's basketball has always been a big deal in the state of Iowa, going back many decades. It's not an accident that Iowa State ranks #2 in D1 women's basketball attendance and Iowa ranks #19. It's not just the big girls that draw the crowds, either; the IIAC, which doesn't tend to be either a power conference or a big draw in most sports, ranks third among D3 leagues in women's basketball attendance.

[RogK]

Hey keith45, have you noticed that fellow "system" team Olivet Naz is using only 12 players so far? Must be some injuries.
They had turnover problems in their first two games, committing 90 (!) and losing 121-107 and 131-88. In game 3 on Tuesday, they committed 29. They also tightened things up defensively, limiting the opponents to 118 points. ONU fired in 138 themselves. It was 91-63 at halftime.

[iwu70]

Iowa State = unbelievable attendance.  CC will never have a crowd again like that!  Do the Iowa State women's fans pay?

Wow, think of the season long stats for ONU if you have 90+ points by half time.

Stunning.

IWU70

[RogK]

That's an odd question for a women's basketball fan to ask, iwu70. Of course, Iowa State WBB fans pay to see their games.

[iwu70]

Just checking -- some sports at some schools, esp. in DIII are free, save for tournaments at the end of year.  Thought they paid, but wasn't sure -- great revenue stream with that kind of loyalty and attendance. 

IWU70

[Gregory Sager]

I got my first peek at North Park's new-look roster today, as the Vikings hosted a scrimmage against Lake Forest. NPU won the first two halves, 72-66, and then won a ten-minute scrimmage against the Foresters reserves, 21-7. For the afternoon as a whole, transfer Brittany Pittas led a balanced Vikings scoring attack with 15, while freshmen Rachel Torres, Hannah Rehfeldt, and Nikki Przybyslawski had 14, 12, and 11, respectively, with junior Kayla McCall also breaking into double figures with 10. Another freshman, Amanda Behles, led the team in rebounds with six.

The Vikings started off very wobbly, falling behind 31-18 with five minutes and change remaining in the first half. They were continually victimized by poor transition defense, both primary and secondary, and they had trouble containing LFC's quick senior point guard. But they gathered themselves and made a terrific comeback in those final five and a half minutes to bring themselves to within 34-33 when the half ended. The Vikings then dominated the second half against the taller and more experienced Foresters, leading by double digits for most of the way.

The Vikings certainly have a lot to work on in the three practices they'll have remaining before Friday night's opener against Westminster (PA). The defense, both halfcourt and transition, really needs a lot of tightening up, and ballhandling is a concern as well. But I am seriously impressed by the crop of newbies that Amanda Reese and Lauren Rosengarden have brought in this year. They have a number of new players who will be able to step in and play right away, and they should be competitive most nights in CCIW play. They'll be deeper and more athletic than last year, and -- this is big -- they'll shoot the ball much better, too. Shooting was a big concern last year, as NPU only shot .403 from the field and .317 from beyond the arc. This year the Vikings will have multiple shooters -- Hannah Rehfeldt, Brittany Pittas, Kayla McCall, Annie Shain, Rachel Torres, and Liz Rehberger -- who can knock it down from distance consistently (the first four players in particular). Although she didn't play today (she just finished a season of playing soccer for the Park, so she's resting a recently-reconstructed ACL tear), freshman McKenzie Wiedemann is supposed to be a very good shooter as well.

With only two seniors (Dominikque Williams and Kayla Scoggins) on the squad, this should be a season in which the Vikings have some growing pains at times. But it should also be a team that gets better and better as the season goes along. This could be a really fun group to watch over the next few seasons.

[RogK]

The North Park list :
http://athletics.northpark.edu/roster.aspx?path=wbball
I'll agree with Greg that NP should be competitive with most CCIW opponents, but it'll take a massive effort for them to upend Carthage. Maybe this year we'll have all 8 CCIW teams do well. The next few weeks may reveal that answer.

[iwu70]

Seems the women's game in CCIW is stronger this year, with more parity, more balance.  CC surely the favorite, but more teams having some new strength, exciting new and more athletic players.  The Titans will be good, but not as deep or as experienced as in recent few years.  If the key starters stay healthy, play up to their potential, the Titans will contend, give CC a good run for their money.  Hope a few of the newbies really make a good contribution. 

The season now just a few days away.

GO TITANS!!!

IWU70

[RogK]

Wheaton's preview :
http://athletics.wheaton.edu/news/2013/11/12/WBB_1112134904.aspx

[Gregory Sager]

The North Park list :
http://athletics.northpark.edu/roster.aspx?path=wbball

NPU opens its season at home against Westminster (PA) on Friday evening. I'm certainly looking forward to my first basketball webcast of 2013-14! I'm not entirely sure what to expect, both because the Vikings have so many new faces and because the Pennsylvania-based opponent is an unfamiliar one. Most of what I know about the visitors is that the Titans return two starters from a team that went 11-15 last season.

This means that I have three more days to perfect the pronunciation of NPU's new point guard, freshman Nikki Przybyslawski. Hey, I mastered the pronunciation of NPU soccer player Przemyslaw Zabielski, so I'm battle-tested and ready.