WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Dee43, agree with you on Ehresman, for sure.  Esp. if the Titans win the conference, win out . . . and have the AQ or hopefully a C bid.  Ehresman is also very consistent, game in and game out.  Likely a program record in steals for a season too.

Eppard and Frazier are great players -- deserving of the award as well. 

Stay tuned.  Likely 4-5 games to go for IWU and WC.  Still chances for these players to put up more impressive performances.

Great season for WC and IWU. 

'70

[RogK]

Welcome to the forum, Dee43.
I suspect the MOP vote could be distributed among those three players, with one winning possibly by plurality (4 of 9?) or there may be a tie of some kind. I can't recall whether coaches can now vote for their own players, coincident with last year's change from "3 teams of 5 players" to "2 teams of 8 players."
By the way, you may also like the productivity of Carthage point guard (definitely fits the traditional definition) Morgan Harris. Her scoring and assist averages are similar to Ehresman's. Harris's steals are nearly two fewer per game and she commits an extra TO per game. Harris outrebounds Ehresman by 5 per game.
Not that anyone asked (well, one kind fellow did, at Elmhurst last Saturday), my 1st team all-CCIW so far is (alphabetically) Ehresman Eppard Frazier Harris Kaelber Kyler Merritt. Haven't thought of #8 yet.

[iwu70]

Sadly, IWU has lost Sydney Shanks likely for the season, to a broken wrist.  It's a big loss, especially her energy and defensive skills with the press etc.  Nina Anderson will get the call, starting this week vs. Millikin.  I hope Sydney is a fast healer.  Fortunately, IWU has good depth with Sosa, Hughes, Munroe and Brovelli, backing up the starting five.

RogK, seems like a good All-Conference list to me.  Maybe your #8 should be McGraw?  Still some games for various folks to make their All-Conference case.   

Three games to go -- no let down.

IWU'70

[RogK]

That's an unfortunate setback for Sydney -- best wishes for her to heal quickly. A substantial loss for the team for whatever duration it turns out to be.

[GoPerry]

Sadly, IWU has lost Sydney Shanks likely for the season, to a broken wrist.  It's a big loss, especially her energy and defensive skills with the press etc.  Nina Anderson will get the call, starting this week vs. Millikin.  I hope Sydney is a fast healer.  Fortunately, IWU has good depth with Sosa, Hughes, Munroe and Brovelli, backing up the starting five.

IWU'70

Wow.  That's very bad news for Sydney Shanks and the Titans.  She is not an easily replaceable presence in the lineup because she did so many things well.  2.3 asst/turnover and pretty key on the press also.

Dealing with MOP, it has to go to Rebekah Ehresman from IWU.  Anyone who has watched every team multiple times can clearly see she is the most dynamic player in the league.  Not sure I have seen a guard her size rebound, pass, attack, and defend the way she does.  Leads the conference in everything a PG should (Assists, Steals, A/TO Ratio). Her scoring is not as high as other top players, but if you look at IWU's season when playing against the top teams (Chicago, Whitewater, Wheaton, WashU), she has her highest scoring games, while many IWU games have been blowouts.  Eppard and Frazier are great players as well, but I don't believe they are as versatile or do as much as Ehresman.

Welcome Dee43.  Regarding MOP, I still think it will probably go to Eppard.  Leading the league in both scoring and rebounding, and by pretty wide margins, doesn't happen often and that's tough for coaches to ignore.  It's especially impressive given that she's not very tall, listed at 5'11", for a forward in this league.  This is her 3rd straight season putting up these #s and leading or near-leading the league.  She was probably runner up in the MOP vote for the last two years so it might be "her turn" so to speak.  I don't think that should be a criteria but it could be a factor. 

This is not to say that Ehresman isn't deserving because I already said that she would get my vote.  But I wouldn't go so far as to say "it has to go to" either of them this year.  Admittedly, it's tough to compare a guard vs a forward for an MOP vote when they contribute in different ways statistically at least. 

By the way, you may also like the productivity of Carthage point guard (definitely fits the traditional definition) Morgan Harris. Her scoring and assist averages are similar to Ehresman's. Harris's steals are nearly two fewer per game and she commits an extra TO per game. Harris outrebounds Ehresman by 5 per game.
Not that anyone asked (well, one kind fellow did, at Elmhurst last Saturday), my 1st team all-CCIW so far is (alphabetically) Ehresman Eppard Frazier Harris Kaelber Kyler Merritt. Haven't thought of #8 yet.

Having enjoyed watching Morgan Harris a few times, she has what many natural rebounders have:  A willingness to rebound(not all guards have this), good positioning and a great sense for the ball.  Averaging 10 rebs/game for a 5'5" guard is pretty amazing.

For #8, I'm thinking maybe Millikin's Devin Curry, Elmhurst's Kaela Jones, Wheaton's Maggie Dansdill, McGraw.

[lmitzel]

Just to put up their numbers at this point to compare (even though as GoPerry said, it's hard to compare forwards and guards):

Category	Eppard	Ehresman
PPG	18.3	10.4
RPG	10.7	4.8
APG	2.1	4.8
Steals	27	73
Blocks	16	9
FG%	56.7	40.7
3PT%	23.1	37.1
FT%	75.0	72.7
A-TO	0.6	3.5
MPG	31.9	26.8

The fact that Eppard is averaging 18 and 11 and ranks fourth in field goal percentage (with the highest volume of shots among all the leaders) is astounding. But is it more astounding than Ehresman averaging a 10-5-5 while wreaking havoc on the defensive end... and doing all of this in five fewer minutes a game? I don't know. I do know that either one of these two would be deserving of the award.

You put those two for sure on the First Team All-CCIW (presumably unanimously), and then a lot of the names that have already been thrown out to round it out. I'd probably lean McGraw for the 8th on Rog's list, with the others prominently on the Second Team. Have to add love on that level for players like Brittney Wald and maybe Izzy Anderson. I hope Mayson Whipple gets added to that list as well, but she's probably the only Cardinal I'd put up there (10th in scoring, 7th in assists, 10th in steals, 8th in A-TO ratio).

Sadly, IWU has lost Sydney Shanks likely for the season, to a broken wrist.  It's a big loss, especially her energy and defensive skills with the press etc.  Nina Anderson will get the call, starting this week vs. Millikin.  I hope Sydney is a fast healer.  Fortunately, IWU has good depth with Sosa, Hughes, Munroe and Brovelli, backing up the starting five.

They've got the depth to help offset her loss, but that's still a big one. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[Dee43]

Thanks for the welcome and great conversation everyone!
RogK, have seen Harris play and really like her game.  Great player who is hard-nosed and gets things done.  Very deserving of all-conference.
GoPerry, I get what you are saying about it being Eppard's turn in the eyes of some.  No doubt a great player and has been for her career.
Imitzel, thanks for the numbers, it does help to show different values, but like you said, it is hard to compare guards and forwards.

I think what it boils down to for me is how much better Ehresman makes others around her.  In my mind when thinking about these types of awards, I always ask myself "Who would I want to start a team with?" and in this case, I say Ehresman, she just seems to be at a different level based off the eye test.  I know that is a totally different argument, but just my opinion and what are these boards for after all right??? 

Very sad news for IWU regarding Shanks.  A very good player and one that will be missed.  We will see who can step up.  Awards are nice, but it is the team award at the end of the season that means the most.  Still a lot of basketball to be played.

[RogK]

There are only three CCIW players who have at least 20 blocks and 20 steals. I thought there'd be more.
Katie Rossetti 47 blks 43 stls
Devin Kyler 45 blks 41 stls
Hannah Frazier 40 blks 28 stls
I think this statistical pairing reveals these players' combination of height and agility.
Incidentally, there may be some coaches who discourage their players from attempting to block shots, fearing team and/or individual foul trouble.

[lmitzel]

New regional rankings are out. Illinois Wesleyan stays put at #2, Wheaton moves up to #6, Carthage falls out. UW-Whitewater is tops in the region.

[GoPerry]

New regional rankings are out. Illinois Wesleyan stays put at #2, Wheaton moves up to #6, Carthage falls out. UW-Whitewater is tops in the region.

Just like the men's side, it was important for the ladies to get over both Oshkosh and Eau Claire.  Despite my bias, I think deservedly so.

Provided they take care of business, the Wheaton ladies should be at worst the #2 Pool C out of this region after WashU  - as long as there are no tournament upsets.

[lmitzel]

New regional rankings are out. Illinois Wesleyan stays put at #2, Wheaton moves up to #6, Carthage falls out. UW-Whitewater is tops in the region.

Just like the men's side, it was important for the ladies to get over both Oshkosh and Eau Claire.  Despite my bias, I think deservedly so.

So for reference, Wheaton ranks 31st in the country in strength of schedule. Oshkosh is 116th, but Eau Claire is 14th. Difference is the Blugolds have seven losses to Wheaton's four. Looking at RRO results, which seem to be favored more by the women's committee compared to SOS, Wheaton is 3-3, Eau Claire is 2-4 and Oshkosh is 1-3. That probably plays a role.

Provided they take care of business, the Wheaton ladies should be at worst the #2 Pool C out of this region after WashU  - as long as there are no tournament upsets.

That's the tricky one, obviously. If someone other than Whitewater wins the WIAC it might hurt a bit, but not as much as Wisconsin Lutheran dropping into Pool C, though if they did (and depending on when) Wheaton could make a little leap. Even if the Thunder were the third team up from the Central, I like their chances at this point. Probably even if they were fourth up.

[GoPerry]

New regional rankings are out. Illinois Wesleyan stays put at #2, Wheaton moves up to #6, Carthage falls out. UW-Whitewater is tops in the region.

Just like the men's side, it was important for the ladies to get over both Oshkosh and Eau Claire.  Despite my bias, I think deservedly so.

So for reference, Wheaton ranks 31st in the country in strength of schedule. Oshkosh is 116th, but Eau Claire is 14th. Difference is the Blugolds have seven losses to Wheaton's four. Looking at RRO results, which seem to be favored more by the women's committee compared to SOS, Wheaton is 3-3, Eau Claire is 2-4 and Oshkosh is 1-3. That probably plays a role.

Provided they take care of business, the Wheaton ladies should be at worst the #2 Pool C out of this region after WashU  - as long as there are no tournament upsets.

That's the tricky one, obviously. If someone other than Whitewater wins the WIAC it might hurt a bit, but not as much as Wisconsin Lutheran dropping into Pool C, though if they did (and depending on when) Wheaton could make a little leap. Even if the Thunder were the third team up from the Central, I like their chances at this point. Probably even if they were fourth up.

The data has Wheaton at 3-3 vRRO.  But that must count 2 wins vs Carthage who was ranked last week but not this week.  Is it still once-ranked-always-ranked on the ladies side?

Also, with Wisc Lutheran SOS at .519 and 1-1 vRRO, any loss for them, regular season or NACC tourney, might drop them below Wash U and Wheaton.

[lmitzel]

New regional rankings are out. Illinois Wesleyan stays put at #2, Wheaton moves up to #6, Carthage falls out. UW-Whitewater is tops in the region.

Just like the men's side, it was important for the ladies to get over both Oshkosh and Eau Claire.  Despite my bias, I think deservedly so.

So for reference, Wheaton ranks 31st in the country in strength of schedule. Oshkosh is 116th, but Eau Claire is 14th. Difference is the Blugolds have seven losses to Wheaton's four. Looking at RRO results, which seem to be favored more by the women's committee compared to SOS, Wheaton is 3-3, Eau Claire is 2-4 and Oshkosh is 1-3. That probably plays a role.

Provided they take care of business, the Wheaton ladies should be at worst the #2 Pool C out of this region after WashU  - as long as there are no tournament upsets.

That's the tricky one, obviously. If someone other than Whitewater wins the WIAC it might hurt a bit, but not as much as Wisconsin Lutheran dropping into Pool C, though if they did (and depending on when) Wheaton could make a little leap. Even if the Thunder were the third team up from the Central, I like their chances at this point. Probably even if they were fourth up.

The data has Wheaton at 3-3 vRRO.  But that must count 2 wins vs Carthage who was ranked last week but not this week.  Is it still once-ranked-always-ranked on the ladies side?

Also, with Wisc Lutheran SOS at .519 and 1-1 vRRO, any loss for them, regular season or NACC tourney, might drop them below Wash U and Wheaton.

I don't know if it's once-and-always, but I know that these records involve teams ranked in the first set of rankings. It's why North Central is 1-5 (they also beat Carthage once). I just don't know if in next week's rankings if the RRO numbers will strictly be for the Week 2 rankings or for both Weeks 1 and 2.

[iwu70]

Glad to see IWU above Chicago in the regional rankings.

Yes, IWU has the depth, can play on well without Shanks, though she is a big loss.  Anderson has been playing extremely well off the bench, and will get the start tonight at The Shirk vs. MU.  Likely more minutes for Sosa and Hughes. 

Titans just need to keep winning, win out and let things take care of themselves -- AQ or C, it matters not. 

Good comments, views on MOP.  Several very deserving candidates.

IWU'70

[iwu70]

Shanks will be back for sure, only a sophomore now.  Still, a tough loss.  You hate to see someone go down to injury at this point in the season, with post-season likely coming up for the Titans.

I wish her fast and complete healing and recovery.

'70