WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

It's been a fun season . . . with MU and NPU now clearly coming up strongly.  WC and IWU maintaining their strong standing and programs.  IWU has the edge going forward as only losing Shanks.

"IWU has the edge?" If you're only comparing IWU and Wheaton head-to-head, perhaps. Wheaton not only loses Frazier, it loses Myroth, Demski, Berg, and San Jule as well from the rotation. Kent Madsen is going to be plugging in several players in 2020-21 who have little or no experience. But, as you said, NPU and Millikin are "clearly coming up strongly." The Big Blue don't appear to be quite ready to be included in the top tier yet, but the Vikings clearly are already there.

And Millikin and North Park will lose less than Illinois Wesleyan will, let alone Wheaton. The Big Blue will have to do without Briana Anthony next season, who is one of the seven MU players who see the lion's share of playing time. She's a decent player, but she's hardly irreplaceable. NPU doesn't lose much in terms of players who see a lot of the court, either, as reserves Alisha Panthier and Angelina Villasin, who average less than 24 minutes per game between the two of them, are the only seniors on the roster. And, like Anthony, they're not the big statistical producers that Sydney Shanks is. They combine for 7.6 ppg and 5 rpg; Anthony provides 7.6 ppg and 3.5 rpg for Millikin. Shanks averages 12.6 ppg and 6.1 rpg and plays nearly 33 mpg, as she's been on the court more than anyone in the league this season aside from Woodward and Kalis from Carthage and Jones from Augie.

[iwu70]

Thanks, RogK, much appreciated. We are on edge here, hoping for no community outbreak of this "devil virus" into the dense Hong Kong community. 

IWU does lose Shanks, and that is significant for sure, but all the other players are back, esp. that current strong junior class of Sosa, Brovelli, Munro, Lowis etc.  Some others will need to step up to replace Shanks' scoring, rebounding and consistency.  Very likely Lansford.  Hopefully some good new recruits.  I think Heller likely joins the starters.  Seems the next year or two might be NPU vs. IWU as the top of the league competition.  I expect MU to improve further.

'70 

[GoPerry]

Wheaton, Carthage, and to some extent Augustana get hit very hard by graduation.  All the other teams bring back practically everyone and lose nobody that is "All-American irreplaceable" quality.

As I've said in earlier posts, I think this season is more fun and interesting from a Conference race standpoint.  I obviously have my team allegiances but I appreciate the enhanced competitiveness.  Unlike previous seasons, the deeper parity means there are few easy road games between, say, the top 6 teams.  A Wheaton team traveling to Rock Island tomorrow to play Augustana is not a foregone conclusion any less than 1st pl NPU playing @ 5th pl NCC was on Saturday.  If NPU finishes atop by winning @ Millikin and @ Augustana to close it out, they will be deserved hosts for the conf tourney - provided they take care of business up to then.

Even so, with alot of young teams, next season might be even better.  (But let's finish up this one first.)

[Gregory Sager]

Seems the next year or two might be NPU vs. IWU as the top of the league competition.

Never underestimate Wheaton, Mark. Even though Kent Madsen will have to replace a lot of minutes and a lot of production, there is a long and proven track record there between him and Beth Baker that supports the thesis that he will have the Sonic Atmospheric Disturbance right back in the title hunt next season. This league has sponsored women's basketball for 34 years now, and in all but two of them (2007-08 and 2009-10) Wheaton has finished in the top four of the league, and more often than not it's been in the top two. That is an amazing legacy that is not approached by any other program in the CCIW. Plus, Wheaton's won four of the last five CCIW titles, which means that the roster has completely turned over during that span. In other words, the old cliché, "They don't rebuild, they reload," is more than apt to describe Wheaton women's basketball.

Wheaton, Carthage, and to some extent Augustana get hit very hard by graduation.  All the other teams bring back practically everyone and lose nobody that is "All-American irreplaceable" quality.

As I've said in earlier posts, I think this season is more fun and interesting from a Conference race standpoint.  I obviously have my team allegiances but I appreciate the enhanced competitiveness.  Unlike previous seasons, the deeper parity means there are few easy road games between, say, the top 6 teams.  A Wheaton team traveling to Rock Island tomorrow to play Augustana is not a foregone conclusion any less than 1st pl NPU playing @ 5th pl NCC was on Saturday.  If NPU finishes atop by winning @ Millikin and @ Augustana to close it out, they will be deserved hosts for the conf tourney - provided they take care of business up to then.

Even so, with alot of young teams, next season might be even better.  (But let's finish up this one first.)

Well said, GP. I agree on all points.

[RogK]

Among Wednesday's games is the rematch of this atypical contest from Dec 4 :
                   1     2     3     4       F
North Park   17    0    17    28     62
Carroll         11   20   16     7      54
- - -
NPU's 45 pt 2nd half included 34 pts from three Vikes : Jayla Johnson (19 in 20:00), Emily Czuhajewski (8 in 18:00) and Josie Summerville (7 in 13:00).
A question for tomorrow, is North Park dominant to the point that their play will determine the outcome, regardless of Carroll's efforts?
Maybe a more direct issue is, does Carroll have anyone who can stick to Jayla J defensively? Or perhaps a double-team of Jayla, allowing Summerville additional lowpost scoring opportunities?
Czuhajewski and Carroll's Theresa Wichser are in the elite level of 3FG shooters, requiring constant defensive attention (while they're in the game, anyway).
Of course, other players from either team can be prominent.

[RogK]

the other pre-match scores were :
NCC 68, CTG 57 (Coach McCloskey-Bax again tries to bite the hand that used to feed her; for you non-CCIW readers, she was assistant coach at Carthage for several years)
WHE 84, AUG 80 (Augie gets 36 in 4th Q)
IWU 71, ELM 46 (44-23 IWU 2nd half)

[lmitzel]

the other pre-match scores were :
NCC 68, CTG 57 (Coach McCloskey-Bax again tries to bite the hand that used to feed her; for you non-CCIW readers, she was assistant coach at Carthage for several years)

She's 2-1 against her former team so far, which is pretty good considering the caliber of program Carthage is. My favorite stat: she's undefeated in games involving North Central at Tarble Arena going into tonight's matchup (NCC's win in Kenosha last year was their first since something like 2006 if memory serves).

[Gregory Sager]

Massey sez:

Wheaton 68, @ Augustana 66 (WC 53%, AC 47%)
@ North Park 69, Carroll 59 (NPU 80%, CU 20%)
@ Illinois Wesleyan 75, Elmhurst 57 (IWU 95%, EC 5%)
@ Carthage 65, North Central 59 (CC 66%, NCC 34%)

[GoPerry]

Massey sez:

Wheaton 68, @ Augustana 66 (WC 53%, AC 47%)

The Thunder ladies will have to come out aggressive, ready to play and start much faster than their last couple outings vs Millikin and @Elmhurst.  Over reliance on Hannah Frazier won't work meaning someone else must step up and score.  Wheaton has to win tonight for Saturday's game to really matter. 

[RogK]

In that original Augie - Wheaton game, both teams were superb from 3 pt distance.
The Thunder were 15/30 and the Vikings hit 14/22.
The Massey formula doesn't expect that to happen again.

[Ultimate Titan Fan]

Per the Titan athletic website:

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team's game against Elmhurst College originally scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday night, Feb. 5, has been moved to Thursday, Feb. 6, due to travel issues. Tipoff is tentatively slated for 5 p.m. inside the Shirk Center upon confirmation of officials.

[lmitzel]

Carthage 70, NCC 45

I flipped the game on to see the Lady Reds called timeout down 7-0 just over two minutes in, but they quickly flipped the script, with the stretch an extended 19-0 spanning the first two quarters.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 70
Carroll 65

Jayla Johnson: 24 pts, 12 rebs, 3 stls
Zakiya Newsome: 10 pts, 6 stls
Angelina Villasin: 4:2 a:to

Sierra Grubor: 15 pts
Kayla Stefka: 12 pts
Alyssa Cruz: 3 stls

It looked more like a November game than a February game in the crackerbox tonight, as NPU turned over the ball 25 times and Carroll coughed it up 26 times. Some of it was good defense by both teams, but a lot of it was unforced errors; the Vikings in particular had a problem with overthrowing their passes. But it all came out in the wash, as the Vikings left an ugly first half of shooting behind them and erased a ten-point halftime deficit, thanks to some timely treys from Zakiya Newsome and Emily Czuhajewski and another statement performance from Jayla Johnson.

There's no column in the standings for style points, so all that matters is that NPU toughed it out and finished with the W.

Now comes Saturday and another colossal showdown, this time against a wounded and dangerous Wheaton team that is in dire need of a win after losing in the QC tonight.

[RogK]

That was my first in-person Carroll game of the season; it reinforced the view that there are no crummy teams in the CCIW this season.
North Park turned up the intensity in the 3rd Q and sped ahead of the Pios. As Greg noted, kind of sloppy play by both teams.
Carroll has a good amount of talent spread among its young roster, giving them reason for optimism in coming seasons.

[RogK]

in the Carthage drubbing of North Central :
CTG - Sammie Woodward (.792 eFG%) 21 pts, 6 rebs, 7 assists;
Nansy Velev 10 pts, 3 steals
NCC - Allison Pearson 11 pts; Natali Dimitrova 7 pts from just 3 shots (so why didn't she shoot 30 times?)
---
Was it iwu70 who assured us that IWU would not defeat Elmhurst on Wednesday?