WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

Elmhurst won its opener 69-67 over Edgewood. The scores of the quarters demonstrate that it was an oddly fragmented game :
Edgewood 21 – 11 – 9 – 26
Elmhurst   27 – 9 – 19 – 14
During those first ten minutes, both teams tested the other's ballhandling by imposing a full court press. The accelerated tempo resulted in 48 points on the board. I think Lyndsie Long scored 11 or 13 of her 19 during that stretch.
The action during the 2nd ten minutes was slower, with a scoring standoff, 11-9.
Elmhurst built a lead in the 3rd quarter, but couldn't "put the game away."
Edgewood regained its energy, piling up 26 points over the final 10:00.
Down by one with 27 seconds to go, Edgewood stalled for about 15 seconds and then tried to get through a crowded lane. EC's Claire Gentry and Lyndsie Long (if I recall correctly) combined to steal the ball. At the other end, Rashida Joiner hit an FT and Maggie McTeague ended matters by grabbing the miss on the next free throw and scampering out of fouling reach.
Ceejay Harris and Meghan Merklein each scored 13 for Elmhurst and had well-rounded performances.
Former Carthage assistant coach Casey Thousand had a good debut as head coach for Edgewood.

[Hoosier Titan]

There were few surprises as IWU rolled over Blackburn 95-43 at Shirk last night, giving coach Mia Smith her 200th victory.  The Titans came out of the blocks fast, running to a 24-6 lead after eight minutes.  The regulars from last season gave strong performances, led by Hope Schulte's 12 and Christina Solari's 11 points with a team-high seven rebounds.  First year players impressed as well: Haley Kitchell contributed another 11 including 3 three-pointers, while Mackenzie Floyd had six rebounds and Melissa Gardner (wearing Claire Sheehan's #10) displayed a pretty three-point shot somewhat reminiscent of Claire's.  The Titans showed good ball movement and were credited with 25 assists.

The Battling Beavers played hard but were clearly overmatched at this point in their season.  Natalia Gregory led their scoring with 14.

Looking forward to the weekend's tournament:  Wash U v. DePauw at 5:00, followed by IWU v. Central at 7:00.  Then on Saturday, games will be at 2:00 and 4:00.  With the IWU football team hosting Wabash in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, it will be a busy day in and around Shirk on Saturday!

[RogK]

Nice to hear from you, Hoosier Titan; what did you think of Karen Solari?
I think we'll be talking a lot about the Solari Sisters this year, not just nationally-known Christina.
To supplement your report, I'll note that Carrie Williams had a productive 9 minutes last night, with 4 rebounds and 8 points, not missing a shot.
In other CCIW games, Carthage got out to a 37-12 lead, sailing past Monmouth 75-51. All five Lady Red starters scored in double figures.
Carthage shot over 60% on twos and almost 40% on threes. Not bad.
Wheaton was upended by UW La Crosse, 65-57. Breanna Bohlen and Lissie McAlvey were in double figures for the Thunder and Kelly Brooks grabbed 9 rebounds in 19:00. Good to see that McAlvey is playing : one of my recent posts said she was out for the year injured -- oops, that was last year.
I remember from her freshman year that she's a multi-talented player. She'll definitely be valuable for Wheaton.
UW Platteville outscored Millikin, 68-61. The Big Blue successfully fought back from a double digit deficit, but the Wisconsinites prevailed.
Crystal Zeigler tallied 17 (and 8 rebs) in just 23:00, before fouling out. Elise Wildman had 11 pts and 12 rebounds. Looks like 29 turnovers "did in" Millikin.

[Hoosier Titan]

Nice to hear from you, Hoosier Titan; what did you think of Karen Solari?
I think we'll be talking a lot about the Solari Sisters this year, not just nationally-known Christina.
To supplement your report, I'll note that Carrie Williams had a productive 9 minutes last night, with 4 rebounds and 8 points, not missing a shot.

Rog,
You're right, both Karen and Carrie deserved a mention.  I wrote that post in a hurry and though about them before I saw your post. 

Carrie indeed had a fine night.  She's always impressed me as having a good shot and a sense of when to use it.  I think she could play some valuable minutes for the Titans.

Karen Solari, like Christina, is a smart player who values all aspects of the game.  She's a much different player; she'll play mostly at a guard spot.  She has a three which will start to drop in games the way it does in warmups, she's strong and quick, and she gets a lot of rebounds due to good positioning and boxing out.  All great strengths, and some of them are hard to teach.

[Hoosier Titan]

Busy day here in B-N:  Football playoffs (IWU v. Wabash at noon), followed by IWU-Wash U. women's game at 4:00 and IWU men v. Johnson and Wales at night.  How's a professor supposed to get any grading done?

Here's a link to the Pantagraph story about last night's IWU women's game v. Central.  (The photo with the story in the paper has Holly Harvey incorrectly labeled as Jessica Hinterlong; it's in the online photo gallery).  The 39 Central turnovers tell the story of the IWU press, with 25 of those turnovers coming in the first half.  The Titans shot 60% in the first half and 28% in the second; Mia Smith rested her starters for tonight's rematch with Wash U.  Karen Solari went down hard and returned first with ice and then a wrap on one ankle.  I have no word yet on the nature or seriousness of that injury.

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/article_97f692c8-d65a-11de-a1ba-001cc4c03286.html

The DePauw-Wash U. game was interesting; frankly, it was pretty sloppy on both sides.  Both teams shot under 40% for the game.  I'm sure the Bears will be up for the Titans tonight, though.

[RogK]

I saw North Central win their opener, 70-68 over Blackburn.
The Cardinals got valuable contributions from many players.
Christine Karl, a very athletic big guard, led the way with 20 pts and 10 rebs.
Today they face a very difficult task, Simpson College.
The CCIW won five out of six yesterday. That's a good sign.
I'm soon heading down to the U of C where Elmhurst plays Coe (the Conspirators?).

[mactitan]

IWU beat No. 1 Wash U. 58-53.  This was a good win, but U-G-L-Y.  Everyone on the court looked like they were in their first game of the season.  A lot of turnovers, a lot of missed shots, and a lot of questionable calls.

55 combined turnovers with only 21 steals.  Neither team made a third of their shots.  IWU chucked 21 three's, and only made 5 (23%).  Even the tip-off was ugly.  10 seconds of scrambling for the ball before a scrum on the floor produced a second tip-off.  I'm not sure if I had ever seen that before.

If these are two of the best teams in the nation, it is clear there is a lot of improvement to make over the course of a season.  Still, this is a good win for the Titans.  They never trailed, and made a few big shots when they needed it, and answered the Bears comeback bid by making their free throws down the stretch. 

Solari played a very smart second half.  She was not spectacular, and had five turnovers. She had three fouls in the first half and had four for most of the second, but played solid defense.  She also led the team with 16 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. 

There was a pretty good crowd, especially after the football game ended.   I'd guess between 600-800 people.  At one point in the second half after a timeout, they got on their feet and got pretty loud.  IWU responded with a nice little run to extend the lead.

[Hoosier Titan]

IWU's win over Wash U was definitely not pretty, but I'm very satisfied with it.  My father used to say that when a good team looks bad, chances are the other team had something to do with it.  After last spring's Elite Eight loss to Wash U at Shirk, the Titans had something to prove, and they did.

The Titans' press was very effective against the Bears, producing 31 turnovers and 14 steals (compared to 24 Titan turnovers and 7 Wash U steals).   Solari was very effective, as mactitan noted.  Hope Schulte had 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, and a monster block that got the crowd on its feet, while Kylie Castens contributed 11 points.  Brittany Hasselbring (who transferred to IWU from Wash U last year) started the game and made good contributions at both ends.  

If the Titans had made even a reasonable number of wide-open shots, the game would not have been close, but they shot only 30% for the game, as noted by mactitan.  They were also badly outrebounded; missed shots and no rebounds is usually a bad combination.

There were quite a few questionable officiating calls in both directions.  At best, the officiating was uneven; a great deal of contact under the boards was let go only to have touch fouls called.  

If these are two of the best teams in the nation, it is clear there is a lot of improvement to make over the course of a season.  Still, this is a good win for the Titans.  They never trailed, and made a few big shots when they needed it, and answered the Bears comeback bid by making their free throws down the stretch.  

Having been to almost every Titan game for several years now (and thus having seen Wash U several times, along with other ranked teams), I'm quite confident that these are two of the best teams in the nation.  I'm sure the two teams' paths will cross again; due to geography, they're almost bound to.  But this was a great start to the season for the Titans.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Per the box score, Karen Solari did not play - any word on her condition?

[Hoosier Titan]

Per the box score, Karen Solari did not play - any word on her condition?

Karen was dressed and shooting before the game.  She had a small wrap on the ankle at first; I think it was gone by halftime.  That's all I know, and that doesn't look too bad.  Nikki Preston hasn't been playing yet due to a concussion, but is expected back soon.  She too was dressed and shooting last night.

Here's the Pantagraph story.

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-wesleyan/article_9cdb2b84-d71b-11de-a5de-001cc4c002e0.html

[iwu70]

Ugly or no, that was a big win for the IWU women.  I saw them play three times during my recent US visit and must admit I think they are certainly one of the best teams in the nation.  The depth is impressive and the pressure defense is just outstanding, unrelenting.  They have the speed and the bodies to do it.  Hassellbring is a very good addition with alot of quickness and toughness.  Loved watching her play.  What impressed me most is the technique IWU has to pounce on the pick and roll, with both players jumping over the screen to trap the dribbler.  Unless the opposition has an outstanding ball-handler and point guard, this defensive tactic is going to lead to tons of turnovers all year.  And, the players at the back of the press are pretty smart, know when to go for the steal and when not.  Yes, if the Titans had shot a decent percentage, esp. on 3s, this game with Wash U would not have been at all close.  From the first look, compared to last year, I think this team is actually better, tougher, and more athletic, quicker, than last year's team.  We'll see as things progress, but I hope they have a grand season, win the CCIW and get deep into the tourney again.  The ultimate goal would be a home/Shirk Final Four.  I think this team has that potential if they continue to improve, continue to develop their unique style of play, especially on the defensive side.  I wish them well and will be following along all along the way . . .

[RogK]

Congratulations to Jackie Errico (North Central) for being the first conference Player of the Week.
I attended the Saturday/Sunday action at the U of Chicago, where the host women's team won impressively.
Elmhurst had a rather unpleasant time of it, being defeated both days. They did have a good 2nd half on Sunday, playing with enthusiasm and vigor that wasn't there in the first half. I think a few interesting things may have been said in the locker room at half time.
Augustana got a win in Colorado. Natalie Runge led 'em with 20 pts and 9 rebounds.
Wheaton won the Bluffton tournament. Lissie McAlvey had 20 pts, missing just three shots.
Tomorrow's IWU game vs Olivet Nazarene will probably not be as interesting as I had earlier anticipated. ONU was held to 62 Saturday at Point Loma (San Diego) Nazarene, shooting 26 pct and recording only 9 steals.

[Mr. Ypsi]

IWU beat No. 1 Wash U. 58-53.  This was a good win, but U-G-L-Y.  Everyone on the court looked like they were in their first game of the season.  A lot of turnovers, a lot of missed shots, and a lot of questionable calls.

55 combined turnovers with only 21 steals.  Neither team made a third of their shots.  IWU chucked 21 three's, and only made 5 (23%).  Even the tip-off was ugly.  10 seconds of scrambling for the ball before a scrum on the floor produced a second tip-off.  I'm not sure if I had ever seen that before.

If these are two of the best teams in the nation, it is clear there is a lot of improvement to make over the course of a season.  Still, this is a good win for the Titans.  They never trailed, and made a few big shots when they needed it, and answered the Bears comeback bid by making their free throws down the stretch. 

Solari played a very smart second half.  She was not spectacular, and had five turnovers. She had three fouls in the first half and had four for most of the second, but played solid defense.  She also led the team with 16 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. 

There was a pretty good crowd, especially after the football game ended.   I'd guess between 600-800 people.  At one point in the second half after a timeout, they got on their feet and got pretty loud.  IWU responded with a nice little run to extend the lead.

A VERY belated response, I admit.  But is it possible to beat the #1 ranked team in the country and have it be U-G-L-Y?!

THAT sort of ugly I can live with!

[Hoosier Titan]

Just back from a very lightly attended IWU game v. Olivet Nazarene at Shirk (most of the students had gone home for break).  I wouldn't have thought a game where my team won 108-83 would be painful, but this one was.  The Tigers try to push the ball on every possession, take lots of threes, and press.   ON subs incessantly, sending in entirely new lineups with nearly every stoppage of the clock.  Tonight it seemed to be difficult for them to get into any sort of rhythm or flow, and on this occasion they were simply outshot by the Titans (52% to 40%).  Both teams had a nearly astronomical number of turnovers (41 for IWU, 42 for ON).  The Titans set a school record for rebounds with 64 (Kylie Castens had 8, Christina Solari 7, and first-year Mackenzie Floyd 6).

Castens led all scorers with 21, followed by C. Solari's 20 and Sarah Cotner's 14 in a strong performance off the bench.  The entire Titan team got a chance to practice press breaking and ball handling; Holly Harvey, Hope Schulte, and Brittney Hasselbring (with a 6/1 A/TO ratio) were outstanding here.

I know this is a style of basketball; it wasn't a full-fledged Grinnell approach but it was too close for me (I'm closer to the philosophy of Norman Dale in Hoosiers:"How many times are you gonna pass the ball before you shoot?" "Four, coach."  "How many?"  "Four.")  Many more games like this would make me a full-time soccer fan!

[RogK]

IWU proved that it can handle a frenetic tempo just days after succeeding in a slowish contest. The Titans' versatility is quite commendable.
I hope several CCIW teams will schedule Olivet Nazarene next year; it's an opportunity to give one's players additional confidence as they confront an unusual opponent and (hopefully) find ways to deal with it. I remember a few years ago when Wheaton hosted ONU and fell well behind in the first half. The Thunder had a great 2nd half comeback and came out on top. They were absolutely delighted, as happy as I've seen any team be.
In some other league action last night, reigning CCIW player of the week Jackie Errico continued her fine play with a 24 pt, 13 rebound game in a ten point North Central win. Christine Karl had 21 and 8.
Lyndsie Long poured in 33 pts in Elmhurst's 28 point win. She hit 14/19 FGs (3/3 threes) and 2/2 FTs. Also grabbed 11 rebounds.
I attended the Dominican at North Park contest, which was close for quite a while, but the visitors took it, 65 - 52.
Larissa Coldebella led NP with 15 pts. Sarah Peterson had 13 rebounds and 5 blocks. Lyndsey Thompson had 10 pts, 7 rebs and 3 blocks.