WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

to Just Bill and billys : Olivet Naz women play a better version than do the Grinnell men. I've seen the Grinnell guys make no effort to impede layups/dunks when the opposition gets through their press; the ONU women will try to take a charge or at least pressure the shot. Secondly, one time I saw Grinnell have a 2-on-0 with the ball in the lane and instead of taking the lay-up, the guy (trying to build up his assist total) threw it to the corner for a 3, which was missed. ONU is a lot smarter than that and will make a lay-up when the opportunity is there.

[RogK]

I saw Wheaton get a 61-56 win over NAIA Taylor U yesterday afternoon. Brooke Olson had a solid game, scoring 15, as did Lindsey Brenneman. The Thunder got good contributions, in one manner or another, from all who played.
In the evening, I saw the Elmhurst game. Kelsey Monroe sent the game into OT by hitting a three with about :01 to go. Other than her 7/11 FG (3 threes), EC made 13 of 55 from the field and they missed 15 FTs. Several players on both teams received significant bruises, as there were some heavy collisions. As bblover stated, Elmhurst is working on things, filling the void left by Lyndsie Long (now coaching at) : http://www.saintjoe.edu/athletics/sports/?sport=wbasketball
Elsewhere in the league:
Augie fell to Lakeland, 63-54. Newcomer Jessica Baids had 15 pts, 13 reb in 26:00. The very reliable Natalie Runge had 16 pts, 8 reb.
North Park topped Adrian 62-54, thanks in part to Sarah Peterson's 14 pts, 12 reb, 3 blocks, 3 steals, 3 assists.
Carthage edged Beloit 80-44. Diana Jacklin had 18 (6/8, 6/7), 8 reb, 4 steals in 22:00. Heather Gilmore had 6 steals.
North Central won 64-52 over Webster. Christine Karl had 17 pts.
Millikin was up-ended by UW-Eau Claire, 62-48.

[Hoosier Titan]

IWU down to Wash U by 7 at halftime, 42-35.  Wash U 4/6 on threes; IWU 2/11.  Distressingly, Olivia Lett and Brittany Hasselbring have 3 fouls each. 

[Titan Q]

IWU 73
Wash U 68

The Titans took their first lead with :54 to play on a Nikki Preston 3.  IWU trailed by as much as 12 in the 2nd half in this one.  

Preston had an enormous game for the Titans - 28 pts, 5 reb, 4 assists.  Olivia Lett had 15 & 4.  Stacey Arlis had 11 rebounds.

Great win.

[Bulldog8]

Right now it doesn't seem Elmhurst has any leaders? I was thinking Merklein would be that leader this year. But, in the 2 games she only has a total of 19 points with 18 shot attempts. She is a big/strong presence that can and I believe will take over games. She just needs the confidence and leadership to do so. One thing that needs to be addressed is their free throw shooting. Avg. 56%; not gonna win many ball games. Yes, they are going to miss Long this season, but with 4 returning starters there's no reason they shouldn't be a top 3 team in the conference. Their team chemistry just needs to fuse together, and that starts in practice.

[Hoosier Titan]

The Pantagraph piece on IWU's win over Wash U:

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/basketball/women/article_4177b136-f524-11df-abf6-001cc4c03286.html

[RogK]

Some thoughts in reaction to Bulldog8's post:
I didn't see too much to complain about in Merklein's game Friday. Early on, she went well out of her way to dive in as an opponent was picking up a loose ball and got a held ball call. True, her shooting was a little off, but I think she displayed good leadership with consistent hard work.
The main problem for the Jays was that they couldn't stop Sarah Condra in the 1st half, when she scored 20 of her 26.
I'm sure the Jays would like to get 20/10 games from Merk and Ney every time, but opposing defenses are going to try to force someone else to make shots.

[RogK]

A quick look at other CCIW results from the weekend -
Wheaton got 24 pts from Lindsey Brenneman and 20 from Brooke Olson, defeating Luther 66-53. Wheaton had excellent free throw defense, limiting Luther to 6 of 16. (ha)
North Central had turnover trouble (26) and lost to St Mary's Ind 75-56.
Loras eased past Augustana 74-41.
Millikin fought back from 18 down, but lost 85-81 to Marian. Elise Wildman poured in 34 pts (made 16 FTs) and blocked 4 shots. Julia Robert added 18 and 9 rebs.
North Park fell to Wittenberg 70-64. Roxxanne Jones led NP with 20 pts.

[Gregory Sager]

The good news for NPU is that Sarah Peterson came back early from her concussion (my understanding was that she was going to be out until Wednesday's game against Blackburn) and played both games in the Adrian tourney this past weekend, and junior transfer Antoinette Collman returned from her injury and made her debut as well at Adrian. However, she's been out for probably a month or so, and therefore it could take her awhile to be up to full speed.

Peterson, who collected double-doubles in both games, and Roxxanne Jones were both named to the all-tourney team.

[RogK]

The first conference Player of the Week honor goes to Lindsey Brenneman. Congratulations!

[RogK]

I attended Wheaton's 84-56 win over Aurora last night. Five Thunder players scored in double figures, topped by Elisabeth Potts who had 24 pts (10/15 FG), 7 reb, 3 steals. Freshman Maris Hovee had her best game yet, with 14 pts (7/8) and 12 reb in 17:00. Breanna Bohlen had 14 (and 7 assists), Annie Bowen had 12, Lindsey Brenneman had 10 (plus 8 assists and 4 steals). Brooke Olson had 7 assists and a number of excellent defensive plays, taking a few charges and getting 6 steals.
The whole team looked pretty sharp at both ends of the floor. Their next game, though, will be more difficult, at the U of Chicago.

[badgerwarhawk]

Titan Q,
I'm trying to get a handle on how significant WW's win over IWU in Bloomington was.  Last year IWU drilled us in our gym and I thought they were one of the best DIII women's team that I'd ever seen.  What did they bring back this year and where how were they expected to do in the CCIW?

Hope things on the farm are going well.

[Hoosier Titan]

Badger,

Christina Solari was the only player with big minutes to graduate.  She was a big loss, perhaps even bigger than we realized prior to last night.  The rest of the starting five and the regular rotation are back from last season, but the Titans have not played well, by their standards, for most of the three games they've played.  They did rally to beat Wash U, also a top 25 team, last weekend, but trailed throughout most of that game.

Last night the Titans, well known for their run and jump press, had it used on them and looked as if they'd never seen it before.  They were outrebounded by the bigger Warhawks, not too surprisingly, but their inability to move the ball upcourt to get a good look was their downfall.  Coach Mia Smith, one of the best in the business, says she doesn't know what's wrong.  I don't either.

I too hope things on the farm are going well, wherever the farm is.

[badgerwarhawk]

Thanks Hoosier.  We lost a ton of talent and a significant percentage of our scoring to graduation so we're a young team and last night should be confidence builder. 

The farm would be State Farm an organization Titan and I have in common.  As you are undoubtedly aware it has a presence in Bloomington. 

Good luck the rest of the season.  I'm sure coach Smith will get it figured out. 

[RogK]

Millikin won at UW Stevens Point, 73-71, thanks to a three by Julia Robert with :04 left. The Big Blue outscored the host team 8-0 in the final :43.
Robert had 21 pts, while Elise Wildman tallied twenty.
Carthage topped Benedictine 65-49. Diana Jacklin led all scorers with 19.
Elmhurst lost at Loras, 59-48. Meghan Merklein's 12 led EC. Kim Schwerdtmann had 5 steals.