WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Hoosier Titan]

Great atmosphere for the IWU-WLC game tonight at Shirk.  Everyone at my house was a little bit on edge today about this one.  The Warriors brought a small, vocal cheering section (a subset of the football team, perhaps?) and they stationed themselves under what was to be the IWU basket in the first half.  They were balanced by the IWU Titan Band under the other basket and probably the two student groups just about canceled each other out.

Both teams came out a little tight--at the 15:00 minute mark the score was WLC 7, IWU 8.  Within the next minute and a half IWU would run the lead to nine on 3-pointers by Nikki Preston and Olivia Lett and a layup by Stacey Arlis.  The lead swelled to 16 just before the break, with a 3 by Shavon Dillon at the buzzer cutting it to a 40-27 gap.  Lett, Arlis, and Preston were the key Titan contributors, as they would be in the second half. 

The beginning of the second half is a standard time for IWU teams to make a run, but no one told WLC that (or maybe they did and the Warriors thought it was a great idea).  At the 10:00 minute mark the score was tied, and soon WLC took the lead on a Dillon layup.  The next few plays brought an Arlis layup followed by a FT and then several more layups as the Titan press took over again.  It was unfortunate that WLC persisted in fouling to stop the clock down to the last possessions; as the Titans were hitting their free throws at an 85% clip this only extended the lead.  The last foul, by Dillon on Karen Solari, was clearly a flagrant one.  With her arms raised, Dillon shoved Solari off the court and into the scorer's table.  Such potentially dangerous fouls should always be called as flagrant.  Fortunately, no harm was done. 

For the game, Arlis led the Titans with 26 points (matching her career high) and 14 rebounds.  Preston also had 26 points with 6 rebounds and 4 steals, while Lett contributed 20 on 4 of 5 shooting for 3's.  There was a scary moment when she collapsed to the floor holding her head and play was stopped; it turned out she'd just (!) taken a kick to the head and was good to continue.  Dillon led the Warriors with 20 points on 7 for 20 shooting, and Rachel Johnson contributed 13.

The Titans now face Coe College at a site to be determined tomorrow.  The other game on Friday will feature UW-SP and George Fox. Obviously IWU fans hope that IWU's #1 in-region ranking and previous win this season over UW-SP will trump any other factors, but we will have to wait and see what the NCAA says.

[WLCALUM83]

iwu70--

Thanks for the positive comments on the Warriors--

[Out_Of_My_Kitchen]

The Titans now face Coe College at a site to be determined tomorrow.  The other game on Friday will feature UW-SP and George Fox. Obviously IWU fans hope that IWU's #1 in-region ranking and previous win this season over UW-SP will trump any other factors, but we will have to wait and see what the NCAA says.

I am starting to believe that IWU is not ranked a head of Stevens Point for one reason.  IWU is playing Coe, ranked 1st in the West Region at the last public regional rankings.  SP is playing George Fox, who was ranked 3rd in the last Regional Rankings.  One would then think the NCAA would give the top seed an easier draw to get to the Elite 8.  We should find out soon.

Just a thought. 

[buf]

The interactive bracket on ncaa.com has Point as the host for this upcoming weekend games

[buf]

The interactive bracket on ncaa.com has Point as the host for this upcoming weekend games

The women's sectionals will be hosted at Thomas More, UW-Stevens Point, Amherst and Lebanon Valley.

[iwu70]

Good luck to the Titans this weekend.  Keep it rolling . . . and bring it back to The Shirk for the following weekend.  Great job on Saturday . . .esp. by Olivia, Stacey and Nikki!  More to go . . . all out team effort, strong defense and rebounding and win the TOs & steals battles. 

Go TITANS!!!

[OldSchoolHoopsFan]

Illinois Wesleyan needs to invest in a video feed system.

I called the SID earlier in the season and was told that the IT department budget was cut and that IWU's broadband network was no longer robust enough to broadcast the games on the internet. 

[Wydown Blvd.]

Illinois Wesleyan needs to invest in a video feed system.

I called the SID earlier in the season and was told that the IT department budget was cut and that IWU's broadband network was no longer robust enough to broadcast the games on the internet. 

Even via UStream? Its lower quality, but can still get the job done with a lower broadband network.

[OldSchoolHoopsFan]

Illinois Wesleyan needs to invest in a video feed system.

I called the SID earlier in the season and was told that the IT department budget was cut and that IWU's broadband network was no longer robust enough to broadcast the games on the internet. 

YOU WOULD THINK SO.

Even via UStream? Its lower quality, but can still get the job done with a lower broadband network.

[Hoosier Titan]

I'm not surprised that was the answer.  IWU, like just about everyone, was hit hard by the economic downturn.  There have been massive cuts in all areas of the university, although fortunately no one has lost a job (unlike the situation at many small colleges).  But the academic budget, as well as things that are vital to the long-term health of the institution such as faculty benefits (especially significant to some of us!), have been hit hard. 

This is not to say that every pool of money is equal, or that making a cut in the available bandwidth for netcasting made it possible to save people's jobs.  My personal opinion is that some of the cuts have been more draconian than they needed to be, and this one seems likely to hurt both the prestige and the recruiting efforts of the institution if it is not reversed. 

But I'm only one person who works at IWU.   

[larry_u]

Illinois Wesleyan needs to invest in a video feed system.

I called the SID earlier in the season and was told that the IT department budget was cut and that IWU's broadband network was no longer robust enough to broadcast the games on the internet.  

Even via UStream? Its lower quality, but can still get the job done with a lower broadband network.

Even via Ustream you need a full ethernet connection in the gym.  if there is only a weak wireless signal in the gym, that won't do it.

[Pat Coleman]

That's going to make the Final Four interesting.

[sumfun]

Maybe someone from IWU should tip off the NCAA and broadcasting crew so that arrangements can be made now.

[Pat Coleman]

I checked -- they are aware.

[RogK]

Good luck to the Titans in their games this weekend.
Try to be intense and stay calm at the same time!
To everyone, ride or drive safely.