WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Backseat Driver]

Carthage got overrun by Chicago today, 66-45. I'm betting that today's performance by the Maroons is more indicative of their level of ability than the close game against Lake Forest.

http://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2011/11/27/Womens_Basketball_1127114503.aspx

Wheaton welcomes the Maroons to King Arena on Wednesday evening. Wheaton leads the all-time series against Chicago, but the Maroons are 4-1 against Wheaton over the last five seasons.

2010-11 @ Ratner: Chicago 84, Wheaton 63
2009-10 @ King: Chicago 49, Wheaton 42
2008-09 @ Ratner: Chicago 66, Wheaton 55
2007-08 @ King: Wheaton 55, Chicago 47
2006-07 @ Ratner: Chicago 57, Wheaton 36

Chicago has won 22 straight regular season games heading into Wednesday and pretty easily dispatched of the CCIW's preseason favorite. Being at home is a big advantage for Wheaton, but they're going to have play at a consistently high level to win. Chicago is seemingly a more talented version of the UW-LaCrosse team the Thunder struggled to score against a week ago. Given Carthage's statistics from today, points could be at a premium for Wheaton on Wednesday. Wheaton is definitely capable of shooting a high percentage, and they will need to capitalize on their opportunities.

When Wheaton plays good, tough team defense they always give themselves a chance to win, especially at home. I expect to see an aggressive and opportunistic defensive effort from the Thunder.  Another key factor is keeping Maris Hovee and Lauren Graham out of foul trouble. Their defense against Taylor Simpson and Morgan Herrick will go a long way in determining the game.

[RogK]

Backseat Driver, you are exactly right when you say that yesterday's performance is more indicative of how good the Maroons are than was their game vs Lake Forest.
I attended yesterday's and was quite impressed by how they shut down a good Carthage offense. The game was tied at 11, but then the U of C used a 26-5 run to get a big halftime lead.
Carthage did hold Simpson to 5 pts, held Morgan Herrick to 6 and Bryanne Halfhill to 5. Chicago can and did get scoring from a number of other players.
Some interesting stats from Millikin's 74-61 win over Carroll : 8 steals for Olya Cholewick; 18 pts, 8 reb, 5 steals for Cecily Aldridge.

[RogK]

Congratulations to Natalie Runge, CCIW Player of the Week!
http://www.augustana.edu/x38194.xml

[Backseat Driver]

Carthage did hold Simpson to 5 pts, held Morgan Herrick to 6 and Bryanne Halfhill to 5. Chicago can and did get scoring from a number of other players.

Certainly. The post is just where I expect them to focus against Wheaton. The Thunder just needs to play good team defense.

[Backseat Driver]

The CCIW lost its remaining unbeaten teams tonight, as Elmhurst fell to UW-Stevens Point 65-48 and Augie lost to UW-Platteville 59-56 on a three-pointer at the buzzer.

[RogK]

I spectatorially observed the Elmhurst game. A rather long scoring drought in the 3rd quarter did them in.
One big positive for the Jays was the play of freshman Fiona McMahon, who tallied an efficient 16 pts (6/9, 4/6 FT), adding 6 rebs, 2 steals and a block in 27:00.

[RogK]

Carthage basketball player Drewann Pancratz wrapped up her stellar volleyball career by making it to the D3 final four and earning this recognition:
http://athletics.carthage.edu/news/2011/11/15/Womens_Volleyball_1115111043.aspx
Congratulations, Drewann!

[Backseat Driver]

#2-Chicago 71
Wheaton 60

For starters, the final score does not do this game justice. It was a see-saw affair throughout with both teams controlling momentum at various times. Chicago didn't pull away until the final 2 or 3 minutes.

Some thoughts...

1. Elisabeth Potts is on fire shooting the ball right now. She is shooting 68% from the field and 67% (10-15) from beyond the arc. The only three she missed tonight was somewhat of a desperation shot in the final minute. Wheaton is tough to guard when she is shooting with confidence like she is right now.

2. Wheaton had the exact recipe they wanted for a win for about 36 minutes tonight: aggressive and opportunistic defense combined with good motion and ball movement on offense. The game got away from the Thunder down the stretch when these things were not as evident.

3. Dating back to last January's win over then #16-Carthage, Wheaton has shown that they can compete with some of the best teams in the country. Games like tonight are ones that the Thunder will need to win in conference play, and having the experience of playing a team like Chicago will help when the CCIW battles begin.

4. Even though I wouldn't say it ultimately affected the outcome of the game, the officiating was extremely poor tonight. I hate to get down on officials, but it really took away from the game.

I'm sure Wheaton's not into moral victories, but they really did put together 36 minutes of very, very good basketball tonight. I expect the Thunder to build off of the positives from tonight's game moving forward.

[Mr. Ypsi]

While CCIW women's hoops doesn't have the national respect of CCIW men's hoops, IWU dropped out of the Top 25 this week (and no one else from the conference replaced them).  Can anyone recall the last time NO CCIW team was in the Top 25?  I'm pretty sure IWU had held a spot for all of the last 3+ years, and either Wheaton or Millikin would have been there most (if not all) weeks for many years before.  I'm not (quite!) bored enough to check ALL polls going back forever, in case anyone simply knows the answer to this question!

I'm reasonably confident the conference will get one (or two?) teams into the Top 25 before the season ends.

[Backseat Driver]

Just an irrelevant sidenote to last night's Wheaton/Chicago game: In the recap on the U Chicago website it says that the Maroons now hold a 14-13 advantage in the all-time series against Wheaton, while according to the Thunder's media guide Wheaton holds a 17-12 advantage dating to 1960-61.

[RogK]

There were two fabulous defensive plays in the Wheaton game.
W's Brooke Olson dove and intercepted a pass along the sideline, with all her momentum carrying her out of bounds; but while she was still in the air, she was able to fire the ball directly to a teammate.
Later, Chicago's Morgan Herrick leaped high to block a Wheaton shot (she wasn't even the primary defender on the play), retrieved the ball, dribbled downcourt (she's 6'2", but why wait for a guard?) and sank a fadeaway.
Of course, there was much other good defensive activity, including an impressive block by W's Breanna Bohlen.
Backseat Driver, I'll agree that Wheaton should be encouraged by how well they did vs a very strong opponent. They survived a 14-0 Chicago run early in the 2nd half, when the Maroons showed excellent energy (the sort of energy Chicago had for even longer stretches in their win over Carthage).
Wheaton should also be encouraged by the play of Maris Hovee, who did well (10 rebs in 24:00 for example) against some very good tall opponents.
And, the Thunder will soon enjoy the return of last year's conference player of the year.

[iwu70]

Now IWU's turn to have a crack at #2 U Chicago.  They play the Maroons on Saturday, Dec. 3rd @ Ratner, 2 p.m.   Hope the Titans are able to put together a more complete game with the necessary rebounding, intensity and good three-point shooting.  Looks to be a very tough, challenging outing.

Thanks for the reviews of the Carthage and Wheaton games vs. U Chicago.  Chicago has a very tough, high-quality pre-conference schedule as well.

IWU70

[Backseat Driver]

Now IWU's turn to have a crack at #2 U Chicago.  They play the Maroons on Saturday, Dec. 3rd @ Ratner, 2 p.m.   Hope the Titans are able to put together a more complete game with the necessary rebounding, intensity and good three-point shooting.  Looks to be a very tough, challenging outing.

Thanks for the reviews of the Carthage and Wheaton games vs. U Chicago.  Chicago has a very tough, high-quality pre-conference schedule as well.

IWU70

The toughest hurdle for IWU may simply be playing @ the Ratner Center. Chicago doesn't lose there very often.

[RogK]

Here's a story about one of Chicago's top players :
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-spt-1130-hersh-colleges--20111130,0,1450945.column

[iwu70]

Nice story on Ms. Simpson.  Hope she's applying for a Rhodes Scholarship. 

I'm sure the Titans will have their hands full at Ratner, without doubt.

Good weekend to all CCIW chatsters.

IWU70