WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Poor start by the Titans tonight, down 21-11 with about 9:00 minutes to go in the first half.

IWU70 

Lett has the IWU single season scoring record early in the game.

[Backseat Driver]

Halftime Scores:

Millikin 35
IWU 28

Elmhurst 20
Carthage 19

NPU 35
NCC 28

[iwu70]

IWU down 35-28 at half, not playing too well, @ MU.  Poor shooting percentage tonight.  MU playing tough D, breaking the press at some points.

IWU70

[iwu70]

Wow, EC and CC can't get much going tonight, can they?

[Backseat Driver]

IWU down 35-28 at half, not playing too well, @ MU.  Poor shooting percentage tonight.  MU playing tough D, breaking the press at some points.

IWU70

I think IWU really needs to turn up the heat a bit more on the run and jump, especially early in the second half. Millikin has gotten some easy buckets when IWU has not been able to contain in the backcourt.

You're right about Millikin's D. They're playing pretty physically, especially on Olivia Lett.

[Backseat Driver]

Wow, EC and CC can't get much going tonight, can they?

Yeah pretty brutal offensively.

Carthage: 7-30 fg (23%), 2-6 3fg (33%), 3-5 ft (60%)
Elmhurst: 7-27 fg (26%), 2-7 3fg (29%), 4-6 ft (67%)

Elmhurst has a 30-16 edge on the boards.

[Titan Q]

IWU 75
Millikin 63

Congratulations to Mia Smith and the Titans -- first CCIW basketball program (men or women) to win 5 outright CCIW titles in a row.

[Titan Q]

However many games the Titans have left this year, I hope IWU fans take time to really appreciate watching Olivia Lett play basketball.  She is just in incredible player.  Lett has literally played all 5 offensive positions on the floor this season -- tonight she played the point most of the game, after playing a lot of 4/5 the last couple of games. 

Lett is one of those players for which D3 teams just don't have a matchup for.  Put a perimeter player on her and she'll post up...put a post on her and she'll blow by.  Seems to me to be a pretty clear 1st Team All-American.

Lett reminds me a ton of Bryan Crabtree ('97) on the men's side - same type of player and skill set.  The Titans can play with any team in the country as long as she is on the floor.

[Backseat Driver]

Carthage 72
Elmhurst 56

The Lady Reds caught fire in the second half and pulled away for the win.

[Backseat Driver]

However many games the Titans have left this year, I hope IWU fans take time to really appreciate watching Olivia Lett play basketball.  She is just in incredible player.  Lett has literally played all 5 offensive positions on the floor this season -- tonight she played the point most of the game, after playing a lot of 4/5 the last couple of games. 

Lett is one of those players for which D3 teams just don't have a matchup for.  Put a perimeter player on her and she'll post up…put a post on her and she'll blow by.  Seems to me to be a pretty clear 1st Team All-American.

Fun to watch.

How about CCIW fans in general? Olivia Lett is unbelievably good. She made some impossible shots tonight, once again putting her team on her back. IWU got significant contributions from several other players tonight (i.e. Britt Hasselbring and Michelle Bilek), but they lose this game without Lett. She draws so much attention that opens up wide open shots for other Titans.

[iwu70]

Great comeback for the Titans tonight in a very physical, tough outing at the Griz.  Titans win 75-63, after trailing by 13 in the first half. 

Lett 28 and 10, double double, with 2 assists
Hasselbring 17
Bilek, again a good game, 11
McMahon 8
Jackson 7 RBs.
Titans shoot 84% from the charity stripe. 

Must be something physically wrong with Melissa Gardner, as she's had two sub-par games, was not in the ballgame much tonight in the second half.  Did hit one key trey at a crucial time in the game.  Hope she's OK.

Olivia Lett now IWU all-time season scoring leader, with more to go.  Congrats to Olivia and the entire team.

For MU:
Zeilger 15
Aldridge 12
Robert 10 and 9 RBs.

The Big Blue gave our Titans a real fight tonight, but in the end the Titans, and Olivia Lett, were again too much. 

My congrats, too, for Coach Smith and all the team, for the outright CCIW championship, now 12-1 in the league, and fifth straight outright CCIW championship.  Tremendous consistency and a great achievement.  A happy ride home on the bus tonight from Decatur. 

More to come.  Drive for five completed.  Now on to senior night and the CCIW tournament at home.  All the Shirk fans really appreciate this team. 

IWU70

[iwu70]

Q, and others, totally agree with you about Olivia Lett.  What a great time we've had watching her play this year.  Truly a player with all the skills, and the competitive fire, refusing to go down unless she fouls out.  Another great game tonight.  Clearly the league's MOP this year.  Lots of good contributions by others, too, esp. from Hasselbring who picks up her scoring when needed, and another solid game by Michelle Bilek.  Hope Melissa Gardner is OK . . . not so sure about this Shelby Jackson shooting treys thing, but she's made some in the last two games!   Other Titan starters and rotational players are just playing good, smart basketball for the most part.  Lexi Baltes is going to be very very good in future, IMHO.  Run and Jump brought us back again tonight.  Give MU credit, they played tough, played hard, but came up short tonight. 

Great win, drive for five completed.  Gotta love it.

IWU70

[Backseat Driver]

Really good effort tonight by Millikin. The Big Blue is obviously an extremely well-coached team and they executed their stuff pretty well.  As expected, they were a tough out on their home floor. It will be interesting to see how the (likely) rematch plays out in Bloomington next Friday.

[Titan Q]

Lett reminds me a ton of Bryan Crabtree ('97) on the men's side - same type of player and skill set. 

Senior season comparison...


* Bryan Crabtree ('96-97, 30 games) - 22.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 207-462 FG (.448), 55-174 3-point (.374), 209-248 FT (.843)

* Olivia Lett ('11-12, 24 games) - 21.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 177-381 FG (.465), 38-124 3-point (.306), 124-148 FT (.838)

[RogK]

Before last night's game, I talked to Carthage coach Tim Bernero about the all-conference team. He explained that the 1st team is chosen first. Players who were nominated for, but did not make, the 1st team are then candidates for 2nd and 3rd team, along with whomever else the coaches add to the choices.
The MOP is then selected from among the five 1st team players.
This year's voting will be done by conference call (or all-conference call!).