WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

Augie got topped by UW Platteville 68-53. It was 11-11 (on 12/12), but Platteville then sped out to a 42-24 halftime lead.
NC was ahead 66-28 at the half against MSOE and rode the lead to a 102-49 final. NC's Maryssa Cladis had 7 steals. Emily Murphy tallied 16 pts and 9 rebs in her 15:00. MSOE used only six players.

[iwu70]

WI-WW women beat WI-SP women last night.  IWU plays SP this Saturday, @SP.  IWU beat WW 72-69 on Nov. 27th at home.  Would love to see the Titans get this win @SP, a good road win it would be.   

Finals almost finished . . . a happy winter break to all, and happy and safe travels to all heading out for games in warmer climes.  IWU men heading to Orlando for two pre-Christmas games.  IWU women have some games in wintry Iowa, after Christmas, two games at a tournament @Wartburg.

Seems NCC is getting the hang of the Grinnell/ONU type system, scoring 102 in that game vs. MSOE.  Those MSOE six must be dog-tired today. 

IWU70

[Gregory Sager]

NC was ahead 66-28 at the half against MSOE and rode the lead to a 102-49 final. NC's Maryssa Cladis had 7 steals. Emily Murphy tallied 16 pts and 9 rebs in her 15:00. MSOE used only six players.

... one of whom fouled out of the game. Two Raiders were forced to play 40 minutes apiece, and I shudder to think what that must have been like, given the context of the opponent.

MSOE is poor. The Raiders are 0-8, with losses of 32 to NPU and 44 to Elmhurst, and, aside from a twelve-point loss at Marian, they haven't managed to come any closer than 24 points in any of those eight losses. But, still, the Raiders are not as bad as last night's score made them look. A team that has only six players suited up is at a horrible disadvantage when playing an Arseneault System team. I've seen Grinnell's men's team beat pretty good foes that simply didn't have viable benches, which meant that the breakneck pace of the Arseneault System simply wore down the opposing starters. When a poor team with a short bench has to face an Arseneault System team, the result is invariably disaster -- no matter what skill level the System team happens to be.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying that North Central shouldn't be judged too closely on this game. The Cardinals have had an uneven performance this season as they've been getting used to the System. Any wins are positive outcomes, of course, and that's especially true for a team that has newly adopted a radically different style of play. But I wouldn't read too much into this one. (It's probably best not to read too much into NCC's upcoming win this Saturday over Dominican, either; the 0-8 Stars are pretty awful, too, although at least they'll dress more than six players.) A much better barometer for NCC's progress will come a week from today when it faces UW-Oshkosh (5-2) in Las Vegas.

[RogK]

Greg, you just beat me to it, but I'll post this anyway:
iwu70, conclusions probably shouldn't be drawn based on NC's game vs a team with only six players. But, it is probably safe to say that NC's players and head coach are getting more accustomed to the hyper-fast brand of basketball. I think they'll eventually be ready to compete with the better teams of the CCIW, but I don't know if they're there yet.
I think you're right about the MSOE players. I haven't seen them this year, but they must be a resilient group, normally the underdog, facing difficult tests of endurance, all the while avoiding getting discouraged.

[iwu70]

I agree with you both.  Don't think NCC is there yet, surely not up to the ONU level with talent or with the system.  We'll see how far they've come soon enough.  IWU handled ONU reasonably well this year, though losing, but just had a bad night of careless errors, TOs, and a low shooting percentage.  Later in the season, likely the Titans beat ONU.  Titans still have a pretty big upside for improvement this year, perhaps similar or even moreso than last year. 

Will be interesting to see, as you point out, Greg, how NCC does vs. Oshkosh. 

Happy Holidays to all CCIW chatsters and lurkers following the women's game.

IWU70

[RogK]

iwu70, I'm not in accord with your view that IWU would necessarily beat ONU later in the season. Yes, IWU could improve during the season, but so could ONU. Sometimes it's good to compliment your opponents, especially if you lose to them.

[RogK]

Looking at some of the stat leaders (and bearing in mind that it's a bit of an apples and oranges situation since some teams have played tougher opposition) :
Scoring avg : Cailee Corcoran (C) 15.3, Brooke Olson (W) 14.1, Melissa Gardner (I) 14.0;
Rebs : Maris Hovee (W) 10.1, Fiona McMahon (E) 9.1, Cailee Corcoran (C) 8.6;
Assists : Brooke Olson (W) 4.75, Stephanie Kuzmanic (C) 4.57, Lexi Baltes (I) 4.13;
Steals : Brooke Olson (W) 3.13, Sarah Peterson (NP) 2.29, Cailee Corcoran (C) 2.29;
Blocks : Maris Hovee (W) 2.25, Fiona McMahon (E) 2.14, Jasmine Johnson (M) 1.67;
Overall FG pct : Emily Murphy (NC) .574, Kristi Schmidt (C) .538, Lauren Graham (W) .519;
3FG pct : Kasey Kleiner (C) .529, Dana Christensen (NP) .480, Katy Seibring (I) .421;
FT pct : Kimberly Wilson (NC) .944, Lexi Baltes (I) .905, Fiona McMahon (E) .833.
These players are off to a good start; of course there are others who are as good or better in different ways.
After several conference games in January, we can make better comparisons via stats. And obviously individual stats do not measure several very valuable aspects of play such as being able to run and dribble at the same time, or good defensive positioning. That said, the above players are pretty good.

[iwu70]

Rog, ONU was clearly the better team on the night when IWU played them.  Seems to me I did compliment them in my earlier posts on the game, saying that they gave IWU some of its own medicine on pressure and shooting it well.   I take my hat off to them, but feel from what I saw that it was one of IWU's weaker games, with some key breakdowns you don't normally see from a Mia Smith-coached team.  (esp. TOs, and breakdowns on inbounds plays).  She said as much in the postgame write-ups.  Feel that IWU has a greater upside, as in previous years, when the Titans start out finding their way, play a very tough schedule and get ready and tested, with improvements, to face the wars of the CCIW season.  ONU could of course get as much, or more, improved as well, as you suggest.  They have lots of good athletes and really took it to the Titans on pressure this time.  It was a realization, I think, for the Titans, who usually put it to others with the run and jump, the pressure.  But, we'll never know, as very unlikely IWU will play ONU later this season, so have to wait to next year, with different teams, different situation.  Oh well . . .  I take your point.  ONU is a very good, deep team, perhaps better than last year's edition, which I also saw, when IWU played better, with Lett and others, and came out with a win.

Thanks for all the stats on players and play to date.  Very interesting.

IWU70

[RogK]

I saw energetic Elmhurst get past equally energetic Westminster last night, 86-79. The Bluejays over the Blue Jays. For EC, Fiona McMahon poured in 30 pts (23 1st half) plus 14 rebs, while teammate Tess Godhardt tallied 25 (19 2nd half) and 7. Guards Karen Senette and Devin Vaughn combined for 14 assists and only 4 TOs.
Elsewhere, Maris Hovee had 4 blocks and 5 steals to lead Wheaton 72-34 over Rockford. Five Thunder players scored 10 or more.
Millikin got a dozen pts each from Alyssa Saklak and Sydnee Sturdivant and topped Fontbonne 68-61.

[Gregory Sager]

Today is our inaugural NPU women's basketball webcast! I'll be doing the play-by-play as the Vikings host Westminster (MO) this afternoon at 2 pm. Click on htp://www.northpark.edu/Events/Live-Events to watch all the action!

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 66
Westminster (MO) 47

Nicole Kruckman: 14 pts
Kamauria Acree: 13 pts
Shaina Yalda: 10 pts, 6 asts

Aside from the disappointing 24 turnovers that the Vikings coughed up -- less than half of which were caused by Westmo's full-court press -- NPU played a really solid game today. And, since the Blue Jays turned it over 23 times themselves, it was usually a case of "no harm done," as there were several sloppy intervals in which the teams traded turnovers. One such sequence in the second half included eight straight turnovers, four apiece for each team, without a shot being taken.

NPU's defense was very strong against a Westminster team that does know how to put the ball in the basket. Last night the Blue Jays scored 79 and shot .403 from the field against Elmhurst, and last weekend they scored 61 against Millikin; today, NPU held them to 47 points and .315 from the field. The Vikings did an outstanding job of cutting off driving lanes, and after a first half in which the Blue Jays ended up flinging any number of improbable circus shots at the basket off the dribble, they basically gave up and resorted to shooting jumpers in the second half, in spite of the fact that the Westmo second-half strategy seemed to be to set ball screens at the elbow for their leading scorer on the season, Hannah Kloster, and letting her drive. She came into the game averaging 14.0 ppg, and the Vikings held her to nine points on 2-7 shooting from the field. Kamauria Acree did a great job on her.

Offensively, when the Vikings did manage to not give the ball away, they took full advantage of the possession. They shot a sparkling .558 from the field and dished out 21 assists, a lot of them the product of great back-door cuts that led to easy layups.

Westmo's not a great opponent, and it can still be argued that North Park's 8-0 start has come against weak competition. But you can only beat the teams that are on your schedule -- and NPU's performance today against a team that has recently played two other CCIW opponents does serve as a valid measuring stick at this point in the season. But I do expect NPU's upcoming west coast contests against Pacific (5-0) on Wednesday and UC-Santa Cruz (6-3) on Thursday to be tougher affairs.

[iwu70]

IWU got it handed to them again today, losing at WI-SP 84-49. Whenever you see 20% trey shooting and Melissa Gardner going 0-9 from three-ball land, you know the Titans are in trouble.  Seems the Titan were off, flat after exams, though only down 8 at half 38-30, the Titans got pretty much blown out in the second half, losing by over 30. 

IWU has two games in Iowa now, @Wartburg, then the CCIW race about to begin.  Looks like 7-4 or so again in the pre-CCIW killer portion they have played.  Sure looks like the Titans are vulnerable to big, strong teams and to nights of inconsistent shooting. 

Perhaps everyone needs a holiday break, a rest from exams.

IWU70

[iwu70]

IWU got killed on the boards by SP, and Shelby Jackson did not play, making the Titans even more under-sized than normally.  Does anyone know why?  Looks like a tough evening for the Titans, especially the second half.

Interesting stat of the day:  Attendance at the IWU women's game at SP = 688, attendance at the IWU men's game at home vs. UC = 526.

IWU70

[Titan Q]

I've watched the Titans play parts of three times now (online).  My take is that they just don't quite have enough talent to be a great team again this year.  IWU has some good perimeter shooters...but none is what you'd call a "great" player.  And the Titans have some good low post players...but none dominant.  And they are completely lacking a dynamic wing/small forward-type player who can score from the perimeter, or the mid-range, or get to the basket.  A player like Olivia Lett only comes around once in a program's history so I'm not going to say that the Titans "need an Olivia Lett"...but they just don't have anyone who can even come close to filling her role from last season. 

I would be very surprised if the Titans win their sixth consecutive CCIW title this year.  For the first time in a number of years, I think it's fair to say that there just isn't enough talent on the roster.  Now, I say this not being very familiar with what everyone else in the CCIW has...but I know what a CCIW champion looks like, and I just don't think the 2012-13 IWU team fits the description.

Mia Smith has become one of the top coaches in Division III.  She has had an amazing run and has built IWU into a national power.  And then, of course, there is what she did last season while battling cancer...amazing.  I'm confident she'll bring some good recruits in this year and build it back up in time.

[Backseat Driver]

http://cciw.org/news/2012/12/15/WBB_1215125030.aspx

Millikin topped Illinois College last night, the 500th career victory for head coach Lori Kerans. Quite an accomplishment. Coach  Kerans has established a pretty impressive legacy at Millikin, and she really is the standard that the other CCIW coaches are working toward. Congrats to her.