WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

Tomorrow we have rematches of the January 12th set of games. The first time around, Wheaton beat Millikin 66-46, Carthage beat Illinois Wesleyan 62-48, North Central beat Augustana 105-98 and North Park beat Elmhurst 65-64.
I'll be attending the game at North Park which should be a very good one. Both sides are competing for that 4th playoff spot and no doubt are looking at this game as a must win. And, the first time they met, a late-game free throw won it.

[iwu70]

Good luck to the Titans as they head north to Cheeseheadland to face Redpeople.  Hope our Greenies have their best game of the season and pin a loss on Carthage.  It would be a great win.

And, hope Lexi Baltes is better, able to play.

The season is wrapping up . . . selection day coming soon.  Hope the Titans have a AQ winning CCIW tournament.  That would be grand for sure.

IWU70

[Backseat Driver]

It feels a bit strange to call a game between 9-2 Wheaton and 3-8 Millikin a "must-win" for both teams, but with the way the race for the 4th seed has shaped up that's exactly what this game is. For the second straight year, we know that the fourth seed can finish no better than 7-7--and that would require either North Park or Elmhurst to win out, which seems unlikely given their remaining schedules. So Millikin, despite an 0-8 start, remains in the tournament picture thanks to their 3-game winning streak. And Wheaton needs to win out, and get some help, in order to win a share of the conference championship.

Video: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/millikin.portal#

Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/millikin/wbball/scoreboard.aspx

The game tips at 2:00 pm (Noon for those of us on the West Coast).

[Backseat Driver]

Today's other games also have big implications when it comes to the conference tournament.

Elmhurst @ North Park, 2:00 pm
Another "must-win" for both teams. If Elmhurst wants any chance of grabbing the fourth seed, they have to win this game. North Park  really has no margin for error with two difficult road games looming next week.

Illinois Wesleyan @ Carthage, 5:00 pm
A win clinches a share of the CCIW title for Carthage. Illinois Wesleyan is pretty much locked into the 2-3 game at the CCIW tournament, but I'm sure they'd love to pin a loss on Carthage.

North Central @ Augustana
I don't think anyone wants to face NCC in the conference tournament, but the Cardinals seem to have the inside-track to the 4th seed right now already having a win over NPU and not having to face any of the top 3 teams the rest of the way.

[Backseat Driver]

Wheaton 83
Millikin 59

Wheaton 19-3 (10-2)
Hannah Considine- 26 points, 6 rebounds
Brooke Olson- 11 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists
Lauren Graham- 10 points, 4 assists
Breanna Bohlen- 10 points, 6 assists
Maris Hovee- 10 rebounds

Millikin 8-14 (3-9)
Nikki Tipsword- 16 points
Jasmine Johnson- 13 points, 4 rebounds
Bria Williams- 13 points, 5 rebounds
Brittany Czaplicki- 11 points, 3 rebounds

Strong win for Wheaton on the road this afternoon, minus the 21 turnovers. Wheaton out-rebounded the Big Blue 51-33, shot 48% from the field, 41% from 3, and 85% at the foul line. Had the Thunder taken better care of the ball the margin could have been even more, but Millikin did a good job of pressuring the ball and altering a lot of passes.

Hannah Considine had a huge game, often finding herself wide open under the basket for some reason. Brooke Olson was all over the place, seemingly doing everything for the Thunder.

It was Millikin's senior day, and Olya Cholewick, Nikki Tipsword, and Brittany Galivan all started for the Big Blue. Coach Kerans subbed each of them out individually towards the end of the game so they could all get nice ovations.

Wheaton is the only CCIW team in action during the week next week, traveling to Robert Morris (Chicago) on Tuesday at 6:00 pm. The Eagles are currently 17-10.

[Backseat Driver]

Elmhurst came from behind to beat North Park, 71-68, in Chicago. A potential game-tying 3 was short for the Vikings at the buzzer.

[Backseat Driver]

Good game in Kenosha right now, Carthage leading Illinois Wesleyan 35-34 at the half. Aside from the nauseating homerism from the Carthage announcers, it was a really entertaining back-and-forth first half.

[Backseat Driver]

Going to overtime in Kenosha, tied at 65.

[iwu70]

Yes, great game in Kenosha.  McMahon having a monster game for the Titans, with 27 so far.  Seibring also playing well.

Carthage is a very good team.  They just hardly ever miss FTs.   They are a very deserving conference champion.  My congrats to them on their fine season, to date.

A good struggle.  Hope the Titans can finally pin a loss on the Lady Reds.

IWU70

[iwu70]

Great finish in Cheeseheadland.  Colleen McMahon gets the game winner with 4 seconds in OT, for the Titans to win by one.  She finishes with 31, a career night.

Congrats to Coach Smith and the Titans -- great grit and poise, playing well down the stretch, to finally pin a loss in CCIW play on the super fine Carthage team. 

Great confidence booster for the Titans!

Wonderful atmosphere there, big crowd for the women's game, now waiting for the men's contest in about 30 minutes. 

Titans now 9-3 in CCIW play.

IWU70

[Titan Q]

IWU 76
Carthage 75 (OT)

Colleen McMahon hits game winning layup with :04 to play.

Great win, Titans.

[Backseat Driver]

Final/OT:
Illinois Wesleyan 76
Carthage 75

Carthage hasn't won anything yet, iwu70, as the Titans pick up a thrilling win over the Lady Reds at the Tarble Arena tonight. What a game. It was back-and-forth the whole way, and Colleen McMahon hit the game-winning layup with 4 seconds to play in overtime. McMahon and Katy Seibring had monster games for IWU. Melissa Gardner hit some really tough shots down the stretch as well before she fouled out. For Carthage, Michelle Wenzel was outstanding, and Cailee Corcoran and Stephanie Kuzmanic had solid games as well.

This sets up a HUGE game at King Arena next Saturday between Carthage and Wheaton. The Thunder controls its own destiny now for grabbing a share of the conference title and hosting the conference tournament. If Wheaton wins out, they would own the tiebraker over Carthage.

[Mr. Ypsi]

File under 'too little, too late' for the Titans (but still awfully nice to see! )

[iwumichigander]

File under 'too little, too late' for the Titans (but still awfully nice to see! )

Not done yet Mr Ypsi  I think we have better than even shot in conf tournament  I would rather play in Wheaton than have the longer travel to Kenosha

[Mr. Ypsi]

File under 'too little, too late' for the Titans (but still awfully nice to see! )

Not done yet Mr Ypsi  I think we have better than even shot in conf tournament  I would rather play in Wheaton than have the longer travel to Kenosha

Don't worry, I'm NOT throwing in the towel on the tourney!  I just meant the conference title.  (Even there, we could theoretically still finish tri-champs, but that would require some extremely unlikely results.)