WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mr. Ypsi]

Just noticed that Gabrielle Holness played only 4 minutes against NCC.  Was that coach's decision (she had 3 TOs in those 4 minutes) or did she get hurt?

[RogK]

Injury, according to iwu70 in reply 5171.
An entertaining game in Elmhurst, as visiting Augustana came away with a 91-84 win. Several momentum swings along the way.
For Augie : Kaycee Kallenberger had 12 pts (6/6 2FG), 11 rebs , 3 blocks, a steal; Corrie Reiley 19 pts and missed just 2 shots; Olivia Mayer (8/13 2FG, 5/6 FT) had 21 pts.
Elmhurst's Mikaela Eppard tallied 22 pts (8/16 2FG, 6/6 FT) and 12 rebs; four other Bluejays scored in double figures.
We recently discussed how Augie's Izzy Anderson won Player of the Week, but scoring was not required of her in this game (she helped out more in other aspects of the game). They get points from a variety of players, which makes them a bit unpredictable.
Strong effort and good energy for both teams.

[RogK]

Way up in the northern reaches of the league, Carthage topped Carroll 82-69. Carroll's Caylee Koker scored 27 (6/9 2FG, 4/9 3FG, 3/5 FT). Carthage's Madie Kaelber scored 22. And, oh yeah, Morgan Harris had a triple-double : 19, 10 and 11.

[nccfac]

Wheaton's 90 to NCC's 85 was a well fought game. Kelly McDaniels and Kelly Lawson were awesome and brought the victory to the Thunder. I thought the commentary on the video feed was excellent. One of the announcers sounded like Chris Collingsworth on the NFL. Great game, fun to watch and the Cardinals were close to within two with just over a minute to play. Can't wait to see them in Naperville.  Go Cards'!!!

[iwu70]

Yes, Holness went down with a knee injury early in the NCC game.  She was driving in for a lay-up, got hit from behind and went down with what looked like a twisted, strained knee.   She sat on the bench, iced up, for the rest of the game.  I haven't seen or heard how serious the injury was, is.  Perhaps there will be more news on her status from the IWU camp or in the Pgraph soon.  Not sure.   She would be a great loss, should she be out longer term.  She's the first, key person off the bench, for the Titans this year.

IWU70

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Wheaton's 90 to NCC's 85 was a well fought game. Kelly McDaniels and Kelly Lawson were awesome and brought the victory to the Thunder. I thought the commentary on the video feed was excellent. One of the announcers sounded like Chris Collingsworth on the NFL. Great game, fun to watch and the Cardinals were close to within two with just over a minute to play. Can't wait to see them in Naperville.  Go Cards'!!!

I also thought the announcers were tremendous.  Very "midwest" but very good.

[GoPerry]

Wheaton's 90 to NCC's 85 was a well fought game. Kelly McDaniels and Kelly Lawson were awesome and brought the victory to the Thunder. I thought the commentary on the video feed was excellent. One of the announcers sounded like Chris Collingsworth on the NFL. Great game, fun to watch and the Cardinals were close to within two with just over a minute to play. Can't wait to see them in Naperville.  Go Cards'!!!

McDaniels goes by her first name, Katie.  The other Kelly is Lawson.

*******

If playing against the system is supposed to make a team uncomfortable with the high tempo, constant pressure scheme, then watching your team play against it is equally so.  I'm grateful that the Wheaton ladies came away with the win.  But I was not impressed with their performance.  I was expecting that a veteran team with good ball handlers would be able to handle the pressure.  Several times the Thunder would get out to a 7 or 8 point lead only to let the Cards back in with sloppy play and really bad turnovers.  It was as if Coach Madsen didn't really prepare them for what was to come.  Even in a game like this, 30 turnovers is way too high (although the 67 rebounds really pads the stat sheet).  They'll need a better performance when they go to the Hangar.

On the other hand, NCC has a core of very talented players that I think would thrive in a traditional scheme.  Whipple had a poor shooting night but is a very capable ball handler.  Cuny is a tall force on defense but wasted offensively since she hardly receives any touches.

[lmitzel]

I just finished watching the Wheaton-NCC game. This was NCC's best shot at beating Wheaton in the System era. Wheaton didn't play very well but made the plays they needed to down the stretch to win. They also got some fortunate bounces down the stretch (and you do need a little luck in games like this).

From North Central's perspective in this one, I'm disappointed. This was a winnable game, much like the Wesleyan game, and you're in an 0-2 hole early on the season, but you've lost to the top two teams in the conference by five points apiece, including one in overtime. They're right there with the top of the CCIW. Give the freshmen a little more experience and this will be a tough team to beat in January and February.

[RogK]

Emily Schultz shot quite well (8/13 2FG, 9/11 FT) to reach 25 pts in Millikin's 77-66 win at North Park. She also had 5 steals. Other Big Blue 'mates who did well include Rachael Weber (21 pts) and Lauren Moses (9 rebs). Liz Rehberger led NP with 15 pts, while Shaylee Sloan contributed 11 rebs and 10 pts.

[Gregory Sager]

NPU was awful last night. The Vikings played zero defense. Give full credit to Millikin, though, as the Big Blue were on their game at both ends of the floor. But, really, so much of this game was just plain ol' poor play by NPU.

The Vikings need to take a good long look in the mirror and resolve to put more effort into what they're doing, especially at the defensive end of the floor.

[RogK]

As we are getting deep (ha) into the season, I'll mention that the all-CCIW team has been revised to 8 on 1st team and 8 on 2nd, no 3rd team. So, one more honoree than in the previous 3x5 set-up. Sixteen players out of 9 teams is fair, in my view.
The 8 team UAA uses two 7-player all-conf teams, but also adds honorable mentions.

[RogK]

Tomorrow will see completion of the opening one-sixth portion of conference play, with resumption due on January 4.
Either Carthage or Augustana will emerge 3-0. Either Carroll or North Park will pick up conf win #1. IWU (1-0) will try to give Elmhurst a 0-3 record. Millikin (1-1) will try to give North Central a 0-3 record. An interesting set of games. I'll ride the glamorous #53 Pulaski CTA bus to Foster Avenue and will observe Pioneers v Vikings.
Wheaton faces UW-Oshkosh, which is averaging a 68-31 win so far. The Thunder is then off until December 29.

[Gregory Sager]

Tomorrow will see completion of the opening one-sixth portion of conference play, with resumption due on January 4.
Either Carthage or Augustana will emerge 3-0. Either Carroll or North Park will pick up conf win #1. IWU (1-0) will try to give Elmhurst a 0-3 record. Millikin (1-1) will try to give North Central a 0-3 record. An interesting set of games. I'll ride the glamorous #53 Pulaski CTA bus to Foster Avenue and will observe Pioneers v Vikings.

If the Vikings lose to Carroll, they will no doubt collectively be thrown beneath the equally-glamorous #92 Foster CTA bus.

[RogK]

Also in the vicinity of North Park is CTA route 82 on Kimball Ave. On the 82 bus, you can study a diverse mix of generally harmless fellow riders, including a few for whom the pharmaceutical industry is busy concocting products.
Some area CTA passengers, be they home-grown or from Greece or Peru or Uzbekistan, have no idea that the north side baseball team just won the World Series. They wouldn't know if Kris Bryant was seated across from them. And some may regard me with suspicion tomorrow, having no idea that I'm going to watch Clarissa Ramos and Meredith Polzin play hoops.

[RogK]

Looks like some, if not all, CCIW WBB teams may encounter thick snow on the way home from Saturday's games. Travel safely (after the game, not during).