WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

that which happened the first time for today's games :
WHE 52 NCC 40; 30-30 after 3 Q (yecch)
IWU 62 CTG 61; Autumn K 27 pts
CRL 62 MIL 59; Theresa W 18 pts
NPU 78 AUG 70; Jayla J 26 pts, 8 r, 5 stls
the mystery that is Carroll ends its 2019-20 chapter

[Gregory Sager]

Greg, I agree NPU has a strong group, good prospects in coming back next year.  All I'm saying is that MU has now risen to the top four, the top tier of CCIW play.

Again, I don't think that the Big Blue are there yet. They have yet to demonstrate that they can beat a top tier team -- Wheaton, North Park, and Illinois Wesleyan -- on the road. Next season? Yeah, Millikin will very likely be there, which I was saying on this board weeks, if not months, ago. But right now? Let's see the Big Blue beat a top opponent on the road first.

They may well get their chance in the tournament next week.

Some think they will be in the top 2-3 next season.

Right now that looks like a strong possibility. But none of us has a crystal ball. I've seen teams that were poised on the edge of greatness never quite step over the threshold, or even fall back. But I think that Millikin is a strong preseason bet to contend for the CCIW title next season, contingent upon everybody returning (aside from senior Briana Anthony, of course) and a typical progression in terms of the development of the returning players.

WC loses a lot and I'm not all that certain they will be in the top group next season.  Frazier and others all graduating.   Likely they will, but they have a steeper climb, given their re-build or reload, depending on how it goes.

I've said this before, and I guess that I have to say it again: Never sleep on Wheaton. This is the 34th season of CCIW women's basketball, and Wheaton has finished in the lower half of the league a grand total of twice in those 34 seasons -- in 2008 and 2010 -- and in 28 of those 34 seasons the teams of Beth Baker and Kent Madsen have finished in the top three. That's a tradition of success that is unparalleled in the CCIW in terms of its consistency. In other words, history amply demonstrates that Wheaton will come up with the goods, no matter who graduates. The team in orange won't rebuild. It will reload. Make book on it.

IWU, NPU and MU seem to have the most coming back.  NPU and MU in a positive direction from previous years.  IWU remaining at or near the top. 

I'm not arguing against Illinois Wesleyan being a contender again, because it's pretty plain to me that it will be. But it needs to be said that the Titans are the only team out of those three that is going to take a serious hit to graduation. Sydney Shanks is an All-CCIW first teamer who should make the All-CCIW team again this year. The Vikings and the Big Blue don't lose anybody remotely comparable to her.

[Gregory Sager]

Carroll rolls to an easy 81-65 win over Millikin to complete the season sweep (?!) of the Big Blue. The Pioneers held a double-digit lead for the final 36 minutes of the game, building the bulge to as many as 26 in the fourth quarter as they ripped twine to the tune of 58% from the field and 50% from downtown. Sierra Grubor led the way with 22 and 7 for Carroll, as Theresa Wichser scored 18 (including 6-9 from beyond the arc), and Alyssa Cruz scored 16 with a 6:3 a:to ratio. Millikin was led by Aubrey Staton with 11 and Bailey Coffman with 10. Abby Ratsch pulled down nine boards before she fouled out.

[RogK]

A good effort by Carroll to wrap up their season. Millikin (not motivated today?) moves on to the CCIW tourney.
In CCIW play, Carroll finishes in last, 2-6 away and 2-6 at home.
They were swept by Augie, Elmhurst, IWU, North Central and North Park.
Elizabeth Behrndt did not play in the last 2 games; assuming she got injured, good luck to her for a quick recovery.
Kayla Stefka ended up shooting 65% for 2FGs (65/100). That may be best in the conference, depending on which quantity cutoff we use.
Theresa Wichser made at least 5 threes in 5 different games, two of them being the victories over Millikin.
Carroll certainly is not a crummy team; in fact one could imagine them improving enough next season to be in play for middle-of-the-pack. They finished 4-12, thanks to the lack of easy opponents in the league.
Carroll seems to misplace a few non-seniors each offseason, so we'll see what the '20-'21 roster looks like.

[Gregory Sager]

Kayla Stefka ended up shooting 65% for 2FGs (65/100). That may be best in the conference, depending on which quantity cutoff we use.

The CCIW requires three FGs per game to qualify for statistical purposes, so Stefka fell short of qualifying by ten field goals.

[iwu70]

IWU up on Carthage at the half 27-22.

'70

[RogK]

Stefka made 65 of 100 2FGs.
I wasn't referring to her combined 2 and 3 FGs.
2FGs by themselves aren't an official shooting stat in D3, but she could still be best in the league for that type of shot.

[Gregory Sager]

Yeah, that's not an official stat in the CCIW, either.

[iwu70]

IWU over Carthage in Kenosha, a good road win, 70-62

IWU:
Sosa 26 and 6, winning the regular season CCIW scoring title
Shanks 16
Munroe 10 and 6
Brovelli 6 rebounds

Carthage:

Autumn Kalis was incredible:  33

I think WC won, congrats to them on the regular season championship.  I think NPU lost at Augie.  So, does this mean IWU is the #2 seed?

Here comes the tournament.  Much more basketball to be played for the AQ.

Congrats to the Titans and Coach Smith on another outstanding regular season

IWU'70

[lmitzel]

Yeah, Illinois Wesleyan got the 2 seed with the win and North Park loss.

North Park falls to the 3 and gets North Central, while Millikin will host Augustana on Tuesday.

[Gregory Sager]

Augustana 62
North Park 56

Jayla Johnson: 17 pts, 13 rebs
Lauryn Alba Garner: 12 pts
Emily Czuhajewski: 11 pts
Alisha Panthier: 6 rebs
Jacki Rapp: 4:0 a:to

Gabriela Loiz: 13 pts
Alexis Jones: 11 pts, 16 rebs, 4:1 a:to
Jenny Crain: 10 pts, 5:0 a:to

The Park didn't just throw this one away, as Augie outplayed the Vikings down the stretch and rightly took the win. But NPU, which has been playing so tight over the past two, three weeks, played the second half of this game as though the entire team collectively had a tension headache. Down the stretch it was just a festival of turnovers, missed layups, what have you. And it isn't as though Augie was invincible, either; terrible free-throw shooting by Augie all by itself should've given NPU all of the open door it needed to win this ballgame. But, once again, the Park couldn't step over the threshold.

Jayla Johnson, who set a career high for rebounds tonight, turned her ankle with two minutes to go and the Vikings down two. She came in for the last couple of possessions, but she was clearly laboring on it. Ice that down and stay off of it for the next few days, Jayla! Like it or not, with Wesleyan winning and you guys losing, it means that you're going to be playing a game on Tuesday at the crackerbox, and you need to be healthy.

NPU, as has frequently been the case during this season-ending slump, played a very good first half. The Vikings went into the locker room up by nine. It wasn't until they came out for the third quarter that they started to feel those icy fingers around their throats; as the Augie announcers correctly kept pointing out, NPU missed a ton of open shots in the third quarter, especially, and then again towards the end of the game.

The Park is just going to have to play with the hand it's been dealt (or which it has dealt itself, take your pick), which in this case means the #3 seed and a home game on Tuesday. It's very disappointing, but it could be much worse. In fact, it has been much worse for most of the past three decades. As bad as this stretch at the end of the season has been, the Vikings are still going to be playing meaningful games after 25 have been put in the books ... and that's a very, very good thing for this program.

Guess I'll be calling my first-ever CCIW tournament game on Tuesday.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Final in Kenosha: IWU 70, Carthage 62.  Certainly not the fault of Autumn Kalis, who finished with 33 points; her teammates combined had 29.  Kendall Sosa had 26, Sydney Shanks had 16, Sam Munroe had 10, plus 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and only one TO.

With the team's record, I doubt Autumn Kalis is in the MOP conversation, but she definitely deserves first-team all conference.  (Does anyone know, has anyone ever won MOP with a team near the bottom of the standings?)

[RogK]

symmetry :
12-4 WHE
11-5 IWU
10-6 NPU
9-7  MIL
8-8  AUG
7-9  NCC
6-10 CTG
5-11 ELM
4-12 CRL
Augustana's elaborate plan to be at the center of the CCIW universe worked flawlessly.

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton pulled away in the final minute to defeat North Central, 72-65.

Hannah Frazier had 22 and 9, and added three blocks and three steals for good measure. I'm pretty sure that she wrapped up her second consecutive MOP trophy this afternoon.

[Gregory Sager]

With the team's record, I doubt Autumn Kalis is in the MOP conversation, but she definitely deserves first-team all conference.  (Does anyone know, has anyone ever won MOP with a team near the bottom of the standings?)

Chuck, this question was already asked on this board earlier this season.

Go back and look it up.