WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

Rog, yes, good point on Powers.  She had a strong game vs. DePauw.  She's somewhat streaky but seems to be improving on her trey shooting of late.

Let's hope the Titans shoot it better tonight, getting more used to the venue and the rims . . . and that they can keep the rebounding line within reason.  Bowen, Huber, Carlson and Powers need to really battle it tonight.

IWU doesn't really have anyone key to the rotation near 6' -- and WW seems to have six or seven of them!   Speed over size, hopefully.

'70
 

[GoPerry]

Millikin Big Blue 59
UW Eau Claire 56

Way to go Big Blue!!  On to the Sweet 16!  Well deserved!

Knudsen with 22, Coffman 19.

[RogK]

Yeah, hopefully they stay the night in Eau Claire. Lots of gusty storms blowing about in Wisc and Ill tonight.
I was concerned when UW-EC was getting several offensive rebounds, but Millikin ultimately prevailed against a strong and talented opponent.

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan falls to UW-Whitewater at UWW's Williams Center, 72-54.

The big news for the league, though, is that the CCIW's six-year streak of not getting out of the first weekend drew to a close this evening, courtesy of Millikin's win over UWEC at Zorn Arena in Eau Claire.

[GoPerry]

Yeah, hopefully they stay the night in Eau Claire. Lots of gusty storms blowing about in Wisc and Ill tonight.
I was concerned when UW-EC was getting several offensive rebounds, but Millikin ultimately prevailed against a strong and talented opponent.

Yes.  I continue to be impressed with Olivia Lett and her game coaching.  Having the talent matters.  But it takes a really good coach to win these types of close matches against really good teams during the playoffs.  Case in point: understanding that you have two fouls to give when UW EC needed a three with 20 secs left.  By the time they used their two fouls, the BlueGolds had only 6 secs to get off their shot.

[iwu70]

Congrats to Millikin on getting out of the first weekend, to the Sweet Sixteen.

Looks like IWU just couldn't handle the size, losing the rebounding line pretty massively.   A tough match-up always with WIAC teams, esp. for this under-sized Titan team.

My congrats to Mia Smith and her staff, all the Titans on a great season -- truly over-achieving in my book -- sharing the regular season CCIW crown and winning the CCIW tournament and AQ at Millikin.  Special thanks to the seniors -- Eck, Bowen and Lansford -- for all their dedication and contributions to the program.  All best for future endeavors after graduation.   With the freshmen coming back, and also Heller and Carlson . . . Titans look good for next season.  I hear a very good recruiting class upcoming too.  So, seems the program in pretty good shape for the future.

In any case, congratulations to the Titans on a great season, much enjoyment in watching all season!  Thank you!


IWU'70

[iwu70]

Congrats again to Millikin for the Sweet Sixteen.

They now get Hope . . . ouch.

'70

[Gregory Sager]

Massey has Millikin as a very lopsided underdog for Friday night's contest in Holland, MI against host Hope:

Hope 79, Millikin 62 (HC 92%, MU 8%)

One unusual thing about the Hope sectional that you don't often see at the sectional level is that all four participants have won the women's basketball Walnut & Bronze before:

Scranton: 1985
Hope: 1990, 2006
NYU: 1997
Millikin: 2005

In fact, when Scranton won its title in '85, the Royals defeated Millikin in the national semifinals, 83-75, up in DePere, WI. And when NYU won its national title  in '97, the Fighting Violets beat Scranton, 84-72, in the national semis. The Final Four was held in New York City that season. Finally, in 2006, Hope beat Scranton in the national semis, 59-56, at the Final Four in Springfield, MA.

(Since winning that title in their first Final Four go-'round in '85, the Royals have been back to the Final Four seven times ... and have fallen short every time.)

[iwu70]

Very interesting background, Greg. 

I'll be surprised if Millikin stays within 15 of Hope on Friday.  Knudsen and the Big Blue will have their hands full.  Perhaps Olivia Lett should give Mia Smith a call and discuss how best to approach Hope.  The Titans in that one that got away, barely, just a couple of years ago, before everything got shut down with the pandemic.  What was it? . . . IWU up 7 with 2:30 to go, or some such?  Bitter memories.

(I'm not resurrecting the discussion of the game.).

Good luck to Millikin on Friday -- I hope it is a good, competitive game, surely a big challenge for MU.

IWU'70

[GoPerry]

Millikin headed to play Hope at DeVos.  Can there be a bigger stage for a player like Elyce Knudsen to showcase her talent unless it were in the FF?  Kendall Sosa opened some eyes two years ago in a similar situation except it was the 2nd round in 2020 and the then undefeated Dutch were ranked #1 vs merely #2 now.  And Massey had Hope favored by 19 I believe.

I think Millikin will have a chance because they will have the best player on the floor in my opinion.  And that is saying something with Olivia Voskuil and Kenedy Schoonveld playing in white.

Of course, Hope has all the experience on their side with NCAA tourney hardened seniors.  This is MU's Wonderland so to speak and perhaps playing more loose with nothing to lose?  If both Hildebrand and Coffman can have good games on both ends then you never know.  None of us will doubt their determination.  I hope the Big Blue can match the moment.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Millikin headed to play Hope at DeVos.  Can there be a bigger stage for a player like Elyce Knudsen to showcase her talent unless it were in the FF?  Kendall Sosa opened some eyes two years ago in a similar situation except it was the 2nd round in 2020 and the then undefeated Dutch were ranked #1 vs merely #2 now.  And Massey had Hope favored by 19 I believe.

I think Millikin will have a chance because they will have the best player on the floor in my opinion.  And that is saying something with Olivia Voskuil and Kenedy Schoonveld playing in white.

Of course, Hope has all the experience on their side with NCAA tourney hardened seniors.  This is MU's Wonderland so to speak and perhaps playing more loose with nothing to lose?  If both Hildebrand and Coffman can have good games on both ends then you never know.  None of us will doubt their determination.  I hope the Big Blue can match the moment.

I give Millikin VERY little chance at the DeVos, but then I gave the Titan men essential NO chance at the DeVos against #1-ranked Hope in 2012 in round 2.  In one of the best games I have ever personally attended, IWU won in double OT, 108-101 (and went on to the FF).  "Nothing to lose" is a good way to approach such a seemingly hopeless situation.

My sincere best wishes to Olivia, Elyce, et. al. 

[Gregory Sager]

Very interesting background, Greg. 

I'll be surprised if Millikin stays within 15 of Hope on Friday.  Knudsen and the Big Blue will have their hands full.  Perhaps Olivia Lett should give Mia Smith a call and discuss how best to approach Hope.

I give Millikin VERY little chance at the DeVos, but then I gave the Titan men essential NO chance at the DeVos against #1-ranked Hope in 2012 in round 2.  In one of the best games I have ever personally attended, IWU won in double OT, 108-101 (and went on to the FF).  "Nothing to lose" is a good way to approach such a seemingly hopeless situation.

[iwu70]

GoPerry, Knudsen will not be the best player on the floor vs. Hope . . .  yes, she's super good, but not superhuman.  She's terrific, but just a sophomore.  Hope has battle-hardened seniors and super seniors with something to prove.  However snarky Greg wishes to be, I doubt MU stays within 15 of Hope.  We'll see.  And, if Olivia Lett is smart (as she surely is as a coach) she will consult with Mia Smith about the game Friday.  Smith had a plan vs. the same Hope team before, of course with a much stronger team than the current Titans, and she almost pulled off a huge upset at DeVos, as all have said, a very tough place to play.

I wish MU all the best on Friday, but let's be a bit realistic here. I would love to see MU pull off the upset, but I doubt it will happen this time.

'70

 

[Gregory Sager]

GoPerry, Knudsen will not be the best player on the floor vs. Hope . . .  yes, she's super good, but not superhuman.  She's terrific, but just a sophomore.  Hope has battle-hardened seniors and super seniors with something to prove.

Disagree. I've seen Hope play this year. While the Flying Dutch have outstanding players such as Kenedy Schoonveld and Olivia Voskuil, I agree with GoPerry that they don't have a player who can do all of the things that Knudsen can do, even as a sophomore. While I don't have a crystal ball, it's more likely that Knudsen will be the best player on the floor on Friday than somebody else. However, it's also more likely that having Knudsen (as well as Coffman, Hildebrand, Fox, McCullum, Darden, and Staton) won't be nearly enough for Millikin to win, because Hope is not only talented en masse and experienced, it's also a very deep team. Other D3 coaches would give their eyeteeth to have a Meg Morehouse or an Ella McKinney or a Hannah Smith ... and Hope coach Brian Morehouse has all three of them coming off of his bench. He has an embarrassment of riches, ability-wise.

I'm rooting for Millikin, and I don't think that the chances for the Big Blue are as dire as the 8% that Ken Massey's computer algorithm predicts. But the Decaturites will be up against it, and I sure wouldn't put money on them.

However snarky Greg wishes to be, I doubt MU stays within 15 of Hope.  We'll see.

My snark had nothing to do with that. I, too, think that Hope will win by double digits on Friday. My snark was directed at your obsessive need to drag Illinois Wesleyan into every single conversation, no matter how irrelevant IWU is to the topic at hand.

And, if Olivia Lett is smart (as she surely is as a coach) she will consult with Mia Smith about the game Friday.  Smith had a plan vs. the same Hope team before, of course with a much stronger team than the current Titans, and she almost pulled off a huge upset at DeVos, as all have said, a very tough place to play.

Give me a break. Olivia Lett doesn't need to consult the Great and Mighty Oracle of Bloomington to know how to approach Hope. She can break down film and analyze opponents just as well as any other coach. That is, of course, an important part of her job. And I'm sure that she's not going to focus upon a game that was played two entire years ago -- a game in which two of Hope's five starters, and three of the five Hope reserves used, are no longer with the team. There's plenty of far more relevant film to look at from this season's Dutch team -- the Hope vs. Trine games, for instance, or that January 29 game in which Albion somehow managed to hold the high-scoring Dutch to a mere 51 points, as well as this past weekend's Dutch wins over LaRoche and Marietta.

[RogK]

Kate Majerus, a 5'11" senior starter for Hope, has made 50% of her 3FG att (46/92) and 63% of her 2FGs (26/41).
That's sort of excellent.