WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[mr_b]

From the North Park website: North Park 59, Augie 49.  Laura Mount scored 23 for the Chicago Vikings.

[Gregory Sager]

From the North Park website: North Park 59, Augie 49.  Laura Mount scored 23 for the Chicago Vikings.

NPU didn't shoot well -- again -- and they were outrebounded as well, but they did a lot of pickpocketing: 13 of the 22 Augie turnovers were steals. And even though the NPU lead didn't reach double digits for the first time until the second half was in its seventh minute, the visitors did manage to hold that double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Laura Mount had nine boards to go with her 23 points. She's just one point shy of averaging 20 ppg in the CCIW this season, trailing only Millikin's Lindsay Ippel in the scoring department, and she's the only guard in the league who is averaging over 50% from the field. She leads the league in steals by a wide margin, and she's fifth in assists and sixth in FT pct. In spite of the fact that every opposing team focuses upon her, to the point where she has three or four opponents draped all over her every time she drives to the hoop, she's still putting up sterling numbers this season.

I don't think NPU has had an All-American women's basketball player since Rachel Pearson in the early '90s, but Laura Mount is making a compelling case for herself this season.

[RogK]

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[RogK]

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[RogK]

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[WLCALUM83]

The ATN feature on the IWU women was very well done and much appreciated.  It is certainly nice to see Mia Smith's team step out of that shadow.

The Titans showed a lot of heart Saturday at Carthage.  It was a back-and-forth game for the final 10 mintues with two IWU guards taking over down the stretch...Sarah Bull kept the Titans in it with some big shots and Mallory Heydorn drilled a 3 from the top of the key to give IWU a 3-point lead with about 1:00 left. 

By continuing to win in the CCIW, the Titans can put themselves in great tournament position by earning the #1 seed in the region (which could lead to an opportunity to host a sectional).  Current in-region records:

Illinois Wesleyan (CCIW) 15 0 1.000      
UW-Stout (WIAC) 16 1 .941      
Lake Forest (MWC) 13 1 .929      
Chicago (UAA) 14 2 .875      
Concordia (Wis.) (NATHC) 11 2 .846      
 

Still a long way to go, but the opportunity to win the CCIW title, host the conference tournament, and earn a #1 seed should be enough to keep the intensity level high every night out.

I was also at the Elmhurst/Augie game. I was disappointed as they did not really display the same type of fight and effort that they have in the past. I'm hoping that tonight's game vs. NPU will be a better one. The last match-up was in November and I think both teams are drastically different than they were a few months ago. I also thought that the coaching staff looked drained. I doubt they read this- but as words of encouragement- stay positive and stay consistent! You are changing the program!

The Wheaton at Carthage game is an interesting match-up. I'm pulling for Wheaton in this one.

On a side note, with Concordia-WI not having an automatic qualifier this season- realistically- what are their chances? The conference is not a strong one in general and with all those conference games- it didn't leave much room for non-conference opponents to challenge them. Although I suppose they could get in the same way Rockford did the past few years(weaker schedule, big #'s in the win column, but no major competition.......just some thoughts............

This poster's been following the NAthCon all season to this point. IMHO, Concordia-WI will have to win out, (including their own conference tournament) to make Nationals. In that event, the earliest indications I've seen are if they did, it'd be either as Pool B or Pool C, but there's still 2 1/2 weeks of reg season in-conference play left yet. (On top of that, 6 teams are within 2 games of 2nd place, so if Concordia-WI does go on a losing streak, I'd be surprised if any NAthCon team made Nationals).

[Illinihoops4]

RogK, yes, the vikings passed up many 3 point shots as at one point this season they were shooting 14% from the arc. Coach Endress has no problem with them shooting it if they're making them. Their shot selection has gotten better as a team this season and I know they're recruiting a very good outside shooter very hard. I also know she preaches that the team must get in and shoot outside of practice. How many have taken this to heart I don't know. They did a great job of attacking the basket last night against Clarke, but against certain CCIW teams they struggle with this. I agree, many areas to improve for Augie as well as the other teams in the conference. I think that for some members of the team, hard work is not something they are used to, perhaps one of the reasons for Sikora to come off the bench. Hard work is something she requires day in and day out (something not in place in the past) and with her first recruiting class I think things will start to fit together nicely.

Carthage is up tomorrow. Hopefully Augie will feed off of Thursday's win because the last meeting was not what they were looking for I'm sure.

[Titan Q]

The IWU/Elmhurst game today at 5:15pm will be video streamed (as will the men's game following)...

http://www2.iwu.edu/news/live/index.shtml

[Illinihoops4]

Augie fell to Carthage, but Coach B. had his hands full. The vikings came out firing on all cylinders and it took quite some time for the Lady Reds to find their groove. He was forced to shuffle his bigs in and out because Sarah Miers was causing some problems for them as she might lack the height, but she certainly doesn't lack the strength. Augie's post defense was much improved and it was fun to watch. Dredge played a nice game for Carthage as did Gartelos off the bench despite fouling out.

[Gregory Sager]

Another rough go down the stretch for NPU, and another narrow loss. Wheaton beat the Vikings on Saturday afternoon in the crackerbox, 63-60, mostly because NPU did not have a player anywhere close to Jill Trenz's height who could prevent her from getting off a shot in close, so Wheaton went to Trenz twice in the final 1:34 and she made two bunnies right over the outstretched arms of the NPU defender. The Vikings did run a great play to get off a final shot from the corner that would've tied the game, but Lauren Martin's trey attempt at the buzzer rimmed out. That makes it twice this season that NPU has missed a trey at the buzzer against Wheaton that would've forced overtime.

Trenz wasn't close to being the game's dominant player, though. Neither were Elizabeth Fox or Brittany Cooper, both of whom followed Trenz into double figures for Wheaton. Laura Mount scored 27 points, a career high, in the losing cause for the Park. My guess is that the CCIW's Most Outstanding Player award is going to come down to either Mount or Millikin's Lindsay Ippel ... and I just hope that Mount isn't penalized for the fact that her team is not faring as well as the Big Blue.

[RogK]

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[RogK]

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[Gregory Sager]

I'd say you also have to examine why IWU is 9-0, Greg.
And Mallory Heydorn is the #1 reason for that. She should not be penalized for having an (almost) equally superb teammate in Claire Sheehan. Heydorn is the best all-around guard in the conference, I think. Best player in the conference? Too early to say. Let's see what happens with IWU vs Millikin tomorrow and at Wheaton on Saturday. Mount and Ippel will be 1st teamers all-conf, but lets wait on the MOP award for a while more. If Trenz finishes strong and Wheaton doesn't lose again, maybe she's the most outstanding.

I think Mount is clearly better than either Heydorn or Sheehan. Together, though, it's no contest -- the Illinois Wesleyan duo is by far the best backcourt in the league. As for Trenz, I was not that impressed by her on Saturday. She didn't look to me as though she'd progressed from last season. Yes, her height advantage was instrumental in the closing minutes of Wheaton's victory over NPU on Saturday, but she should've used it to be the dominant player whenever she was on the floor. She wasn't even close to being dominant on Saturday. I was much more impressed by Fox and Cooper; they were the two players who really stepped up and kept Wheaton going throughout the game.

[Hoosier Titan]

I think Mount is clearly better than either Heydorn or Sheehan. Together, though, it's no contest -- the Illinois Wesleyan duo is by far the best backcourt in the league.

Greg, I'm not sure on what objective criteria you've based your judgment that Mount is "clearly better" than Heydorn, in particular.  Here are some stats from the CCIW website (they've both played in 20 games; I've edited a bit):

Individual scoring:

3.Mount, Laura-NPU.........  17.8
4.Bull, Sarah-IWU..........     16.7
5.Tinkoff, Danielle-NCC....    16.1
6.Heydorn, Mallory-IWU.....  15.6
7.Sheehan, Claire-IWU......  14.6

Assists:

4.Heydorn, Mallory-IWU.....  4.10
5.Mount, Laura-NPU.........   3.50

Free Throw Percentage:

5.Heydorn, Mallory-IWU.....    .808
6.Dredge, Kristina-CARTHAG  .800
7.Mount, Laura-NPU.........     .771
8.Sheehan, Claire-IWU......    .765

Steals:

1.Mount, Laura-NPU.........    20     51   2.55
2.Fidelia, Kathleen-WHEATON19     47   2.47
3.Heydorn, Mallory-IWU.....    20     49   2.45

3-pt FG percentage:

2.Heydorn, Mallory-IWU.....  .433
3.Bull, Sarah-IWU..........      .402
4.Sheehan, Claire-IWU......   .396

3-pt FG made:

1.Heydorn, Mallory-IWU.....   3.25
2.Bull, Sarah-IWU..........       2.17
3.Sheehan, Claire-IWU......    2.10

Assist-to-turnover ratio:

3.Heydorn, Mallory-IWU.....   1.44
4.Riebock,Andrea-MILLIKIN.. 1.03
5.Mount, Laura-NPU.........     1.03

Defensive rebounds:

12.Mount, Laura-NPU.........  3.50
13.Heydorn, Mallory-IWU..... 3.45

The one category where Mount is among the leaders and Heydorn is not is Field Goal Percentage:

4.Mount, Laura-NPU.........        .500
5.Gartelos, Lisa-CARTHAGE       .493
6.Jarger, Katie-CARTHAGE.       .485
7.Sheehan, Claire-IWU......       .467
8.Cooper, Brittany-WHEATON.  .466
9.Bull, Sarah-IWU..........          .466

This is offset by the strong 3-point shooting of Heydorn and her colleagues Claire Sheehan and Sarah Bull. 

Laura Mount is a very fine player, no question.  But there is no way she is "clearly better" than Mallory Heydorn.

[Titan Q]

A lot of talk about IWU's backcourt duo of Heydorn (15.6 ppg) and Sheehan (14.6 ppg), but don't forget IWU's leading scorer is guard Sarah Bull (16.7 ppg).  I have no idea who you'd call the 2 and who the 3 on this team...Sheehan and Bull are both basically shooting guards.  (Bull has missed the last two games with a sprained ankle, but I believe will return tomorrow.)

I do not know the women's side of the league well enough yet to know where Mallory Heydorn stands as an M.O.P. candidate, but she is absolutely fantastic.  She is a great point-guard, averaging 4.1 assists per game with a 1.4 A:TO ratio.  On the defensive end, she has 49 steals.  Mallory is also a great scorer and one of the best 3-point shooters I've ever seen -- 65-150 (.433).  From the FT line she's 42-52 (.808).  Finally, she is just simply clutch.  She hit a 3 from about 24 feet to beat Carthage in Kenosha, after the Lady Reds had battled back from a big deficit to take a lead.  You can tell she is just one of those players who wants the ball in the big situations and isn't scared to take the game winning shot. 

It is always hard to compare a point-guard to other positions on the floor, because with point-guards a lot of what they do does not show up on the stat sheet.  I know that is how it is with Heydorn.  She is IWU's MVP and I'd think one of the top M.O.P. candidates in the CCIW.

IWU has two huge games this week -- tomorrow at home vs Millikin and Saturday @ Wheaton. 

Ill. Wesleyan  9-0 
Wheaton 8-1 
Millikin 7-2