WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

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[Hoosier Titan]

Does anyone know if there is a broadcast of the NCC-IWU game?  I can't find live stats on NCC's web page.  Thanks!

[RogK]

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[Hoosier Titan]

Rog,

Thanks for the reports.  What happened with the fouls on NCC's Williams?  The play-by-play shows her getting her last two fouls with the clock stopped.  Is that correct?

[RogK]

Congratulations for winning CCIW player of the week during January to :
Sarah Jones, Lindsay Ippel, Lindsay Ippel and Sarah Bull.

[Mr. Ypsi]

She was assessed a technical. Do those count as personal fouls, too? I'm not sure, but that may be what caused the play-by-play to look that way.

Don't recall when the change came, but technicals have also counted as personals for several years.

[RogK]

Thanks, Mr.

[Hoosier Titan]

Hmm, this is very curious.  According to the play-by-play, she got the technical at 15:40 in the second half, when she already had three fouls.  Then, with the clock apparently stopped at 4:33, she got fouls number four and five. See for yourself here:
http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/wbb2008/NCCW-IWU.HTM

I was pretty sure that technicals did count as personals, so it looks as though she got away with six fouls, as in the NBA (or the guy who got a third yellow card from Graham Poll in the World Cup, but that's for another board...)

I'll ask some of the parents or the Titan coaching staff what happened tomorrow. 

[RogK]

Safe travels to everyone on the road this evening; the weather will be interesting. I'm counting on Metra for deliverance to and from Wheaton.
Tonight's games are rematches of the conference openers on January 8 and will bring us halfway through the 14 game season. The matchups that haven't occurred yet will occur on Saturday and then again on the final day of the schedule, February 23.
I'll be seeing if the Thunder can retaliate for a slight loss at Elmhurst. The Bluejays won despite 3/20 three-point shooting. Wheaton so far has allowed only 22/101 from the arc in CCIW play, so that wasn't a coincidence. Another loss for Wheaton may doom their playoff chances, while Elmhurst needs a victory to solidify its spot in the upper half of the league.

[RogK]

Carthage upended Millikin, 53-44 and maintained an undefeated conference record. Katie Jarger led all with 14 points (on only eight shots). Forrest Smith grabbed 8 rebs. Carlie Janowiak had 6 steals, among other things.
But most notably, the Lady Reds put a big defensive shutdown on Millikin's usual plan. Lindsay Ippel was held to 7 pts in 38:00. No one tallied in double digits for the visitors.
The NC at Aug game will occur today, apparently.
IWU sped past NP, 83-47.
The game I observed was a tight one, featuring 55 fouls and was won by Wheaton, 70-68, over Elmhurst. The key for the Thunder was dominance of the defensive rebounding --- they got 30 of 40 possible. Whitney Edgecombe seized 14 total rebs and Claire Glass got 10. Together, they had 17 defensive rebounds. Jamie Jones scored 17 pts in her 21:00, 7/10 and 3/3 FT. Kathleen Fidelia's dribbling skill prevented Elmhurst's press from being a big factor.
For Elmhurst, Lyndsie Long poured in 25 pts (10/16, 5/7 FT). More and more, her play reminds me of former outstanding NBA small forward Adrian Dantley, who would efficiently score 25 or 29 while you thought he had maybe 17 or 18.
Elmhurst was also kept in the game by the relentless efforts of Candice Sutton. Only 5'3" or so, she got right in on the rebound battles and led EC with 9, also contributing 18 pts and good ball handling.
While Elmhurst is much improved, they have things to work on in order to get up to the level of IWU or Carthage. Passing is one area where those two teams excel.
EC could have done better at that. For example, on some fast breaks, sharp-shooting Kelsey Monroe was wide open on the wing, but this was not recognized by the teammates bringing the ball up. Had she gotten two or three more three-point attempts up (or driven to the hoop), the victory may have been Elmhurst's. But anyway, credit goes to Wheaton for winning this one fairly and squarely.

[RogK]

Well well, Augustana beats North Central. This puts three teams at 2-5 and at the heels of 3-4 Elmhurst. It's conceivable that a 7-7 record will be good enough for the 4th CCIW playoff spot. Maybe even 6-8 if things get weird.
Saturday promises some fascinating confrontations.
IWU hosts Carthage, hoping to grab a share of 1st place. Up to this point, the voters who do the national rankings don't think very highly of Carthage. I assume they've been waiting to see what happens vs IWU. I don't see Carthage allowing any of IWU's guards going off for big points. The advantage among the big players is up for grabs. We'll see.
Whoever loses among Wheaton, NC and Augie will be in a difficult spot. NP already is in a difficult spot.

[Hoosier Titan]

The IWU-Carthage matchup at Shirk was as exciting as promised.  The 80-63 final score is a bit misleading, as the game was quite close most of the way.  Only in the last five minutes or so was the likely outcome clear.

Both teams were a bit tight to start, and Carthage got going quicker, carrying a small lead until around the 10:00 mark of the first half.  The Titans pressured the ball handlers, often trapping, and, as usual, sometimes it worked and sometimes it helped create open looks for big Carthage players under the basket.  Overall, it helped the Titans erase the deficit and pull into a 41-37 halftime lead.  Carthage came out strong to equalise the score in the second half, but down the stretch fatigue seemed to hit the Lady Reds hard.  Their foul totals mounted, with key players Shana Lieberman and Lisa Gartelos fouling out, and the Titans pulled away.

The last 1:20 of the first half was almost surreal, with two Titan centers going down.  At the 1.20 mark, starting center Christina Solari (who missed most of last season with an ACL) collapsed under the Titan basket and it was obvious the other knee was the problem.  She was finally helped off the floor, not putting any weight on the leg at all, and was replaced by first-year Sarah Cotner, still wearing a brace on one leg due to an ACL injury last year.  Within seconds, Cotner had collapsed under the other basket--I thought she had slipped on a wet patch of floor.  She, then, was helped off, in obvious agony.  Bottom line:  Solari's was  just a hyperextended knee, and she returned for the second half.  Cotner's injury, however, may well be more serious.

About individual players:  the Lady Reds were led in scoring by Gartelos and Katie Jarger (perhaps, in my mind, the most dangerous single Carthage player because she is a threat both inside and outside) with 13 each.  Shana Lieberman added 11 and both she and Carlie Janowiak had 6 assists.  The Reds' size mattered:  they had 7 blocked shots to the Titans' one.  A solid team.  The Titans' scoring was evenly distributed:  Mallory Heydorn led with 20 (her 8 made baskets were half 2's and half 3's), Claire Sheehan had 15, Sarah Bull 14, Crystal Dye 10, and Solari 9.  First-year Nikki swing player Nikki Preston impressed with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists in just 10 minutes of playing time.  And probably the most telling statistic:  the smaller Titans outrebounded the Lady Reds by a 50-27 margin. 

So now the stage is set for the final push to the conference tournament.  IWU heads to Millikin on Tuesday--a key matchup, since the Big Blue defeated the Titans at Shirk in January.  Clearly, every game is a must-win for the Titans now, but this one is particularly important because Carthage has swept Millikin.  The Titans cannot afford to lose to anyone if they want to host the tournament.  Elmhurst looks to me to be the favorite for the fourth spot--what do others think?

[Hoosier Titan]

By the way,

Carthage coach Tim Bernero seemed to go out of his way not to shake hands with Sarah Bull, Crystal Dye, and Christina Solari as the starting lineups were introduced (after he did shake hands with Mallory Heydorn and Claire Sheehan).  He turned and walked away, leaving his assistants to do the handshakes.  Then, after the game, he simply walked past the Titan team and coaches, spurning the traditional (and NCAA-sanctioned) handshake.  I've never seen this before--at least on the part of a coach, and at least at the Division III level. 

To put it bluntly, this appears to be poor sportsmanship on the part of Coach Bernero.  His team is well coached and they play the game hard and well.  They represent Carthage College well--they deserve better behavior from their coach.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[RogK]

That's not normal (or bloomington) for Bernero, Hoosier Titan. I'll bet he was very pissed off at his own team, not anybody on the Titans. He couldn't be happy that Crystal Dye grabbed 13 rebounds, including many that Carthage should have had. And IWU repeatedly burned them with backdoor cuts and layins.
As you noted, the rebounding was lopsided in favor of IWU. I, too, was impressed with Nikki Preston's 5 rebs and 9 pts in just 10:00. She calmly hit 5/6 FTs in a tense game.
IWU is so talented, an excellent rebounder like Lia Anderson (check her rebs per minute ratio) can't even get in the game. I guess we'll see more of her next year.
It appears that Mallory Heydorn is back at full strength.
Looking at the remaining schedules, Carthage (7-1), IWU (7-1) and Millikin (6-2) can be expected to be in contention for hosting the CCIW tournament. The IWU/Carthage rematch in Kenosha might decide that.
Millikin hit 13/26 threes and topped North Park 87-67. Megan Mateer made 5 of 7 threes and Lindsay Ippel included one as part of her 33 point outburst (plus 9rebs). LaRae Kostreva of NP replied with 29 pts, 11 rebs and six steals.
Everybody played well for Elmhurst, as they trounced Augustana 93-73.
North Central whipped Wheaton 74-49, shooting 60.5% as a team. Barb Williams had 21 pts, 7 reb and 4 blocks for them, while Kelly Brooks led W with 9 pts in 11:00.
Elmhurst (4-4) and North Central (3-5) may have a good sprint to the end for the final conference playoff berth.

[Ralph Turner]

Welcome to Hoosier Titan on her attaining status of "Starter"!