WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Hoosier Titan]

That is a tournament!  Should be a fun one to watch!! 

I'll take the under on the Central game.  If I remember correctly it was in this same tournament two years ago that Central beat Wash U.  Or am I mistaken?

That's essentiallly right; it was the same four teams at IWU.  At the time Depauw was ranked about third in the country and Wash. U. about twelfth; the first night IWU beat Depauw and Central beat Wash U.  By the end of the year Depauw and Wash U. played in the title game, with Depauw coming out on top.

Should indeed be a great tournament.  Pity I have to teach until 3:00 in Bloomington on Friday.  Details, details!

[RogK]

Hoosier Titan, the very practical solution to your quandary is to convene your Friday class under a large oak in St Louis's Forest Park.

[Hoosier Titan]

Hoosier Titan, the very practical solution to your quandary is to convene your Friday class under a large oak in St Louis's Forest Park.

Rog's suggestion would have been a very civilized and practicable one a month ago.   As it was, the temperature as we passed the Shirk on the way in this morning was about 25 F.  As we stopped for a light in front of Shirk, half of the women's basketball team crossed the street, obviously on their way to the team bus.  Stacey Arlis and Hope Schulte, in particular, seemed happy to hear our cries of "Good luck, ladies!!

We just now checked the score to see that IWU defeated #3 DePauw 77-76 with huge contributions from Schulte, Claire Sheehan, Mallory Heydorn, and Christina Solari.  Those four players all clocked in at 30+ minutes.  Sheehan had 7 assists, and 3 steals to go with 12 points, while Heydorn scored 21 with a block and 3 assists.  Schulte had 17 points, 2 blocks, and a steal, while veteran post Christina Solari had 16 points while leading the Titan rebounders with 7. 

I cannot comment directly on tonight's game, but from what we saw a week ago in the annual Green and White Scrimmage, Hope Schulte is one of the most athletic players I have seen at the DIII level, male or female.  She literally came from about half court to block what seemed a clear layup.  Half of the IWU men's team were sitting in front of us, and they (and we) gasped as she seemed to come from nowhere.  This woman has moves.

Over on the men's board IWU fans have been getting pasted for wearing green-tinted glasses and "drinking green Kool-Aid."   I haven't had any Kool-Aid in decades, but I'm very, very proud of these ladies and what they've accomplished tonight.  Tomorrow we're heading down to St. Louis for the title game of this always-interesting tournament.

[Hoosier Titan]

I just realised I lost a year in my post of last night--it was in 2006 that the tournament involving these four teams was in Bloomington.  Last year it was at Depauw, when IWU beat Wash U. 69-51. I was living in London at the time, and got the score either very late at night or first thing early in the morning.  I remember waking up my flat (er, apartment) yelling "IWU beat Wash U.!!" 

At any rate, this tournament is a GREAT way to start off the season!   

[RogK]

That's a big win for the Titans. According to the play-by-play, Schulte had a last second steal, got fouled and won it with a FT.
I saw Millikin top Trinity International (NAIA) in OT, 61-54. Not the best that they are capable of, but the Big Blue did what they had to to get the W.
I'll be heading out to Wheaton shortly for day 2 of their tournament. The Thunder clobbered Blackburn yesterday, 95-36, thanks in some part to outrebounding the visitors 68-25. Sarah Jones led with 8.
Calvin beat Elmhurst, 65-58, largely due to 35 pts from Marcia Harris, a skilled and athletic 6-footer.
North Central cruised past Marian, 84-53. In 24 minutes, Meghan McGuire had 20 pts, 10 reb.
Simpson edged Carthage 84-82 in OT. Shana Lieberman poured in 20 pts.
In a game I'm glad not to have seen, Lake Forest beat North Park, 54-41. Their FG percentages were .313 and .265.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Scoreboard reports IWU leading #1 WashU, 35-32, at the half.  Anyone have any links or first-hand info?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Woo Hoo!!!  IWU 72, (former) #1 WashU 69!!!

Combined with yesterday's win over (former) #3 DePauw, the ladies are gonna have one HUGE target on their backs!  (I wonder if they will jump all the way to #1?  I'll guess about 3rd.)

[y_jack_lok]

Woo Hoo!!!  IWU 72, (former) #1 WashU 69!!!

Combined with yesterday's win over (former) #3 DePauw, the ladies are gonna have one HUGE target on their backs!  (I wonder if they will jump all the way to #1?  I'll guess about 3rd.)

I believe the Wash U women were ranked #6, the men were #1.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Woo Hoo!!!  IWU 72, (former) #1 WashU 69!!!

Combined with yesterday's win over (former) #3 DePauw, the ladies are gonna have one HUGE target on their backs!  (I wonder if they will jump all the way to #1?  I'll guess about 3rd.)

I believe the Wash U women were ranked #6, the men were #1.

Oops - you're correct (not the first time I've slipped up with the two polls on the same page).

Jeez, now you've ruined my weekend - they only beat #3 and #6 on consecutive days - big whoop.

[Hoosier Titan]

Whew!  Just got in from St. Louis!  What a game!

I haven't seen an all-tournament team, but I would think that Christina Solari would have to be MVP--21 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 assists this afternoon!  She is a complete player--although she plays the low post, she can bring the ball up if need be, and she has moves galore.  Hope Schulte had another good game, with 13 points.

The first half seemed to fly by.  It seemed like a championship game between two good and evenly-matched teams.  Both have strong inside players and outside shooters; they both play good defense in the half court and a full-court press.  And both can run the inside-outside game really well.  At halftime the score was 35-32 IWU, and that seemed just about right.

The first five minutes of the second half were as near perfect as I've seen the IWU women play as they rolled to a 14-point lead.  It seemed they couldn't miss, all the rebounds came to them, and Wash U. were definitely rattled.  Then, for a few minutes, it seemed as though neither team wanted to win, as turnovers and missed shots on both sides slowed the scoring rate.  Gradually, though, Wash U. pulled back to a single-digit deficit.  Nervy moments for IWU.  In the end, I think that IWU's defense might have been the difference.  Not that Wash U. were always kept from scoring--they are too good, and have too many options, for that.  But it took them a LONG time to set up in their offense when the press was on, and even when it wasn't, the shooters were often covered.  At least three times Wash U. looked about to have a clock violation, only to get the shot off and score.  But when they were down by a dozen in the second half, those seconds lost were priceless.  The momentum seemed to be with Wash U. down the stretch, and it's possible that they just ran out of time. 

For Wash U., Zoe Unruh and  Halsey Ward impressed, and Kathryn Berger led their scoring with 19.  After being out-rebounded by DePauw, IWU won tonight's battle of the boards 40-29.

Both coaches went deep into their benches, playing eleven each, and made frequent substitutions.  Mallory Heydorn had to sit for the last part of the first half after picking up her third foul, and Hope Schulte made the switch from small forward to point guard look easy.  Mia Smith's use of the bench in the last few minutes was particularly impressive:  the lineup on the floor was four guards (Heydorn, Sheehan, Schulte, and Holly Harvey), along with Solari.  All ball handlers, and all good free throw shooters.  Harvey hit two important FTs with just under 2 minutes to go; although she missed a pair with about a minute left, Christina Solari hit one with 5 seconds left to bring IWU's lead back to the final 72-69 score.  This game wasn't beautiful, but it was a hard-fought battle between two quality teams.

We got there for the second half of the DePauw-Central consolation game.  The score was 38-33 DePauw at the half, but the Tigers soon pulled away.  It was hard to judge from what we saw today how DePauw compares to Wash U. and IWU.  From the evidence today I would guess that IWU and Wash U. have not seen the last of each other.  A return matchup would be great! 

[RogK]

Another important victory for the Titans. Congratulations.
In the game I saw, #2 Oglethorpe drilled Wheaton 99-68. Three minutes into the 2nd half, it was 76-34. The Stormy Petrels shot 27/45 twos, 11/23 threes and 12/15.
Numerous Oglethorpe passes were zipped with precision, a hallmark of an excellent team. Their top scorers, with 27 and 20, also had 5 assists each.
Players of all sizes contested for rebounds.
For the first 2/3 of the game, they ran more or less a full court press. Wheaton got through it now and then and Kathleen Fidelia (31 pts) was able to drive to the lane and score. For the last 7 - 8 minutes, Oglethorpe reduced its intensity, perhaps in a spirit of being a gracious visitor.
By the way, Beth Baker is back, coaching the Thunder, which was good to see.
Other CCIW finals :
Grand View 65, Millikin 57 (15 pts, 9 reb by Elise Wildman);
Carthage 59, Luther 43;
Elmhurst 113, Finlandia 56 (seven Jays in double figures);
Monmouth 83, Augustana 59;
NC 82, St Ambrose 80 (2 OT, 18 rebs for Parra, 13 for Errico);
Concordia (IL) 53, NP 50.

[Hoosier Titan]

By the way, Beth Baker is back, coaching the Thunder, which was good to see.

That IS good news--thanks for sharing it.

[Old Hoosier Baller]

Hi Everyone!  I thought that I would provide a little info on the Bluejays' two games over the weekend.  Initially, Friday was a tough loss to Calvin.  All things considered, I truly felt like the Jays were the stronger team, but turnovers got the best of them.  The Jays led for the majority of the game, but Calvin came through down the stretch.   In all honesty, the officiating seemed to fall more to Calvin who shot 31 free throws to Elmhurst 14.  All-American Marcia Harris shot 15 by herself.  Very inconsistent calls on one end versus the other!  Regardless of the loss, the effort was there throughout the game which obviously carried over to Saturday.

Saturday's score against Finlandia speaks for itself.  Everyone was dialed in, and the overall execution was much improved over Friday!  The game featured an excellent display of the wide variety of athletic weapons that this year's Jays squad has its disposal.  Long and Bobruk have a much stronger supporting cast this season.  Should be a great season for the Lady Bluejays!! 

[RogK]

All five conference teams that played last night registered losses. Not good.
I attended Monmouth at North Park. The first half was dominated by the refs : traveling was called time after time, producing most of the 31 total turnovers. The second half was more tolerable and North Park climbed back into the game to make it competitive. Three NP players were hobbling in the second half, but played anyway, since they don't have a deep bench. Monmouth won it 59-55.
Augustana managed only 33 points, losing by 11 to Cornell.
Elmhurst lost at Albion, 62-58 in OT.
Millikin lost at Carroll, 71-56. Crystal Zeigler scored 20 in 22:00 for M.
Finally, Wheaton lost 81-78 at St Mary's (Indiana). Kathleen Fidelia had 26 pts, 6 reb, 6 assists and 5 steals. Lisa Ballenger, who might become a prominent player, got the start at center. Looks like she played reasonably well for 21:00 but picked up 4 fouls.

[RogK]

Millikin coach Lori Kerans again has to have cancer treatment -- see the article on their web site or on D3hoops Daily Dose for today.
Best wishes to her.