Game Notes: Augustana College @ North Central College (1/29/14)

Final Score
NCC 97, Augustana 85

Game Summary
It was a sluggish start both ways, as the Cardinals (10-9, 3-5) needed four minutes to score, but the Vikings (5-14,1-7) could only muster a couple baskets in that span. Then the Cardinals woke up and went on a 12-0 run before the Vikings called timeout to stem the tide. They did, and kept the game to no larger than a 5-point gap, with Augie even taking a lead a couple times, including a 6-0 run to close the half up 37-32. The Vikings had a strong opening minute of the second half before the snipers took over for the Cardinals and tied the game at 46. North Central then went on a little run and led by as many as 10 points, but the Vikings didn't go away and retied the game at 66 with 8:50 to play. The Cardinals answered with a 12-2 run to go up 10 again, but still the Vikings wouldn't go away, scoring the next 7 points to make it a one-possession game. A quick three followed by a layup off a steal put to bed the last gasp of resistance, and the Cardinals iced the game away from there.

Key Stats

• Maryssa Cladis (NCC): 4-9 FG (4-6 3PT); 12 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl. I think Maryssa is one of the more underrated players on this team. She did a good job defensively; usually she's up among the leaders in steals. Today she was the deadliest of the three point shooters though, with all but one of her triples coming in the second half.
• Larynn Shumaker (NCC): 3-6 FG, 7-8 FT; 13 pts, 7 reb (2 ofr). I think most of the CCIW has been put on notice this season: when Larynn gets the ball in the post, more often than not, you're giving up at least a point on that possession. She didn't get a ton of shots up tonight, but took advantage of the looks she did have. She will also get to the line plenty of times per game, and took advantage of her trips there. She has the footwork and skill set to beat anyone in the post and get a good look at the bucket, and it's a great weapon to balance out the three-heavy attack.
• Anita Sterling (NCC): 3-5 FG (3-4 3PT), 2-2 FT; 11 pts, 2 reb, 1 blk. This isn't a very loud line for Anita, but I think she largely kept North Central in the game in the first half. She hit two of her triples in that stanza, and also drew a pair of charges to take away Augie chances. Her length and defensive presence down low is a good asset to this team, even if her numbers aren't that flashy.

North Central System Watch

• NCC 3PT: 15-49 (30.6%). This was a bipolar kind of night for North Central. They were abysmal in the first half (5-27), and that, combined with poor free throw shooting, was why the Cardinals were trailing going to the locker room. Then the second half starts and, go figure, the Cardinals catch fire and go 10-22 the rest of the way. When this team is hot, they're hot. For the season, they're at 30.4 percent shooting, so they're improved from last year, but they've been pretty good of late. [Section was edited Thursday at 2:23pm to account for full season stats, which were unavailable at time of original posting.]
• AUG Turnovers: 30. North Central was winning the turnover battle most of the night, but it wasn't until later in the game that it really paid dividends. There were your usual batch of travels, plus the few charges, but we also got to see a ten-second call tonight! Coach Roof said before the season that she didn't expect that the addition of that rule for this season would be much of a factor, and honestly, it hasn't; I think there's only been two or three of them this year. The Cardinals were good pickpockets again though, with 14 steals paced by Bobbi Johns with three. Five Cardinals each had two more.

CCIW Watch

• @ Wheaton (5-3, 14-4) 57, Elmhurst (11-8, 3-5) 56
• Illinois Wesleyan (13-6, 7-1) 94, @ Millikin (8-11, 2-6) 78
• OFF: Carthage (16-2, 7-0), North Park (10-8, 3-4)

Final Thoughts
Very easily, the top storyline of this game could have been free throw shooting. The Cardinals shot 20-33 from the stripe tonight. They missed five in the first half and were down five at that point. Do the math. The second half was closer to their average, but still too low for comfort. They got away with it tonight, but the elite teams in the CCIW will make you pay if you miss your freebies.

Regardless, the Cardinals needed this win and got it to stay in the conversation for the CCIW Tournament. This was Game 1 of a 3-game home stand for the Cardinals, so I'll be back at Merner on Saturday, only Saturday it will be a double header as Carthage comes to visit. I'm filling in for the men's PA announcer in exchange for him working Senior Night for me, so if you want to come watch some entertaining basketball with me yelling in the background, come on by. Obviously Carthage has only lost twice this season and is ranked #10 in the nation. It will be a good test for the Cardinals, who despite losing pretty handily to Carthage up in Kenosha earlier this year, played them very tough in two of the three games last year, and this time the Cardinals have home court advantage.