Game Notes: Carthage College @ North Central College (WBK: 2/1/14)

Final Score
Carthage 80, NCC 76

Game Summary
In a very back and forth game, neither team went on a major run. The Lady Reds (17-2, 8-0) drew first blood but couldn't breathe for any of the game, as the Cardinals (10-10, 3-6) stuck with them and took multiple one-possession leads. Carthage wouldn't go away and took a couple two-possession leads, but the Cardinals closed the half on a 7-2 run to go up four. They took their biggest lead of the game at seven just over a minute into the second frame. They led by a possession or two for a good ten minutes before the Lady Reds tied it at 65 with 8:12 left. Small leads were traded until less than a minute to go when the Cardinals tied it. But the Lady Reds got the go-ahead bucket with 17 seconds left and the Cardinals failed to answer at the other end. After all was said and done, the game was tied 13 separate times and saw 16 lead changes.

Key Stats

• NCC: 18-26 FT (69.2%). In a game where the largest lead was that 7-point North Central edge, hitting your freebies is a major factor. Percentage wise, this is around what the Cardinals have shot from the stripe for the season. But as the game wound down, they had chances. In the final three minutes, they had 6 free throws and only made three. Considering how the game ended... you tell me how big those free throws were.
• Maryssa Cladis (NCC): 4-9 FG (all 3PT), 2-2 FT; 14 pts, 3 reb (2 ofr), 3 ast, 1 stl. Looking at box scores, it was hard to pick one person to single out, but Maryssa had a good game again. She shot well from beyond the arc, but they all came in the first half. Hitting even one three later in the game might have changed how it ended.
• Stephanie Kuzmanic (CAR): 6-18 FG (0-3 3PT), 5-6 FT; 17 pts, 3 reb (1 ofr), 6 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl. I could have sworn she shot way better than 33 percent. It seemed like later in the game, she could find her way into the lane and just chuck something up, yet see it somehow go in. She's fun to watch, hence why she's the two time defending CCIW Player of the Week. Except on the last possession when she got the ball down on the baseline, pushed off a Cardinal defender, and hit a 14-footer that turned out to be the game winner.

North Central System Watch

• NCC 3PT: 12-43 (27.9%). This was a much more mortal night compared to recent games for the Cardinals. The starting five did nothing (a combined 2-22, with both makes by Kim Wilson). The shots were mostly decent looks, but there were a few very deep ones that I wonder about a bit. If they were closer to their season average, this is another one that turns into a Cardinal win.
• CAR Turnovers: 26. Despite Kuzmanic having a good game as seen above, she did turn it over seven times. That 26 was a high number, with a couple charges to the Cardinals' credit, and they also picked up a ten-second call for the second straight game. A majority of the turnovers were forced though, as the Cardinals had 16 steals. The leader: who else? Bobbi Johns paced the team with three, and four other Cardinals each had two.

CCIW Watch

• North Park (10-8, 3-4) @ Illinois Wesleyan (13-6, 7-1): POSTPONED.
• Elmhurst (11-8, 3-5) @ Millikin (8-11, 2-6): POSTPONED
• Wheaton (15-4, 6-3) 68, @ Augustana (5-15, 1-8) 63

Final Thoughts
I've seen some tough losses in my time working for North Central. The North Park game from last year is still the worst to me. This one is close though. I talked to Coach Roof after the game, and she said she was really disappointed in how this one ended. It's a game the Cardinals should have won on multiple fronts. If they hit more free throws toward the end, they probably win this game. Taking that away, the officiating was terrible for much of this game, but in particular on the last play where the officials missed a blatant pushoff by Kuzmanic on her game-winning basket. But even with that, the Cardinals had time to go down and answer with a basket of their own. They looked panicked on that rush though and turned it over. Coach Roof had a timeout left, and I'm not sure why she didn't call it there to draw up a play. Most of her timeouts are to get substitutions out, but this was a situation where she should have. In a game where just about everything could go wrong, it did go wrong. Too bad.

I don't think the Cardinals have much of a shot anymore to sneak in the back way to the conference tournament, though stranger things have happened. They only have a pair of home games left, including one on Wednesday against Millikin. That will be my last home game of the year as I have another commitment on Senior Night (February 15th). Hopefully though Wednesday can be one last shot at a back door into the tournament.