Game Notes: University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire @ North Central College(11/29/14)

Final Score

NCC 101, UWEC 89

Game Summary

Things started fairly well for the Cardinals (4-0), who were able to combine the inside and outside game to take an early 7-4 lead. Then the Blugolds (3-3) went on a long run to go up 16-7. North Central worked its way back from there, often closing the gap to two or even one before the Blugolds would reestablish control, taking a 42-38 lead into the break. The Blugolds came out very strong in the second half and within about five minutes were padding the lead while the Cardinals panicked, allowing 17 unanswered points to go up 64-45. A timeout by Eau Claire stopped the bleeding and allowed North Central to gather itself for a comeback and slowly ate into the deficit before taking an 85-84 lead with about five minutes to go. Timely threes and good free throw shooting sealed the deal. 

Key Stats

• NCC Free Throws: 19-24 (79.2%). What has been a weakness in years past has become a strength, at least through four games. This helped keep them in the game when things were dire and helped to put the game away when the comeback was complete.
• Tess Godhardt (NCC): 13-20 FG (0-1 3PT), 8-10 FT; 34 pts, 3 reb (1 off). After slacking off on Wednesday (kidding, but 10 points is her season low), she had a monster performance today. She was a monster in the low post, terrorizing the Blugolds defense and keeping things even until the Blugold run, then keying the comeback. She's now averaging 24.5 points through four games this year.
• Courtney Lewis (UWEC): 7-11 FG, 3-3 FT; 17 pts, 11 reb (1 off),10 ast, 1 stl. I didn't realize until I looked at the box score that Lewis had a triple-double, the second opponent to pick one up against the Cardinals. She was a threat primarily in the first half, though she did also score some during the 17-0 run.

NCC System Watch

• UWEC Turnovers: 24. Eau Claire only had nine at halftime (as did NCC), but they started to come apart during NCC's comeback. The Cardinals finished the day with 12 steals, led by Bobbi Johns' four. 
• NCC 3PT: 10-42 (23.8%). The attempts are way down from the Tip Off Tournament, but the percentages still need to go up a bit. Maryssa Cladis had the best numbers of anyone (3-4). Even so, the threes they did hit were well timed ones. 
• NCC Charges Drawn: 2. I didn't catch who it was, but the Cardinals did draw one in the first half. They also picked one up during the second half comeback, but I wasn't in position to see who drew that one either. Hopefully Coach Roof has been keeping track. 

Final Thoughts

After the double overtime game last weekend, this was a much less stressful encounter, despite the huge deficit. It was much less taxing on my voice, even though as the comeback was taking place I was getting excited. These girls deserve credit for not giving up today. They did the hard work. I just did all I could to turn the tide.

The Cardinals hit the road for most of the rest of December, including the next two in California. They'll be back home on the 19th.