Four teams advanced from the double round robin portion and get to face teams a third time for more marbles. Whoever wins two games this weekend gets one of 44 automatic bids into the NCAA Tournament. If any of the losing teams are lucky, they will get one of the 20 at large berths into the field of 64.
This isn't a look at NCAA Tournament pictures; that will come later this week when the final public regional rankings drop. Instead, I'm going to take a look at the venue for the CCIW Tournament and each of the four teams that will be playing this weekend.
2015 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament
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| Photo by Wheaton College Athletic Department |
King Arena- Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)
I have been to King Arena twice, both times during my tenure at WONC. It's a very nice facility, and the Wheaton fans provide quite the atmosphere for basketball games. It's a suitable site for the tournament; this is Wheaton's third time hosting the event, and the first time since 2007.
Semifinal #1
Record: 21-4 (10-4); 3rd tournament appearance (1st since 2013), 0 titles
This is the best season North Central has had in probably 30 years going back to those '83 and '84 teams that did a ton of damage. This year's Cardinal team proved that The System is not just a gimmick; with the right personnel (which they have), it can be a winning style of play. The Cardinals won their first 13 games of the year before falling to Wheaton, then went 8-3 the rest of the way, losing to Wheaton again and on the road at Carthage and Elmhurst. Minor road struggles aside, this team is a deadly one. The Cardinals boast the CCIW's leading scorer in Tess Godhardt (18.1 PPG on 59% shooting) and a team that only shot 27.2 percent from beyond the arc this season, but did so at such a high volume that the low percentage almost doesn't matter. Sophomore Jamie Cuny hit 34 percent of her threes during the season, but shot 38 percent during CCIW play from beyond the arc. Kim Wilson has also slowly brought her three point percentage up, as she's at 26.8 percent for the season but hit just shy of 35 percent during CCIW play. The Cardinal press is also a threat, as they force an average of almost 29 turnovers per game, while Cuny provides great safety help after blocking a school-record 85 shots this season (and she's just four away from breaking the all-time record), but the tradeoff comes in the form of transition layups. Keeping those in check to avoid huge opposing runs is the key. If you let this Cardinal team hang around, they're going to make you pay for it.
Record: 16-9 (9-5); 5th tournament appearance (2nd consecutive), 0 titles
The Blue Jays are back in the tournament and provide a huge rivalry game for the first semi on Friday; these teams split their season series and the Tess Godhardt defection provided the spark to really bring this rivalry to the forefront. Elmhurst actually matches up pretty well with the Cardinals due to their frontcourt presence. They boast a pair of double digit scorers in Fiona McMahon (16.4 PPG on 53.8% shooting) and Mikaela Eppard (13.8 PPG on 53.1% shooting), and this is a team that shot 31.2 percent from outside, paced by Claire Monroe (39.8%) and Kalia Summerlin (35.2%). In Elmhurst's loss at North Central this year, they uncharacteristically missed their free throws, shooting about ten percent below their season average and lost by three. If they can continue to get scoring from McMahon and Eppard against the press, they can pull the upset and play for a conference title.
Semifinal #2
Record: 22-3 (12-2); 11th tournament appearance (5th consecutive), 3 titles
Wheaton spent the entire 2014-15 season in the D3hoops.com Top 25 and was always at least tied for first place in the CCIW from start to finish. The Thunder put out a lineup that featured three scorers averaging double figures, led by Ellie Zeller's 13 points per game on 46 percent shooting (and 36.2 percent from three). Katie McDaniels averaged 12.8 points per game in 22 games, much of it from the free throw line where she shot 81.2 percent, and center Hannah Considine averaged 11.5 points per game on 53.8 percent shooting. As a whole, Wheaton shot 32.8 percent from three this season, paced by Chantal Meachem at 39.9 percent (who killed the Cardinals in their lone home loss this season). The Thunder did not lose at King Arena this season, which made their regular season title mean that much more. This team is so balanced and has so many threats, you have to play a near-perfect game to knock them off. Clearly, they're the favorite to get the automatic bid.
Record: 15-10 (8-6); 12th tournament appearance (10th consecutive), 2 titles
The two-time defending CCIW champions made it back once again, but this time they're in as the four seed after getting to host the tournament two years in a row. They didn't let losing basically their entire starting backcourt from last year bother them, as they retooled around a strong frontcourt. Alexis Hahn had a great year, averaging 15.2 points per game on 49.7 percent shooting, while Taylor Boardman shot 60.3 percent from the field en route to averaging 11.8 points per game. Carthage also boasts plenty of deadly shooters who hit 34 percent from deep for the season, led by Kasey Kleiner at 41 percent (best mark in the conference) and Erin Thomas at 35 percent. That inside-outside balance made the Lady Reds a dangerous team, but they had a rather alarming 430 turnovers this season. That could doom them, especially against Wheaton. They did beat the Thunder on February 14th up in Kenosha, so they can win, but it'll be tough in Wheaton.
Overall Predictions
That NCC-Elmhurst matchup... man. The Cardinals rebounded nicely on Senior Night to clinch the #2 seed, but Elmhurst is a tough matchup. I think coming off the Senior Night high, the Cardinals win and get a third shot at Wheaton, who will take care of business against Carthage. After that... I don't know. The Cardinals gave Wheaton a hell of a fight at King Arena back in January, while the Merner rematch did not end well. There's no way the Thunder will play that well again. Ultimately, as much as I hate to say it, I think Wheaton grabs the CCIW's automatic bid. I said it early last week: home court matters.
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