NCC 105, Augustana 82
Game Summary
After dropping in the rankings to #24 following the bad loss to Wheaton, the Cardinals (19-2, 8-2) struggled to hit shots out of the gate. The Vikings (7-14, 1-9) ended up opening the fray a minute and a half in. The teams traded leads for much of the half before North Central took command thanks to a ton of free throws, and carried a 50-37 lead into the break. The Cardinals started hitting shots in the second half and began pulling away, topping 100 with a few minutes left, but Augie made it closer than it was with some garbage time buckets.
Key Stats
- Augie: Called for 33 fouls to NCC's 26. This stat was too important to be left as just a footnote. I don't think it was an intentional imbalance, just that the Cardinals got to the basket a ton. Augie had 18 fouls in the first half to NCC's 12. This forced 69 free throws between the two teams (NCC was 29-40, Augie 15-29). The first half was so whistle-happy that the refs even asked how many they'd called when they came to the table at halftime.
- Tess Godhardt (NCC): 9-15 FG, 9-11 FT; 27 pts, 8 reb (5 off), 3 stl. The CCIW's second leading scorer had a great game. Tess got several open looks at layups and probably had four or five "and-1's" to lead all scorers while doing a nice job on the glass.
- Marissa Pezzopane (AUG): 13-23 FG, 1-2 FT; 27 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl. The conference's third leading scorer played well, getting plenty of open looks from The System, but she was limited by foul trouble. She had three in the first half and actually started the second half on the bench, playing only 22 minutes.
- Augie Turnovers: 26. This number seems a little low, but all the fouls didn't help. Even so, they had issues taking care of the ball as a whopping 18 of the turnovers came on Cardinal steals, with Godhardt and Maryssa Cladis each notching three to lead the way while five others had two. The Cardinals also drew a ten second call, something they haven't done a ton of this year.
- NCC 3PT: 10-49 (20.4%). Overall... not the best day, but it stemmed from an ice cold start. It took almost ten minutes before Cladis finally hit one. They finished 2-23 in the first half before regressing to the mean in the second half.
- NCC Charges Drawn: 1. Anita Sterling was at it again, picking one up fairly early in the game. I'm not sure who leads the team, but she's up there.
- @ Illinois Wesleyan 83 (9-12, 3-7), Millikin 76 (13-8, 4-6),
- @ x-Wheaton 63 (19-2, 9-1), North Park 48 (12-9, 4-6)
- @ Elmhurst 64 (13-8, 6-4), Carthage 58 (12-9, 5-5)
- x- Team has clinched a berth in the CCIW Tournament
With this win and losses by Millikin and North Park, the Cardinals have all but locked up a bid to the CCIW Tournament, as kooky tiebreaker nonsense could wipe them out if they lose out. With either a win or a North Park loss (since the Cardinals hold the tiebreaker over Millikin), NCC is in for the second time in three years, and makes this season a resounding success no matter what happens.
The Cardinals face a tough stretch in the next couple weeks as, to quote Coach Roof before I left last night, "We have to do this on our own now!" Three straight road games await, beginning with Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday. Coach Roof said she wants to take at least two of those road games, something that's reasonable, but tough, given the nature of the Gauntlet.
Next week we'll have one final Wednesday home game as the men take on Carthage. Meanwhile, the first regional ranking should drop, and I'll analyze that as well. Good luck Cardinals on your trip to Bloomington on Saturday!
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