Game Notes: (WBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1/31/15)

Final Score
Wheaton 109, NCC 60

Game Summary
In the biggest women's game at Merner in 30 years, the Thunder (17-2, 7-1) came out rolling. The Cardinals (18-1, 7-1) couldn't get much going on offense, but managed to make it as close as a 15-9 deficit in the first half before Wheaton went on a 22-7 run to open up a 20 point lead. The Cardinals got some offense going, but trailed 62-31 at the break. The second half went much the same way, as the Cardinals weren't able to bridge the gap. Wheaton slowly called off the dogs as the game concluded.

Key Stats

• Wheaton: 27-46 FG (7-12 3PT) in the first half. That's... That's just incredible. There were plenty of layups to be had, but for several minutes, every jumper was falling for the Thunder. They regressed to the mean somewhat in the second half, but still. Hannah Considine finished with 26 points on 12-19 shooting, Moriah Reeves hit ten of her 13 shots (both layups and jumpers), and Chantal Meachem hit six of her nine threes for 18 points.
• Wheaton: Outrebounded NCC 69-36 (Led in offensive rebounds 25-14). That'll do it too. It was really bad at halftime; NCC was getting outrebounded 33-10, and Wheaton had 14 offensive boards. You won't win that way. Considine finished with 15 rebounds, including 9 on the offensive glass.
• Corrine Rowe (NCC): 5-11 FG (2-7 3PT); 12 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 3 ast. Rowe probably had the best night out of anyone in terms of getting to the basket and scoring, tying for the team lead with Tess Godhardt, who went 6-10 from the field.

North Central System Watch

• Wheaton Turnovers: 18. They actually tied NCC in this department, throwing a few passes away, but ultimately doing well against the press. The Cardinals only had five steals in the game, with nobody notching more than one.
• NCC 3PT: 6-44 (13.6%). The six makes are a season low, and makes it two games in a row of sub-20 percent shooting from out there. Rowe was the only one with multiple makes, and several players went 0-3 or 0-4 from outside.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 6. Bobbi Johns drew a pair early in the first half, Anita Sterling drew two in the second half, and Tess Godhardt and Therese Pettersson drew one apiece. Pettersson's (if memory serves) was an iffy one that we got away with, but it was the one area the Cardinals excelled in.

Around the CCIW

• @ Elmhurst 72 (12-8, 5-4), Millikin 49 (13-7, 4-5)
• @ North Park 66 (12-8, 4-5), Augustana 44 (7-13, 1-8)
• @ Carthage 68 (12-8, 5-4), Illinois Wesleyan 57 (8-12, 2-7)

Final Thoughts
Not gonna lie... this one hurt. I was talking to Lauren Hernandez before the game, and she said they were ready. I think they were, but Wheaton was ready as well. It makes the 14 point loss at Wheaton look more like an aberration than a sign of the tide of the CCIW turning. That said, Wheaton's game last night was about as perfectly played as possible. There really wasn't much the Cardinals could have done about it.

Big picture-wise, this loss likely means that Wheaton will end up hosting the CCIW Tournament on the 27th and 28th. The Thunder are up a game in the CCIW standings, and clinched the tiebreaker with the Cardinals, effectively making it a two-game lead. As for the national rankings, Wheaton will surely move up, while the Cardinals will probably drop a few spots for losing by this much.

I'm sure the Cardinals will be fine overall; it's just one game. They get the last place Augustana Vikings at Merner on Wednesday to try and right the ship.