Game Notes: (WBK) Millikin University @ North Central College (1/27/16)

Final Score
NCC 104, Millikin 65

Game Summary
The Cardinals (10-9, 4-4) got off to a quick start with a Jamie Cuny three on their first possession, but they followed that up with allowing six straight points to the Big Blue (7-12, 0-8). The Cardinal offense picked right back up, using a three-heavy attack to take a 28-13 lead after one quarter. The barrage continued into the second quarter as Millikin had a little more success on offense, but not much, and the Cardinals took a 48-28 halftime lead. The Big Blue never threatened in the second half, but the Cardinals kept draining their threes, and earned Big Macs with just over four minutes to go in the game.

Key Stats

• Jamie Cuny (NCC): 4-6 FG (3-5 3PT), 2-2 FT; 13 pts, 12 reb (4 off), 2 ast, 3 blk. Just another night at the office, but it's good to see Jamie hitting her threes again. She's had a down year shooting from outside, but has had good games the last two outings, and she's also become a dominant rebounder. With six games left, she's probably not challenging her single season blocks record from last year, but she's already got the second highest single season total in school history.
• Anita Sterling (NCC): 5-11 FG (4-9 3PT); 14 pts, 8 reb (4 off), 3 ast, 3 stl. Her two offensive fouls for lowering her shoulder while driving notwithstanding, this was a pretty good night for Anita. She's also been struggling from outside lately, but hit her shots last night while helping to lead the charge on the offensive glass. She spent a sizable chunk of the second half with four fouls, but played smart from there to stay in the game.
• Alyssa Saklak (MIL): 6-14 FG, 0-2 FT; 12 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl. Saklak is Millikin's best player, and after she put up a 23-15 line in Decatur, the Cardinals did a phenomenal job holding her in check last night. She struggled to finish around the rim at times, got into some foul trouble, and was a non-factor on the glass. To her credit, she only turned the ball over twice after coughing it up 11 times in the first meeting (including a whopping six or seven travels).

North Central System Watch

• Millikin Turnovers: 24. Millikin took much better care of the ball than they did last time (they had 37 in their home matchup), but still coughed it up a lot. The Cardinals had 13 steals, with Lauren Hernandez and Anita Sterling leading the way with three apiece. North Central also forced a ten second call in the opening quarter, though it wouldn't have mattered because Anita Sterling picked off the desperation heave to get the ball across the time line right at the whistle.
• NCC 3PT: 23-61 (37.7%). In one of the better totals for the season, the Cardinals shot very well in the opening frame, hitting nine threes. They were at the 23 mark about halfway through the final quarter before Coach Roof called off the dogs. Their season high is 25, and they are tied for the NCAA record of 26 in a game, achieved last year.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 1. For the second straight game, Anita Sterling failed to draw a charge, which is weird. Fortunately, Therese Pettersson was right there for one in the second quarter. Sterling still far and away leads the team in this category though.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• North Park 59 (14-5, 5-3), @ Carthage 57 (7-12, 3-5)
• Wheaton 69 (14-4, 6-2), @ Illinois Wesleyan 53 (11-8, 6-2)
• @ Elmhurst 69 (11-8, 5-3), Augustana 48 (8-11, 3-5)

Final Thoughts
Coming back home has been a boon to the Cardinals, who have won the last two games pretty handily. The win also bumps them up to fifth in the CCIW and keeps them just one game back of a tournament berth. All in all, this was a great win, with the shooting coming to life once again and the press doing its job.

North Central has a tough test coming up, and I personally have revenge on my mind with Wheaton coming to town on Saturday. The Thunder came into our house last year and despite my and the team's best efforts, put on a beat down of epic proportions. The Cardinals hung tough with the Thunder at Wheaton a few weeks ago, and home court definitely means something, so I'm hoping that we can finally get a win against the only CCIW school the Cardinals have yet to beat in the System Era.