Game Notes: (WBK) Carroll University @ North Central College (1/31/18)

Final Score
Carroll 60, NCC 55

Game Summary
This one started out well enough for the Cardinals (4-16, 2-9), who fought off a decent start from the Pioneers (6-13, 3-7) with some timely threes and solid free throw shooting and took a 17-12 lead after one quarter. North Central would lead by as many as seven early in the second, but the Pioneers wouldn't go away, cutting the lead to one a couple times before settling into the half down 30-26. The Cardinals came out of the gate strong in the second half, scoring five straight points to push the lead to nine, but Carroll went on a 13-4 run to tie the game at 39. A three gave the Cardinals the lead right back, but they only took a 42-41 advantage into the final frame. The teams traded advantages a bit in the early going, but the Cardinals seemed in control with a six point lead with just under five minutes to play and a five point lead with just under three to go on a Haydn Braun layup. But that was all the Cardinal offense could muster as Rachel Van Sluys scored five straight to tie the game with about a minute and a half to play, and Emily Majerus hit the go ahead three with 40 seconds to play to give the Pioneers the season sweep.

Key Stats

• Brittney Wald (CRL): 9-19 FG (2-3 3PT), 3-5 FT; 23 pts, 12 reb (4 off), 1 ast, 1 stl. Wald was the Carroll offense for much of this one. She scored 12 of Carroll's first 19 points before starting to be contained a little bit, but she still got too many good looks. Her 12 rebounds were also a game high... and she's a 5'6" guard.
• Rachel Van Sluys (CRL): 5-13 FG, 5-8 FT; 15 pts, 10 reb (5 off), 2 stl. Van Sluys missed a significant chunk of the season due to injury and this was her first game back, and she made sure to make the most of it. She came off the bench to ease her way back in and didn't really do anything in the first half (just two rebounds), but came alive in the second half. She scored seven of Carroll's last ten points that sealed the game for them, including the tying basket and the clinching free throws.
• Maya Walls (NCC): 4-7 FG (2-2 3PT); 10 pts, 4 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl. I had a bit of a hard time deciding which Cardinal to highlight, but Maya had a decent game. She could have done a better job rebounding, but was a pretty good part of the offense, getting to the basket a couple times and hitting a couple threes, while making a couple great plays on defense.

North Central "System" Watch

• Carroll Turnovers: 16. This number isn't good enough, especially considering the Cardinals had 19 on their end. North Central did a pretty good job jumping passing lanes though as they logged 12 steals, paced by four from Michaela Reedy, plus Wall's three. They also forced a shot clock violation.
• NCC 3PT: 9-28 (32.1%). It's rare for the Cardinals to shoot this well percentage wise from deep and lose the game. They got some well timed threes throughout the game, but couldn't hit a tying effort late after Majerus' go-ahead bomb. The percentages were also pretty consistent across the halves (4-12 in the first half, 5-16 in the second).
• NCC FT: 6-9 (66.7%). I can't really complain about this part. The Cardinals hit their first three and started 4-5 at the line before regressing to the mean and going 2-4 the rest of the way. They got to the line fairly early and I would have liked to see that trend continue, but it just wasn't meant to be. All in all though, this raises their season average a little bit.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ IWU 99 (18-2, 11-0), AUG 70 (12-8, 5-6)
• Illinois Wesleyan clinches a CCIW Tournament berth
• @ WHE 54 (16-4, 9-2), CAR 35 (14-6, 7-4)
• @ ELM 55 (12-8, 8-3), MIL 53 (5-14, 0-10)
• Millikin is eliminated from CCIW Tournament contention
• Bye: NPU (8-11, 3-7)
• MBK: NCC 79 (15-5, 8-3), @ CAR 75 (11-8, 6-4)

Final Thoughts

Photo from WONC Sports

One important note to take from this game is that the Cardinals weren't at full strength. Bekah Foley was on crutches last night and I don't know whether she'll be good to go or not. There was also late doubt about Mayson Whipple, who participated in warmups, but did not play last night with a hamstring. I also don't know whether this is a long term injury or not.

Despite being down their best player and one of their better freshmen, you have to beat the bad teams at home. Carroll isn't that good, but my sense of deja vu proved to come true as the Cardinals went ice cold in the final minutes and once again, Carroll took advantage. They celebrated quite a bit after the win, which I don't blame them for. It's their first win in Naperville this century and for quite the young team, it's a confidence booster going forward. But for the Cardinals, it's an incredibly frustrating loss. I know it was for me.

Looking at the big picture, Illinois Wesleyan locked up the formality of a CCIW Tournament berth, which we pretty much all knew was going to happen. Their biggest threat to a 16-0 conference record is next Wednesday when they head to Wheaton, but it's all but a foregone conclusion that the tournament will be in Bloomington. The Cardinals aren't mathematically eliminated, but a loss Saturday to North Park will be the death blow to a dismal season. It will be Senior Night however, as I bid farewell to the final players remaining from the legendary 2014-15 season.