Game Notes: (WBK): Illinois Wesleyan University @ North Central College (2/13/19)

Final Score
IWU 78, NCC 68

Game Summary
This game got off to an interesting start as the Cardinals (7-17, 5-10) and Titans (20-4, 13-2) traded leads in the early going, with North Central taking an 18-13 edge late in the frame with some solid three point shooting before the Titans bounced back with some three point shooting of their own, but the Cardinals boasted a 20-19 lead after one. The second quarter saw more of the same as the two teams stayed even, going into the locker room tied at 31. But once again it was the third quarter that proved the difference, as the Titans scored six points in the opening minute-plus, forcing a North Central timeout to try and stop the bleeding, but while the Cardinals were able to cut the lead back to four a couple times, the Titans embarked on the decisive 11-0 run midway through the frame and led by as many as 18 before going into the final frame up 55-39. The deficit was too much for the Cardinals, though they did cut it to single digits a couple times before reaching the final ten point margin.

Key Players

• Maddie Merritt (IWU): 8-14 FG (1-3 3PT), 9-10 FT; 26 pts, 12 reb (7 off), 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk. It was another night of filling the stat sheet for Merritt, but she was once again brilliant at the line. In the Titans' two games against North Central, Merritt went 24-26 from the stripe, but she also made a ton of trouble on the glass for the Cardinals.
• Ashley Schneider (IWU): 7-13 FG (1-1 3PT), 3-6 FT; 18 pts, 6 reb (3 off), 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk. I'm trying to remember whether it was Merritt or Schneider, but one of the two of them prompted a comment from our official scorer about how nice her touch on her jumpers was. Given they had similar lines, I honestly can't remember, but Schneider was a nice complementary piece in this one.
• Allison Pearson (NCC): 7-14 FG (4-8 3PT), 4-4 FT; 22 pts, 6 reb (4 off), 2 ast. I think Pearson is one of the freshmen on this squad that is least talked about relative to her importance. She put up a career high in this one with an excellent shooting night, and is one of the best free throw shooters on the team. She should be another fun player to watch develop over the next couple years.

Key Stats

• NCC: 8 pts in 3rd quarter. Just days after managing only four points in the third quarter against Wheaton, this frame did the Cardinals in once again as the offense went cold, going just 4-17 (23.5%) for the quarter. That's not going to get it done against the cream of the CCIW. For the season now, the Cardinals have a -79 point differential in the third quarter, their worst quarter of the year.
• IWU: 16-31 FG in 2nd half (51.6%). I mentioned North Central going cold in the third quarter, but there's two sides, and the Titans took advantage of some size, scoring 14 of their 24 points in the frame in the paint and notching 30 in the paint for the game. Capitalizing on layups is key... and it's something North Central can struggle with sometimes.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ NPU 62 (9-15, 5-10), ELM 58 (9-15, 5-10)
• CAR 65 (16-8, 10-5), @ CRL 59 (9-15, 4-11)
• Carroll is eliminated from the CCIW Tournament
• WHE (20-4, 14-1) @ MIL (8-15, 4-10) POSTPONED
• Rescheduled for Thursday 2/14 at 7pm
• Bye: AUG (13-11, 7-8)
• With NCC's loss, Augustana clinches the #4 seed in the CCIW Tournament
• MBK: NCC 85 (19-5, 11-4), @ CAR 54 (8-16, 3-12)
• NCC clinches the #2 seed in the CCIW Tournament

Final Thoughts

I talked to head coach Maggie McCloskey-Bax briefly after the game, and I guess Titan coach Mia Smith told her postgame that she thinks the Cardinals are the most improved team in the CCIW. I have to agree, and I'm sure Maggie agrees as well, but we both wish that it had resulted in more than just five conference wins. Despite the loss though, the Cardinals are still in the thick of the hunt for a CCIW Tournament berth. I'll touch on the scenarios tomorrow with the Wheaton-Millikin game in the books as that will help narrow down the possibilities.