Game Notes: (WBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (2/9/19)

Final Score
Wheaton 68, NCC 59 (2OT)

Game Summary
This one started well, as the Thunder (20-4, 14-1) grabbed an early lead but weren't able to pull away as the Cardinals (7-16, 5-9) kept pace. Wheaton would only go up four in the first before the Cardinals closed the frame on a 6-0 run. North Central took a 20-16 lead before a Thunder 7-0 run flipped the script again, but then the Cardinals played maybe the best stretch of basketball I've seen from them all year, going on an absurd 16-0 run over the next five plus minutes, taking a 36-25 lead into the break. But the layoff hurt the Cardinals as they went ice cold, missing their first seven shots of the third quarter before finally getting a layup. But despite the cold spell, the Thunder couldn't really take advantage, only cutting the lead to six before said layup, and only managing to get within four by the end of the third quarter. The Thunder finally regrabbed the lead with 6:39 to play, but the Cardinals came back down and tied it the next trip down. Defenses buckled down the rest of the way, with the Thunder scoring on their next possession, but no further, and the Cardinals tied it with two and a half to go. The Cardinals had a chance to take the lead inside of a minute, but a horrific travel call gave the Thunder the ball. Yet the Thunder lost control, North Central recovered with just a couple seconds left, but weren't granted a timeout, giving us free basketball. The Thunder jumped out to a four point lead in the extra session, but the Cardinals weren't done, answering back with five straight to steal a lead, but a short lived one as the Thunder got it right back and pushed it to two with 19 seconds left. But Tyonne Howard hit a clutch basket with eight to play, and the Cardinals survived a couple close looks to force a second overtime. In the second one though, the Thunder enforced their will in the paint and finally pulled away to secure a conference championship.

Key Players

• Hannah Frazier (WHE): 8-22 FG (0-4 3PT), 7-8 FT; 23 pts, 12 reb (1 off), 8 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl. Now that's a stat line. Frazier is probably going to win the Most Outstanding Player award in the CCIW this year, and deservedly so. But the Cardinals did an outstanding job on her, holding her to a 4-15 line at one point before she finally took over late. Even with a struggling shooting night, she still found a way to make an impact.
• Jordan Myroth (WHE): 8-14 FG, 2-4 FT; 18 pts, 11 reb (5 off), 6 ast, 2 blk. Myroth had a ridiculous night as well. She drove baseline a bunch, often times not even going up, but she made shots when she needed to and did a great job finding the open teammate.
• Lyndsay Brennan (NCC): 7-15 FG (1-1 3PT), 0-2 FT; 15 pts, 12 reb (3 off), 3 stl. Brennan was probably the best player on the floor for the Cardinals tonight, but she did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 11 and struggling much of the rest of the way. She did a phenomenal job on the boards though amongst a very tall Wheaton lineup.

Key Stats

• NCC: 2-8 FT (25.0%). I have a lot to say about this topic, but hold that thought. This hurts; you can't shoot this poorly at the line against a team of this caliber. They will make you pay, and they did. The Cardinals didn't get to the line in the first half (again, hold that thought), went 0-4 in the second half, and split the remaining four in the extra sessions. Even one made free throw in the second half avoids all of this. Darn it all.
• WHE: 34 points in the paint. I'd almost argue this should have been higher. Wheaton had a distinct height advantage in this one, and couldn't entirely take advantage. North Central played outstanding defense considering for much of this game, but as time went on Wheaton just went into the post and took advantage of the size mismatch. Tip your cap.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ IWU 83 (19-4, 12-2), ELM 62 (9-14, 5-9)
• Illinois Wesleyan clinches the #2 seed in the CCIW Tournament
• @ AUG 62 (13-11, 7-8), MIL 53 (8-15, 4-10)
• Augustana clinches a CCIW Tournament berth
• CAR 63 (15-8, 9-5), @ NPU 51 (8-15, 4-10)
• Carthage clinches the #3 seed in the CCIW Tournament
• Bye: CRL (9-14, 4-10)

Final Thoughts

Okay, you held that thought from above about North Central and free throws? Here it comes. I hate to be that guy... but I think this was the worst officiated game I've ever seen. North Central was whistled for 21 fouls in this game. Considering it was in double overtime, and they were forced to foul late, not terrible. Wheaton, by contrast, was called for seven all game, and just five in regulation. They didn't commit a single foul the entire first quarter, and while I don't recall any specific plays where they missed something in that frame, that's a little alarming. But for that trend to continue throughout the entire game is alarming. Combine that with the aforementioned horrific travel call on Tyonne Howard late in regulation, plus the Cardinals not being granted a timeout in the waning seconds of regulation (though to be fair, it was loud) and you have, again, the worst officiated game I've ever seen. The Cardinals effectively played 5-on-8 all night. I hate to be the guy that makes this complaint, but I firmly believe it after tonight.

Now that said... horrific officiating wasn't the reason the Cardinals lost. They had chances; you can't shoot 24 percent in the second half against a top 25 team and expect to win. Wheaton, for what it's worth, didn't play particularly well tonight either, but they played well enough to lock up a conference title. It's their 21st straight win over North Central, spanning the entire decade. But this was a sign that the Cardinals have the pieces to hang with basically anyone. Whether a healthy Alanna Newsome would have made a difference, I don't know. But this is a game that will to some degree haunt me.

Things don't get any easier for North Central, as they round out their home schedule on Wednesday by welcoming in Illinois Wesleyan. The Cardinals only lost by 5 in Bloomington earlier in the year, then proceeded to rattle off four wins in five tries coming into tonight. They'll need to play with the kind of intensity they did tonight, but also hopefully a better shooting night.