29 and Oh Yeah!

Greg Chadwick dons his cleverly updated t-shirt at Saturday's game. More tape needed after Saturday's result!

I have some good news. Check that, I have sweet news: The IWU women's basketball team is headed to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in history.

More sweet news: The Titans advanced with an 80-63 victory over 9th-ranked UW-Eau Claire, controlling the game from the outset against the best team they've played in quite a while.

And more: IWU will host the next two rounds of the tournament, this Friday and Saturday. They'll take on 4th-ranked UW-Stevens Point Friday at 8pm, and if they win, they'll face either 6th-ranked Wash U. or unranked St. Benedict Saturday night (these two teams play at 6pm Friday).

Saturday against UW-Eau Claire, the Titans shot 50% from the field compared to 40% for the Blugolds (really? The Blugolds? They should have been penalized five points just for their uncreative name. I guess they figure it's creative because they took out the "e."), and forced 20 turnovers. But perhaps most impressive was that IWU put up 80 points against a team that prides itself on defense and allowed just 51 points per game this season. The Titans dictated the tempo and made one of the better defensive teams in the nation look below average.

Claire Sheehan led the Titans in points and rebounds with 17 and 8, and Christina Solari and Mallory Heydorn put in 13 each. Stacey Arlis provided 22 strong minutes off the bench, and Kylie Castans added eight points of her own, including two threes.

The Titans are obviously a phenomenal team--you don't go 29-0 by accident--but the CCIW had such a down year that it was difficult to know how they'd perform against a top team. For me, Saturday's game proved that IWU is an elite team and that they should be able to play with anyone. For that reason, I can't wait until Friday night. Look for a preview of this weekend's games later this week.

The Titans should be extremely proud of what they've accomplished this season. They're in uncharted territory, and they rightfully drew a combined 3,750 fans for their first two tournament games. It should be a great atmosphere next weekend, and

GO TITANS!

Thrilling Thirty-Two

There's no name for the second round of the tournament, so I made up my own. I've included some pictures from the first round game at the Shirk Center. It was a great atmosphere with an announced attendance of 1,800.

IWU advanced to the Thrilling Thirty-Two (aka second round) of the NCAA tournament Friday night with an 80-51 victory over Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops, who finished the season 17-12, are a decent team but clearly didn't belong on the same court as the #1 ranked Titans. It was a 39-28 Titan lead at halftime, but the Titans came out swinging in the second half, starting on a 22-4 run to all but seal the deal.

Just to give you an idea how good this team is: Despite this being the first round of the national tournament, bench players Sarah Cotner, Jessica Hinterlong, Karen Solari, Stacey Arlis, Amanda Murray and Brittany Hasselbring all played at least six minutes. In all, 15 Titans played in the game.

IWU shot 53% compared to just 31% for Ohio Wesleyan. Four Titans were in double figures: Heydorn 17, Solari 13, Sheehan 12 and Cotner 11. IWU advances to play presumably the toughest foe they've faced in over three months, as they take on 9th ranked UW-Eau Claire Saturday night at 7pm.

The second round game will be a fascinating clash of styles. Eau Claire defeated DePauw 62-50 Friday, and allows just 51 points per game. They have a 6-5 center and size all around, and thus prefer to play a half court game as opposed to the Titans who love to run. Whichever team can force the other to play their style will most likely prevail. Hopefully the Titans can exploit Eau Claire's zone defense with a strong shooting performance, as well as force the action downcourt to take advantage of their superior athleticism. The Titans will also hope Christina Solari doesn't get into foul trouble against her 6-5 opponent, as they don't have another significant frontcourt presence to take on the 6-5 Ellen Plendl if Solari has to sit.

Go Titans!

Bishops and Tigers and Blugolds, oh my!

It's a battle of Wesleyans Friday at the Shirk Center, as the IWU women's basketball team takes on the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops (17-11, 10-6) at 8pm. Ohio Wesleyan enters the tournament by virtue of their North Coast Athletic Conference championship. Including their conference tournament, they've won five consecutive games.

During the regular season, Ohio Wesleyan beat UW-Eau Claire (currently ranked 9th in the nation) but also lost to Wheaton by 22, a team we beat twice by a combined 76 points.

According to IWU coach Mia Smith, the Battling Bishops run a triangle offense. This offense, which you may recall the Bulls ran under Phil Jackson, relies on defensive recognition rather than pre-set plays. This motion offense allows multiple players to get involved, and the Bishops have four players averaging between 12 and 16 points per game.

Smith also said Ohio Wesleyan is not afraid to shoot even a long three-ball, and this is evidenced by the team's .361 3-point shooting percentage (IWU's is .322). However, the Bishops allowed a .354 opponent 3-point percentage, so the treys could flying on Friday.

IWU should find a familiar advantage in this one--the ability to wear the other team down and force them deeper into their bench than they would like. Our full-court press could disrupt the precision of their triangle offense, and our pressure half-court defense could get them out of sorts and force them to use more players than usual due to either fouls or weariness. IWU is legitimately 11- or 12-deep, while Ohio Wesleyan appears to go about 9- or 10-deep, and has only seven players averaging over one point per game (IWU has 12).

UW-Eau Claire (23-5, 12-4) vs. DePauw (22-5, 12-2)

I have absolutely no idea who will win this match-up of the 9th and 22nd ranked teams in the country, but I'll provide some info on each team in case we meet them in the 2nd round.

Eau Claire opened the season 12-0 and finished 5-3. They can play "D," as they've allowed 35, 41, 47, 34 and 46 points in their last five games. Overall, they allow just 51 points per game compared to 56 for IWU. It would be interesting to see IWU's high-powered offense go up against the stingy Eau Claire defense.

In games against top teams, the Blugolds went 2-1 against UW-Whitewater (#10) and 0-3 against UW-Stevens Point (#4).

The DePauw Tigers rattled off 16 straight wins at one point this season, and finished 5-2 in their last seven. Their first game of the year (and ours) was a 77-76 loss to the Titans on a neutral court. They are an extremely balanced team offensively. Here are some player scoring averages:
12.2
9.3
9.1
7.6
7.2
6.9
6.6
5.6
5.3

Here's a good sign: The Tigers allowed 25% more points in the second half this season compared to the first, and the Titans have been a good second half team all year. While a match-up with Eau Claire has the potential to be a little more low-scoring, DePauw shoots .364 from the arc and averages 74 points per game, so another game in the 70s certainly wouldn't be a surprise.

Back in November, Mallory Heydorn poured in six threes and four Titans scored in double-figures. Hope Schulte hit the game-winning free throw with just one second left.

It should be a good weekend of basketball! If you can, march over to the Shirk Center and catch the madness!