IWU Beats Cedarville
03/13/07
By ADAM FISHER, Chronicle
Tribune
acfisher@marion.gannett.com
SIOUX CITY, Iowa The Indiana Wesleyan womens
basketball team shocked everyone Monday night,
including itself.
The Wildcats dominated on both ends of the floor Monday, blowing out fifth-ranked Cedarville (Ohio) 93-56 in the semifinals of the NAIA Division II National Tournament. IWU plays for its first national championship at 7:30 p.m. today when it takes on the winner of Mondays Ozarks (Mo.)-MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) semifinal, which ended too late for publication.
Indiana Wesleyan (37-0) shot 62.3 percent from the field, including 61.1 percent from 3-point range. The Wildcats also held Cedarville (26-7), the sixth highest scoring team in the nation, 22 points below its average.
I didnt expect this, IWU coach Steve Brooks said. I thought this game would go down to the wire. Tonight our shots were falling, and I dont have an answer for that.
The hot hand of senior Sarah McGill guided IWU, who knocked the Jackets on their heels with a 16-4 run to start the game. McGill connected on 9 of 12 shots and scored 21 points as the Wildcats closed the door on Cedarville in the first half.
McGill finished with a game-high 31 points in 26 minutes of action. She hit 13 of 17 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. As a team IWU made 38 of 61 shots from the field.
Everybody was clicking, McGill said. Were such a close team. If one person is doing good, everyone feels just as good. We just feed off each others energy, and thats what happened today.
With the victory, the Wildcats tie the record for the most victories in one season. IWU can break the record with a victory tonight. It was the first appearance in the national semifinals in program history.
Liz Howerth added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists for IWU. Lisa Thompson scored 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
The Wildcats hit their first five shots of the game to take a 12-4 lead four minutes in. IWU shot 11-of-13 in the first 10 minutes and opened up a 17 point lead. Cedarville never got closer than 12 points. The Wildcats led by as many as 38 points in the second half.
IWU shot 21-of-28 before halftime to take a 49-31 lead into the break. A 13-5 run to start the second half put the game away.
This whole article should be about the focus and the drive and determination and how well-coached Indiana Wesleyan is, Jackets coach Kirk Martin said. They came out and shot so well, we had trouble getting comfortable. With every 3 they made they just got more confident and we got more unconfident.
Defensively the Wildcats held Cedarville to less than 60 points for the second time this year. Indiana Wesleyan beat the Jackets 69-59 on Nov. 4 in the championship game of the Cedarville Tournament.
Brittany Smart, the leading scorer in tournament and Division II history, scored 30 points to lead Cedarville. Smart, who led the nation scoring 28.6 points per game, was held scoreless for the games first seven minutes.
(Smart) is going to get points, McGill said. We just tried to keep her under control as much as possible and not let other people get going.
acfisher@marion.gannett.com
The Wildcats dominated on both ends of the floor Monday, blowing out fifth-ranked Cedarville (Ohio) 93-56 in the semifinals of the NAIA Division II National Tournament. IWU plays for its first national championship at 7:30 p.m. today when it takes on the winner of Mondays Ozarks (Mo.)-MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) semifinal, which ended too late for publication.
Indiana Wesleyan (37-0) shot 62.3 percent from the field, including 61.1 percent from 3-point range. The Wildcats also held Cedarville (26-7), the sixth highest scoring team in the nation, 22 points below its average.
I didnt expect this, IWU coach Steve Brooks said. I thought this game would go down to the wire. Tonight our shots were falling, and I dont have an answer for that.
The hot hand of senior Sarah McGill guided IWU, who knocked the Jackets on their heels with a 16-4 run to start the game. McGill connected on 9 of 12 shots and scored 21 points as the Wildcats closed the door on Cedarville in the first half.
McGill finished with a game-high 31 points in 26 minutes of action. She hit 13 of 17 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. As a team IWU made 38 of 61 shots from the field.
Everybody was clicking, McGill said. Were such a close team. If one person is doing good, everyone feels just as good. We just feed off each others energy, and thats what happened today.
With the victory, the Wildcats tie the record for the most victories in one season. IWU can break the record with a victory tonight. It was the first appearance in the national semifinals in program history.
Liz Howerth added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists for IWU. Lisa Thompson scored 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
The Wildcats hit their first five shots of the game to take a 12-4 lead four minutes in. IWU shot 11-of-13 in the first 10 minutes and opened up a 17 point lead. Cedarville never got closer than 12 points. The Wildcats led by as many as 38 points in the second half.
IWU shot 21-of-28 before halftime to take a 49-31 lead into the break. A 13-5 run to start the second half put the game away.
This whole article should be about the focus and the drive and determination and how well-coached Indiana Wesleyan is, Jackets coach Kirk Martin said. They came out and shot so well, we had trouble getting comfortable. With every 3 they made they just got more confident and we got more unconfident.
Defensively the Wildcats held Cedarville to less than 60 points for the second time this year. Indiana Wesleyan beat the Jackets 69-59 on Nov. 4 in the championship game of the Cedarville Tournament.
Brittany Smart, the leading scorer in tournament and Division II history, scored 30 points to lead Cedarville. Smart, who led the nation scoring 28.6 points per game, was held scoreless for the games first seven minutes.
(Smart) is going to get points, McGill said. We just tried to keep her under control as much as possible and not let other people get going.