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Notebook

Kevin O'Connor's
Midwest Notebook
Posted Feb. 15, 2000

Next stop, UCLA.

That will be the next record on the list of the Washington University (Mo.) women’s basketball team if, as expected, they beat Carnegie Mellon Friday night for their 61st consecutive win. That win would eclipse the 60-game streak put together by Capital University in the mid-90’s. The UCLA men won 88 straight, and that stands as the all-college record.

The Bears, who have won the last two national titles, tied the record with a weekend sweep of Case Western Reserve and Rochester. The record-clincher will be broadcast this Friday night on D3hoops.com.

Of course, beyond breaking the record Friday, coach Nancy Fahey is thinking more about the rest of this season.

"While our ultimate goal is the national championship, we’re going to take a little time to enjoy this."

Forward Tasha Rodgers agrees.

"It's nice and we're going to love it after it (breaking the record) happens. But it's not the No. 1 priority for us. Our ultimate goal is to win a third national title."

If the amazing streak is to continue past this season, the Bears will have to do it without four of this year’s seniors. The Bears haven’t lost since falling 65-50 at Emory on Feb. 15, 1998. The Bears beat Brandeis by 64 the next game, won their final eight games that season and finished 28-2 for their first championship. Last season, they were unbeaten for the first time in school history at 30-0. This season, with four starters back, they're still waiting to be tested. Their average winning margin is nearly 30 points, with the closest victory 11 points against Pacific Lutheran Dec. 3.

"When we look back, it'll be ‘Wow!’" Fahey said.

Fahey has taken the Bears to four Final Fours and is 316-61 over 13 seasons. She says depth is the biggest key to the Bears’ success.

"People have off days, but fortunately with so many kids we have the ability to step up," Fahey says.

Fischer, a two-time D3hoops.com Team of the Year member the past two seasons, leads the team in scoring and rebounding and is shooting 55%. She's playing only 25 minutes a game because of the high number of blowouts. Rodgers averages better than 14 points and six rebounds and is shooting almost 60%.

Chicago In ...  
Washington U. might grab the UAA headlines, but the University of Chicago men are in the NCAA Tournament.

The Maroons clinched the league title with wins over the University of Rochester and Case Western Reserve over the weekend. They are now 12-0 in the UAA, and now have a Division III-best 34-game home winning streak at the Henry Crown Fieldhouse. They still have four regular season games remaining, but at 18-3 are trying to play their way into a long list of home games in the NCAA tournament.

Carthage Controls CCIW ...  
It’s the Carthage Redmen now in control of their own destiny in the CCIW men’s race.

For the first time in their last 23 tries, the Redmen broke through against Illinois Wesleyan, claiming an 80-75 win Saturday night in front of some 2,000 fans in Kenosha.

Carthage (9-2, 20-2) trailed by seven points at halftime 44-37 but came back early in the second half to take a 47-46 lead at the 16:14 mark. After four ties and one lead change, the Redmen took the lead for good 52-51 and went up by as many as nine points with just over seven minutes to play. Wesleyan cut the lead to one point on two occasions, the last at 1:22. But, free throws down the stretch iced the game for the Redmen. CCIW scoring leader Jason Wiertel tallied 28 points and nine rebounds to lead the Redmen.

Illinois Wesleyan has now dropped two straight, fallen to 7-3 in the CCIW, 15-6 overall, and is very much on the bubble for any sort of at-large NCAA berth. The Titans were beaten by Augustana (4-7, 10-12) 89-74 on Wednesday night.

But, the road to the outright title for Carthage is not an easy one. The Redmen host Augustana onWednesday night, then finish at North Park (6-4, 15-6) and at Wheaton (6-3, 15-5).

"We don't want to think about NCAA berths yet," says Carthage head coach Bosko Djurickovic. "We want to win the conference championship. That's our No. 1 goal.

"It was the freshman at the point that really, really made the difference in the game. Antoine McDaniel made the strip of Korey Coon, and he bothered Coon on every shot he took. McDaniel made some real clutch baskets."

Wesleyan, meanwhile, plays at Elmhurst (2-8, 10-11) Tuesday night, then hosts Wheaton Saturday. The loser of that contest will essentially be eliminated from CCIW title contention and any hopes of a NCAA berth. Wesleyan must also still travel to Millikin (4-6, 12-9) before the season ends.

Stevens Point, Eau Claire secure WIAC top seeds ...  
UW-Stevens Point will be the top seed for the men and UW-Eau Claire the top seed for the women when the WIAC Tournament begins next week.

The Blugold women wrapped up their first regular season title in three years by downing two-time defending champion and then-11th ranked UW-Oshkosh 65-54 at Zorn Arena Saturday night. The win completed a regular season sweep of the Titans, and kept the Blugolds unbeaten for the season.

Barring a substantial upset in the quarterfinal or semifinal rounds of the league tournament, the two teams will meet for a third time Feb. 26 in the league championship game. Last year, Oshkosh won the inaugural league tournament with a win over Eau Claire, then beat the Blugolds again in the NCAA Tournament.

On the men’s side, Stevens Point (14-2) wrapped up the outright regular season title by hanging on for a 74-73 win at River Falls. The Pointers led by 10 with under five minutes to play, but the Falcons had two shots to win the game in the closing seconds.

The rest of the men’s field remains somewhat jumbled. Following Eau Claire’s loss to Oshkosh Saturday, Platteville (11-4) holds the second seed in the tournament thanks to a season sweep of the Blugolds (11-4). Platteville finishes Wednesday night at Stout, while Eau Claire hosts River Falls. The Falcons (8-7) are set in the fourth seed.

Superior (6-9) holds the fifth seed for the moment, thanks to a season sweep of Oshkosh (6-9). Whitewater (5-10) sits in the seventh spot, finishes at Superior Wednesday night, and could move as high as the fifth seed with a win. Oshkosh closes out league play with ninth place La Crosse (3-12), and could still finish anywhere from fifth to seventh. Stout (4-11) holds a one-game lead on La Crosse for the home court in the play-in game, but would lose a tiebreaker with the Eagles after being swept during the regular season.

Things are clearer on the women’s side. Along with Eau Claire (15-0) in the top spot, Oshkosh (12-3) holds down the second seed. Stout (9-6) and Whitewater (9-6) are tied for the third spot, with River Falls (8-7) basically locked in fifth. Platteville (6-9) will be the sixth seed, Stevens Point (5-11) the seventh seed, and Superior (2-13) and La Crosse (2-13) left to battle in the play-in game.

Lake Forest, St. Norbert Stay Atop Midwest Conference ...  
Lake Forest will host the Midwest Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The Foresters (14-0) officially clinched the top spot in the league’s regular season standings when Lawrence beat second place Ripon (10-4) 65-62 Saturday. Lake Forest still has two regular season games remaining -- including a battle with the Red Hawks Wednesday night -- but will get to play on their home floor Feb. 25 and 26 in the tournament.

Despite the loss, Ripon has also qualified for the four-team postseason field. But, the loss Saturday to the Vikings eliminated any hope the Red Hawks (16-4) had of an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Likewise Lake Forest, just 1-5 in non-conference games, must win the postseason tournament to claim a NCAA bid.

The third and fourth spots in the men’s field are still very much up for grabs. St. Norbert (8-6), Knox (8-6), Lawrence (7-7), Carroll (6-8) and Monmouth (6-8) all remain within striking distance of a top four finish.

On the women’s side, St, Norbert (13-1) remains in position to claim the regular season title. Lake Forest (12-2) and Lawrence (10-4) will also be a part of the league’s postseason tournament. Carroll (9-5) needs either another win or a loss by Ripon (7-7) or Illinois College (7-7) to claim the fourth spot.

LMC Ready For Tournament Play ...  
It’s Wisconsin Lutheran on the men’s side and Lakeland on the women’s side claiming the top seed -- and holding the accompanying first round bye -- for Lake Michigan Conference Tournament action, which begins later this week.

On the men’s side, the WLU (9-2, 15-8) holds a half-game edge on Marian (9-3, 14-9) for the top spot in the league. The Warriors do have a tough regular season wrap-up at third place Edgewood (7-4, 12-11) Tuesday night, but appear to hold the edge in tiebreakers over Marian should the fall back into a first place tie. The Eagles, meanwhile, are locked in a battle for third place with Lakeland (7-5, 10-14), which was upset by the Milwaukee School of Engineering (2-10, 3-20) Monday night. The difference between third and fourth place may be significant, with the third place finisher facing MSOE, while the fourth place finisher battles Concordia (5-6, 9-14). And that fourth-place finisher -- should they get past their first game -- then must face a rested first place team the next night.

On the women’s side, Lakeland (11-1, 22-2) holds the top seed, and receives a bye through quarterfinal play Thursday. Second-place Wisconsin Lutheran (10-2, 17-6) hosts Maranatha Baptist (0-12, 6-15) in one game Thursday. Thursday’s other tournament games send MSOE (4-8, 9-13) to Concordia (7-5, 12-12), and Edgewood (5-7, 8-16) to Marian (5-7, 11-12). Semifinal action is set for Saturday, with the championship game Feb. 26.

Kevin covers Wisconsin and Illinois for D3hoops.com.