NIACC women fall to Illinois Central, 85-71
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - The goal now is 25 wins in a season.
The NIACC women's basketball team dropped a 85-71 decision to Illinois Central in the quarterfinal round of the NJCAA Division II national tournament Wednesday night on the Johnson County CC campus.
While the goal of winning a national title is no longer a possibility is, a fifth-place finish and a 25-win season is still in the cards.
"We have to win two games," NIACC coach Todd Ciochetto said of reaching the 25-win plateau. "We want to be playing on Saturday. They have character. They'll be back."
NIACC (23-11) faces Cape Fear CC at 3 p.m. Thursday in the consolation round. The winner plays for fifth place at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Illinois Central (31-4) faces either Pima or Cape Fear in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday.
Illinois Central, which was 3-1 against NIACC this season, jumped out to a 51-28 lead at the half and led by as many as 27 points in the first half.
NIACC, however, outscored Illinois Central 23-13 in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 64-51 after three quarters. The Lady Trojans cut the Cougar lead to eight points (73-65) but that is as close as they could get before falling by 14 points.
"We definitely didn't start out the game the way we wanted to," said sophomore Trudy Peterson, who led the Lady Trojans with 24 points. "They were playing harder than us.
"Late in the second quarter, we started playing harder than them. It just wasn't enough."
Peterson was 8 of 15 from the field, including a 6 of 11 performance from 3-point range.
"Trudy was unbelievable (Wednesday)," Ciochetto said.
Sophomore Anna Eckert scored 15 points with nine rebounds for NIACC. Freshman Courtney Larson was next in line with 14 points.
Illinois Central was led by Destiny Ramsey with 23 points. The Cougars also received 19 points from Hayley Reneau and 12 points from Jemia Carpenter.
"They're a physical team," Ciochetto said. "They're a good team.
"I think they're the best team in the country. But we fought back and had a chance to cut it to six with about three minutes left in the game. We fought hard."
Illinois Central 85, NIACC 71
NIACC 16 12 23 20 - 71
Illinois Central 27 24 13 21 - 85
NIACC - Savannah Lentz 6, Courtney Larson 14, Sammie Sproul 3, Anna Eckert 15, Trudy Peterson 24, Morgan Cuffe 3, Sam Adamich 5, Diamond Miller 1. Totals - 23-61 16-27 71.
Illinois Central - Emma Heisler 10, Brandi Fier 3, Kierra Wier 8, Jemia Carpenter 12, Destiny Ramsey 23, Natora Landers 2, Hayley Reneau 19, Clarisa Martinez 8. Totals - 30-60 16-23 85.
3-point goals - NIACC (9-29): Larson 1, Sproul 1, Peterson 6, Adamich 1. Illinois Central (9-20): Heisler 2, Weir 2, Reneau 5. Total fouls - NIACC 22, Illinois Central 21. Fouled out - Lentz, Sproul, Cuffe. Martinez. Technical foul - Illinois Central bench.
NIACC women's 2015-16 season (23-11 overall)
NIACC 76, NDSCS 51
NIACC 98, Williston State College 77
NIACC 84, Illinois Central 76 (OT)
NIACC 87, Lake Land College 73
Illinois Central 86, NIACC 75
Parkland College 84, NIACC 71
NIACC 83, RCTC 61
State Fair CC 83, NIACC 81
NIACC 131, Kennedy King College 71
NIACC 74, Marshalltown CC 46
Iowa Western 81, NIACC 74
NIACC 93, Cincinnati State 80
Illinois Central 87, NIACC 54
Schoolcraft College 78, NIACC 55
Iowa Western 63, NIACC 53
Iowa Central 76, NIACC 52
NIACC 97, Southwestern 54
NIACC 106, Ellsworth 59
DMACC 83, NIACC 75
NIACC 85, Southeastern 81
NIACC 83, Iowa Lakes 68
Kirkwood 83, NIACC 76
NIACC 85, Iowa Central 66
NIACC 69, Southwestern 57
NIACC 68, Ellsworth 54
NIACC 64, DMACC 52
NIACC 93, Southeastern 71
NIACC 86, Iowa Lakes 70
NIACC 60, Kirkwood 57
NJCAA Region XI tournament
NIACC 77, Southwestern 45
NIACC 67, Iowa Central 54
NIACC 83, DMACC 80
NJCAA Division II national tournament
NIACC 74, Lake Michigan College 56
Illinois Central 85, NIACC 71
NIACC women's basketball team 2015-16 season
When NIACC Then NIACC is
At home 11-3
On the road 8-3
Neutral site 4-5
Leads at halftime 20-3
Trails at halftime 2-7
Tied at half 1-1
Plays in overtime 1-0
Scores less than 60 points 0-4
Scores between 60-69 points 5-0
Scores between 70-79 points 4-6
Scores between 80-89 points 8-1
Scores between 90-99 points 4-0
Scores 100 or more points 2-0
Allows less than 60 points 11-0
Allows between 60-69 points 3-1
Allows between 70-79 points 6-2
Allows between 80-89 points 3-8
Allows between 90-99 points 0-0
Allows more than 100 points 0-0
Game is decided by 1-3 points 2-1
Game is decided by 4-6 points 1-0
Game is decided by 7-10 points 1-5
Game is decided by 11-14 points 6-3
Game is decided by 15 or more points 13-3
