East Peoria, IL - The third-ranked Illinois Central College Women's Basketball team tipped off its 44th Annual ICC Holiday Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Ramsey Gym, hosting four nationally-ranked teams among an eight-team field. Sunday's series of games featured four quarterfinal games, with #2 Kirkwood, Lake Land, #3 Illinois Central, and North Central Missouri all coming out victorious in their respective tournament openers.
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#2 KIRKWOOD 89, PALM BEACH STATE 40
The Kirkwood Eagles got off to a red-hot start from the field and never looked back, coming away with a 49-point victory over Palm Beach State to start Sunday's proceedings. The Eagles charged ahead with a 47-point effort before heading to the halftime locker room. The Panthers did have their best quarter of the game in the second, shooting 54% from the field and scoring 15 points. Kirkwood locked down even more so defensively in the second half, holding the Florida natives to just 12 second-half points: 4 in the third quarter, 8 in the fourth quarter. Perhaps caught up in the margin, one of the nation's best scorers in Janiah Suprius was "held" to 16 points to lead the Panther effort, as she entered the tournament averaging north of 27 points per game.
KIRKWOOD NOTABLES
Erianna Moeschter | 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Olivia Wren | 11 points, 3-3 on 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Kennedy Blakely | 7 points, 4 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds
PALM BEACH STATE NOTABLES
Janiah Suprius | 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Adrianna Skraban | 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Destiny Nguyen | 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
QUOTES FROM KIRKWOOD HEAD COACH KIM MUHL
ON HIS GENERAL EXPECTATIONS GOING INTO GAME ONE
"I thought we'd have to play a lot of kids. You know, five days off, three-game tournament, you're going to have some fatigue. I thought our kids were okay, nothing great, physically. Second half, I thought we out-ran them - much better."
ON THE EAGLES HAVING 23 ASSISTS TO 35 MADE SHOTS
"Well, that was good, but it took awhile to get there. I thought we were doing too many one-on-one things, too selfish. Once we settled down and passed the ball, we were much better."
ON THE PERFORMANCE OF OLIVIA WREN (11 PTS / 6 REB / 2 AST / 2 STL)
"She didn't look bad. There were a couple of things she forced, but Liv's been pretty solid for us the whole season. She just does all the little things. She guards somebody, she'll hit a shot. Pretty smart help defender too. Their kid, that #3 (Janiah Suprius), she's really good. It's hard to guard her."
ON THE PERFORMANCE OF KENNEDY BLAKELY (7 PTS / 4 AST / 4 STL / 3 REB)
"I thought that was a really good game for her. I thought she was maybe one of the best players on the floor. She did everything. She guarded, defended - her help defense was really good.
ON HOW A COACH HANDLES THE SHORT TURNAROUND IN SUCH AN EVENT
"Well, we're immature. It's like we're telling them what to do right now. Get off your feet, get something to eat. Don't go to the swimming pool back at the hotel. There you go."
LAKE LAND 63, McHENRY COUNTY 46
This game certainly resembled that of a see-saw affair. It looked as if Lake Land had supreme control of the game from the tip, leading by a slow-burning, but building margin. The Lakers were ahead 31-20 after the first half, but a patient offense and steady defense from McHenry County kept the game competitive, with the Scots only being out-scored by the Lakers 48-42 in the game's final three quarters, showing how crucial Dave Johnson's crew's start to the game wound up being in the game's result. Lake Land, traditionally known for its perimeter game, would make six treys to McHenry County's five. The Laker defense also forced 29 Scot turnovers.
LAKE LAND NOTABLES
Haylee Campbell | 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists
Casey Jackson | 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Miah Ballard | 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists
McHENRY COUNTY NOTABLES
Ari Corrado | 11 points, 11 rebounds
Bella Frohling | 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
Mikayla Saas | 8 points, 7 rebounds
QUOTES FROM LAKE LAND HEAD COACH DAVE JOHNSON
ON HIS GENERAL EXPECTATIONS GOING INTO GAME ONE
"We really only had one goal today, and that was to win all four quarters, and we didn't quite do that. After the holiday break, you're just kind of feeling your way back into it. We didn't shoot it as well as I would've liked. Defensively, we did decent in our coverages and our switches - fairly pleased with that. We gotta be better offensively - take care of the ball better."
ON FENDING OFF McHENRY COUNTY DESPITE MULTIPLE RUNS
"Well, look, we always talk about four-minute periods. That keeps you focused and has some energy, not to relax when you have a 20-point lead."
ON COACHING HIS TEAM INTO A BATTLE WITH A PROGRAM SUCH AS KIRKWOOD
"I just told them in the locker room - you can't be ordinary tomorrow. We've been ordinary a lot of times this year. We can't be ordinary tomorrow, because ordinary doesn't beat Kirkwood."
NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI 80, (RV) KANKAKEE 67
So it would seem, this battle between Pirates and Cavaliers carried over the back-and-forth vibes to the ICC Holiday Tournament, as Kankakee clung to a 42-35 lead at the break. Despite the Cavaliers shooting an impeccable 57% from the field in the second quarter, the Pirates won the quarter 25-22 for a +15 point difference from their first quarter effort. While the tides swayed side to side through 20 minutes, North Central Missouri out-scored Kankakee in the last half of the game, 45-25, to take a seven-point deficit and turn it into a 13 point victory. The Pirates had some eye-popping team stats, including 10 made 3's, going 24-of-39 at the free throw line, despite turning it over 26 times and committing 21 fouls. Head Coach Joe McKinstry will look to maintain his team's effort from three against ICC on Monday, as the Cougars are one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation entering tournament play.
NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI LEADERS
Sidney Aeschliman | 20 points, 4 rebounds
Liz Oliver | 14 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Addilyn Henke | 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
KANKAKEE LEADERS
Ava Simpson | 15 points, 12 rebounds
TaLeah Turner | 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
Alana Ross | 6 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
#3 ILLINOIS CENTRAL 73, #24 MID MICHIGAN 53
A strong rebounding and defensive effort led the #3 Illinois Central College Women's Basketball team to a 73-53 win over #24 Mid Michigan. The Cougars out-rebounded the Lakers 55-32 and held them to 35% field goal shooting to advance to Monday's Championship Semifinal. Addy Engel had a double-double, while Larissa Taylor was just one rebound shy of one of her own. Ellie VanMeenen covered a lot of real estate, finishing with seven deflections, plus Kaitlin White drew a charge. The Cougar defense held Mid Michigan to just 25% shooting in the 2nd & 3rd quarters. With the win, ICC is now an impressive (11-1), including going (5-1) against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls.
ILLINOIS CENTRAL LEADERS
Addy Engel | 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists
Larissa Taylor | 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Kamryn Heider | 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
MID MICHIGAN LEADERS
Delaney Seaman | 13 points, 4 rebounds
Gracie Mellinger | 10 points, 3 assists, 2 steals
Grace Chinavare | 8 points, 5 steals, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
