Wheaton clinches CCIW championship
Senior guard and leading scorer Katie McDaniels also is the all-time leader in free throws made for the Wheaton College women's basketball team and in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin history.
When the Thunder lost 66-65 at Illinois Wesleyan University on Jan. 7, her only points came on four free throws.
"Just one of those games," McDaniels said.
With plenty on the line for Tuesday's rematch, McDaniels and her teammates scored early and often for a 76-67 home victory that gave them the outright regular-season CCIW championship.
Wheaton (21-4, 14-2) also earned the right to again play host for the four-team CCIW Tournament Friday and Saturday. The winner receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
"It is the best feeling - ever. It was one of our goals at the beginning of the season, and we've worked really hard every day," McDaniels said. "I think both teams wanted it really badly and we just wanted to come out and hit them hard right away. They're really, really strong competitors, so we have a lot of respect for them."
Junior Kelly Lawson scored 22 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to help Wheaton extend its 59-53 lead after three quarters.
McDaniels had 19 points and 5 assists to bring that all-time total to 460, 3 from tying the school record. Senior Chantal Meacham, junior Maggie Dansdill and senior Ellie Zeller added 9, 8 and 7 points, respectively, and sophomore Devin Kyler had 13 rebounds.
Behind three 3s on its first five possessions, Wheaton took a 14-4 lead and never trailed.
"We played with great energy throughout the game and that helped us sustain the momentum and keep the lead," Wheaton coach Kent Madsen said. "You knew they were going to make runs because they're a great team, but tonight we kept our energy up."
Wheaton has won the last two CCIW Tournaments, both at home, including a 92-70 victory over IWU in the 2016 final.
On Friday the Thunder plays No. 4-seed Augustana (17-8, 10-6) at 7 p.m. after No. 2 IWU (17-8, 12-4) and No. 3 Elmhurst (19-6, 11-5) at 5 p.m. The final is 7 p.m. Saturday.
Had the Titans won Tuesday, the tournament site would have been Bloomington.
"That's huge for us. We love playing at home, being able to see our fans and supporters," said Dansdill, a Wheaton Warrenville South graduate, "Wesleyan is one of our top competitors. They come out hard, work hard, they hustle. They bring out the best in us."
When IWU closed to 61-57 with 6:10 left, Lawson and McDaniels combined for Wheaton's last 15 points. That included three more McDaniels free throws, making her 563 for 741 overall with 310 made in 58 CCIW games.
"I'm very honored and very thankful (for those records), but I only care about us winning. If it's helping us win, then that's awesome," McDaniels said.
Wheaton led 27-16 after one quarter with three 3s from Meacham, bringing her school-record total to 229. In the second and third quarters, the Titans closed to within 3 points six times and had a game-tying 3 rattle in and out at 48-45.
Starting one senior, IWU received 23 points from junior Molly McGraw, 20 from sophomore Maddie Merritt and 16 from junior Rebekah Ehresman. The Titans were 4-of-18 shooting in the fourth quarter.
"We're not quitters, that's for sure. I'd give us a 'B' (grade). We've been playing so much better than what we played tonight," IWU coach Mia Smith said. "I felt like the 3-point (deficit) hump was important. It seemed like we turned it over a lot when we were at that 3-point mark. We were tired (by the fourth quarter), there's no doubt."