Magnificent six lead COD to third place in nation
Not only did the College of DuPage women's basketball team finish third in the nation at last week's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Tournament in Ithaca, N.Y, but the Chaparrals did it with only six active players.
On Saturday, DuPage defeated Brookdale Community College (NJ) 67-64 in the third-place consolation game as Bonnie Nge (Westmont), the only returnee from last year, scored 23 points.
Shanara Jones (Naperville North) registered 16 and Amanda Smith (Willowbrook) added 15 points.
Jones was named to the NJCAA all-tournament team.
Because of early-season injuries that sidelined three players for the duration, the Chaps (23-10) were forced to play their late-season schedule and the entire postseason (regional and national tournaments) with just one reserve sitting on the bench next to first-year coach Chris Cotton.
"It's almost like a movie script," Cotton said. "An achievement like this says something about the character of the student-athletes. They bought into our philosophy that defense and free-throw shooting wins ballgames, and more importantly, they all did well academically."
Cotton, who had served as an assistant for both the COD men's and the women's teams, was keenly aware of the winning tradition of College of DuPage basketball.
"We wanted to keep up that tradition," Cotton said. "And the girls had the heart and the smarts to make it work, and they won by overcoming adversity. I'm going to remember my first year as a head coach at College of DuPage for the rest of my life.
For the record, the other active players for the Chaps, all of whom played a major part in the team's success, were: Danielle Roden, Dana Frederick and Mary Beth Broda (Wheaton Warrenville South).
Wheaton
Wheaton men's basketball coach Bill Harris understands that everything about the modern men's college basketball season revolves around "March Madness".
That's why he was so pleased that the Thunder (22-8), which finished in a second-place tie in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), peaked at the end of the season and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Wheaton lost to Hope College 83-70 Saturday to end the Thunder's best run in the tournament in 50 years.
Throughout the season, Wheaton was led by All-American Kent Raymond who scored a career-high 47 points in a 76-67 victory over Whitworth on Friday that enabled the Thunder to advance to the quarterfinals.
"Raymond is a special player," Harris said. "He's in a different category than most Division III players. He's as good passing the ball as he is with the ball."
The coach also recognized the improvement of his the entire team, including starters Andy Wiele, Jake Carwell (Timothy Christian), Ben Panner and Andrew Jahns (Wheaton North), throughout the demanding pre-conference and CCIW schedule.
"We have a very young team," Harris said. "And they really came together during the season. We play in one of the nation's toughest conferences and most of our non-conference games were on the road. These factors, plus our mission trip to Africa as a team last May, made us resilient. We had a few close losses this season, but we didn't throw in the towel. We continued to keep battling."
Benedictine
The Benedictine baseball team got the 2008 season off to a fast start with a 6-2 record on its annual spring trip to Ft. Myers, Fla.
Junior hurler Kennedy Grear had two great outings, not giving up a run in 11½ innings. He held opponents to a .136 batting average.
Senior Shaun Wheeler was also 2-0 while keeping the opposition scoreless.
Designated hitter Rick Porcaro, who missed last season with a shoulder injury, batted .333, with a team-leading 5 doubles. Sophomore Anthony Carioscia, hit .455, while junior transfer Matt Brewer batted .414 with 11 RBI.