Hawks eager for Madison rematch
Just a few days after ending the regular season against one another, No. 4 seed Madison Area Technical College and No. 5 seed Harper College will meet in the NJCAA Region IV tournament quarterfinals.
The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but snow changed that plan to Wednesday.
When told who the quarterfinal opponent would be, Harper coach Nichole Jones described the team’s mood as “excited to hear it was Madison.”
As the higher seed, the Wolfpack will host.
Despite a 22-point margin of victory for Madison over the weekend, Jones likes her team’s chances.
Madison was able to hold Harper leading scorer Monica Hinderer to 13 points (6 field goals). The Hawks hope the freshman post standout will be able to avoid foul trouble and play the full 40 this time.
Another key for Harper is limiting MATC leading scorer Courtney Spangler (16.9 ppg). On Saturday, she scored 17 points, but sophomore guard Calli Dahl (8.4 ppg) got a game-best 26.
“If we play good smart solid defense,” said Jones, “I don’t worry about much else.”
Madison is second in the nation in free-throw attempts, averaging 31.3 attempts a game. They are also second nationally in made free throws, with 16.6 per game.
If Harper is able to bring home a quarterfinal victory, it would gain homecourt advantage, as the Region IV semifinals and title game will be played at the Sports and Wellness Center in Palatine.
College of DuPage has earned the tourney’s No. 2 seed.
“If we play good defense,” Jones said, “anybody can fall.”