courtesy of bearsportsEarly in Saturday’s second round game, a wide open Illinois Wesleyan three-point attempt rolled around the rim, went three quarters of the way down, and popped right back out.
It was a sign of things to come.
WU went on to an 80-56 romp over the Titans, and punched a ticket to the Division III Sweet 16 in Abilene, Texas.
From stifling defense to quick drives off the dribble, the Bears controlled most facets of the game, as they led from start to finish. However, the strongest aspect of their play was the inside dominance of sophomore center Hallie Hutchens and senior forward Jennifer Rudis.
Hutchens’ size advantage was clear from the start, as she regularly wrestled the ball away from the weaker Wesleyan posts, grabbed offensive rebounds, and scored easy lay-ups. She finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds in just 13 minutes of play, while Rudis also scored 12 and racked up 11 boards.
“I felt that we had a height advantage,” Hutchens said, “mainly because they played four guards and just one post.”
Also providing a boost to the Bears was the play of junior guard Lesley Hawley. She led the team with 18 points on a blistering 9 of 11 from the field, and was easily the quickest player on the court, displaying deceptive fakes and a nice crossover. Hawley was able to frequently push the tempo, which allowed her to get into the lane for lay-ups and assists, or pull up and hit the jumper.
“Lesley’s quickness is always important for our team,” Hutchens said. “I’m not sure that we’ve come across a team yet that can handle her.”
While WU had no trouble winning the game at the Field House, it was not because of a strong home court advantage. A legion of Illinois Wesleyan fans, vocal and clad in green, were in town since both their men and women were playing the Bears. Add in the fact that WU was still on spring break, and the game had the feel that it was being played on a neutral court. By the end though, the Bears fans were the only ones making noise.
“I thought it was actually nice that a lot of Wesleyan fans showed up, because it made it kind of like an away game,” Hutchens said. “That will help prepare us for the rest of the tourney.”
WU got off to a fast start against the Titans, hitting 8 of their first 10 shots, while Illinois Wesleyan went without a field goal for the first four minutes and dug themselves an 18-8 hole. Scoring was especially tough as both teams employed stifling, pressing defenses. While the Titans were attempting to play an up-tempo game, they merely ended up forcing several shots due to the Bears’ stingy defense.
However, the Bears struggled with turnovers at times, recording six traveling violations, and the Titans managed to work their way back into the game, cutting the lead to six with 8:20 to go in the first half. Hawley then went on a tear, which coincided with a big Bears run to end the half. She hit back to back jumpers to give WU a 41-23 lead.
After opening the second half up by 13, the Bears quickly put the game away with a 19-0 run. Senior guard Laura Crowley, who finished with 16 points, was devastating from long range, hitting her third three-pointer of the half off of a steal with 12:31 left in the game to give the Bears an insurmountable 68-36 lead.
WU nearly had a two-to-one advantage over the Titans on the boards, finishing ahead 55-30. The Bears also scored 38 points in the paint to just 16 for Illinois Wesleyan.
WU’s dominance was even clear from looking at the coaches: the Bears’ Nancy Fahey was ferociously prowling the sidelines and shouting encouragement and instructions to her players, while the Titans’ Mia Smith crouched quietly in front of her bench.
“We knew that Illinois Wesleyan was an up tempo team and it was big for us to keep the ball moving and get the ball into the post players,” said Hawley. “The posts played well tonight, and it was a total team effort.”