Janurary 13th College News

MARION, Ind. -- No. 6-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University and No. 8-ranked University of Saint Francis (Ind.) are now tied atop the Mid-Central College Conference women's basketball standings after Saint Francis defeated Indiana Wesleyan 76-65 on Wednesday night in Luckey Arena.
The top-10 nationally ranked teams are both 5-1 in MCC action and the co-leaders hold a 1.5 game advantage over third place Bethel (Ind.) College who is 4-3.
Saint Francis put the game out of reach when they opened the second half on a 15-4 run that built a six-point halftime advantage into a 17-point lead at 47-30. Indiana Wesleyan never recovered in their first conference loss of the season.
Indiana Wesleyan was able to cut the deficit to single digits with less than five minutes to play. But Saint Francis, the top free throw shooting team in NAIA Division II, connected on 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to thwart the comeback attempt. IWU would get no closer than six points (71-65) with 17 seconds remaining.
Cougar senior guard Julie Seiss was a major contributor in the USF victory. She finished with 29 points and hit 11-of-12 free throws. Junior guard Kayla Mullins added 17 as the Cougars shot 51.0-percent (26 of 51) as a team and 81.8-percent (18 of 22) from the foul line.
The Wildcats struggled to find consistent scoring on Wednesday outside of senior forward Elaine Hessel. She was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Hessel was 6-of-6 from the free throw line and pulled down five rebounds. Junior guard Ashley Brooks was second on the team with nine points.
In the first half, the two teams battled to three ties and four leads changes. Neither team led by more than four points until a Seiss field goal for Saint Francis put the Cougars in the lead by six at 28-22 with 3:46 left before half.
Saint Francis gained their largest lead of the opening half at eight points (32-24) before Hessel's field goal concluded the scoring in the period to send the teams into the locker rooms with a 32-26 score.
Indiana Wesleyan will return to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 15 with a road game at Marian (Ind.) University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The next IWU home game will be next Wednesday, January 19 versus Grace (Ind.) College. That game will have a special start time of 5 p.m

GOSHEN, Ind. (Box Score Attached) – Three-point shooting and free throws
were the big difference as the visiting Huntington University Foresters
knocked off host Goshen College 75-64 Wednesday night.

The visitors – who received votes in the latest NAIA DII national poll –
hit 9-of-19 (47%) from long range and also converted on 14-of-21 from
the free throw line. The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, hit just 2-of-12
attempts from beyond the 3-point arc and made just five trips to the
charity stripe.

The other stats were very similar as both sides hit 50% or better
overall from the field, had 17 assists, and between 27 (Goshen) and 30
(Huntington) rebounds each.

Senior Cassie Greives led the Maple Leafs with 18 points on 8-of-12 from
the field, while classmate Erica Yost poured in 16 points and six
assists. Sophomore Lauren Meese had a huge night for Huntington, hitting
a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and scoring a game-high 25 points.

Goshen (4-16, 0-6 MCC) is back in action on Saturday when they host
Taylor University


#3 Cornerstone Edges Tech, 76-75
Fort Wayne, IN – In a battle for the top-spot in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, the 3rd ranked Cornerstone University Golden Eagles came back from a nine point half-time deficit to defeat the 15th ranked Warriors 76-75. With the win Cornerstone improves to 15-2 overall and a spotless 4-0 mark in the conference, while Tech falls to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the WHAC.
The Warriors got off to a fast start, quickly building a 14-7 lead just over six minutes into the game. Cornerstone battled back and cut the lead to just one, 26-25, at the 4:18 mark, but Tech used an 11-1 run to regain control of the game and went into the break up, 37-28. Tech played great defense in the opening period, forcing the visitors into tough shots and limiting them to shooting only 38 percent from the field.
The Golden Eagles started the second half hot, converting a three point play, followed by 3-pointers by Dominic Allen and Ronald Bates, making it a 41-37 Warrior lead. Cornerstone tied the game after four free throws and took their first lead of the game on another triple by Bates at the 17:02 mark.
Tech retook the lead a few minutes later, 47-46, on a deep three from Manny Hendrix (Salt Lake City, UT/Texas Pan-American) and built their advantage to six following a pair of free throws from Ashton Foster (Vallejo, CA/Delaware State), 53-47.
The two teams remained close, trading baskets before Cornerstone took a 66-61 lead with 5:32 to play. The Warriors didn’t back down and fought back to tie the game at 72 on Clyde McKinney’s (Lansing, MI/Ferris State) fifth 3-pointer of the night with 2:19 remaining.
Cornerstone answered with a score to take a two-point lead. Hendrix trimmed the deficit to one after a free throw before the Golden Eagles hit another jumper in the paint to take a 76-73 lead with less than a minute to go. Hendrix then hit a tough shot in the paint, making it a one-point game. The Warriors defense came up with a stop and had one last chance to upset the Golden Eagles but McKinney’s shot at the buzzer didn’t go.
After a 22-point performance last week, earning McKinney WHAC Player of the Week honors, he led the Warriors with another 22-point effort, knocking down five three’s on the night. Hendrix finished with 15 points and dished out a team-high five assists and Anthony Johnson (Gary, IN/Andrean) scored a season-high 14 points




Women Down Trolls, Run Win Streak To Nine


Lizzie Stapke (Highland, IN/Highland) scored 13 points andKatie Hacker (Indianapolis, IN/Franklin Central) chipped in with eleven more as IU South Bend (12-3) picked up their ninth win in a row, downing Trinity Christian 53-40. The Titans forced 24 turnovers and, despite shooting just 29% from the floor, led the entire way.

At the outset, the TItans found their groove, jumping out to a quick 8-0 lead, forcing a TCC timeout. The stoppage benefitted the Trolls, as they were able to stem the tide and slowly chip their way back closer. After the teams traded baskets for most of the first half, IU South Bend was able to open up a nine-point, 28-19, edge at the break.

Out of the break, it was more of the same, as the two teams traded mini-runs. The Titans would open their lead to as many as 13 over the first part of the second stanza but the Trolls kept clawing back - closing to within four.

The Titans, however, closed the game well - getting free throws and baskets from Stapke, Betsy Grogan (Battle Ground, IN/West Lafayette Harrison) and Kimmie Hummer (South Bend, IN/Mishawaka Marian [Goshen]) to seal the 53-40 win.

Hacker and Brooke Daugherty (Terre Haute, IN/South [Danville]) led the Titans with eight rebounds each, while Stapke and Kayla George (Peru, IN/Maconaquah) each registered four steals.

The Titans return to action - and open CCAC play - on Saturday, January 15 when they host Robert Morris for a noon tip. The game is part of Homecoming/Alumni Day with events scheduled throughout the day