#1 Women’s Basketball wins 28th straight

11:00 pm – Wednesday, February 27th, 2019 – Alex Staab

Champaign, IL – The regular season is winding down for the #1-ranked ICC Cougars (28-1) (9-0), as evident by Wednesday night being the last true road game of the season. Rivalry basketball was on tap from Dodds Athletic Complex in Champaign, as the Cougars took on the Parkland Cobras (15-13) (3-6).

Fans may recall that the previous game of this series that took place in East Peoria back on February 6th saw a fast start by the Cobras. In fact, Gemma Recasens (So. – Spain) scored nine of her team-high 11 points in the opening 10 minutes. That didn’t happen again.

ICC held the sophomore to no points in the first quarter. Parkland did not have an individual make more than one shot. Olivia Babcock (So. – Rock Falls, IL), Shoente’ra Russell (Fr. – Champaign, IL), Micah Tapscott (So. – Petersburg, IL), and Cassie Russo (Fr. – Tuscola, IL) combined for all of nine points.

Meanwhile, the Cougars rode the hot hand of Abby Coates (So. – Metamora, IL) early. Headed into Wednesday’s game as the team’s leading scorer and bearer of the third-best field goal percentage in the country, Coates hit three shots from two, totaling roughly a third of ICC’s first quarter scoring. The Cougars were able to maintain a balanced scoring output in the early-going, getting Josi Becker (Fr. – Morton, IL), Jordyn Hare (Fr. – Macomb, IL), Madison Faulkner (So. – Rochester, IL), Summer Stoewer (Fr. – Normal, IL), and Marquitta Easley (So. – North Chicago, IL) all scored in the first. Put the pieces together and it equates to a 17-9 lead after one.

The second quarter saw a slightly rejuvenated Parkland offense. Tapscott started to get some of the looks she wanted down low. Crystal Mathis (So. – Rockford, IL) was fouled on a three and made all the free throws. ICC continued their stretch of not having shot any from the charity stripe. Faulkner hit a trey, her fourth of the season. Adding a two-pointer made her the leading scorer at halftime, with the Cougars holding onto a 27-22 lead.

A point has been brought up in the past, practically all around basketball, that the first couple of minutes of the second half can be key to the result of a game. It may not be how the game is decided, but it can certainly play a factor in terms of momentum. ICC picked the right quarter to shoot their best.

After the aforementioned fact that the Cougars hadn’t made or attempted a free throw thus far, they turned it around and shot 8-9 in the third quarter, behind a perfect 4-4 from Summer Stoewer. Emma Henderson and Marquitta Easley both hit a three apiece for two of ICC’s five threes on the night.

On the other hand, Parkland couldn’t find their rhythm from behind the arc, continuing to not have made a three since Olivia Babcock hit one in the first quarter. The Cobras saw a slight dip in scoring, but not by much. Either way, the 22-point quarter by ICC was too much, and it pushed the top-ranked Cougars lead to 49-34 with just 10 minutes to go.

It can be hard to follow up an offensive performance like the Cougars had in the third quarter. ICC’s offense tapered off in the later portions of the game, but would they be able to withstand any kind of a push by Parkland became the question.

Shoente’ra Russell had a four-point quarter, but that’s about all the Cobras would get in the final frame. Recasens, Tapscott, and Meinert all combined for an 11-point quarter.

Physicality played a role in this rivalry battle, but not to the point where it was ‘the’ factor. Head Coach Karrie Redeker says that how Parkland attacked the game was certainly worth noting their efforts.

“They’re very physical. They’ve got a lot of good size and they’re strong kids as well. We got out-rebounded, which usually doesn’t happen, but I thought our kids battled.”

By game’s end, it turned out that the 22-point third quarter would be the difference, propelling the #1-ranked Cougars to their 28th consecutive victory, beating the Parkland Cobras, 59-45. The win secures the tie of the all-time single season win streak record, previously set by the 2002-2003 team, who finished their season with a record of (33-3).

28 straight wins is nice and all, but Coach Redeker is just focused on taking things one game at a time.

“Well, I think you only get 28 if you just win one game at a time. We really haven’t talked about it at all.”

The Cougars played well defensively, holding the Cobras to a mere 17-55 shooting, totaling 30.9%. Parkland would also only make one three out of 15 on the game. Meanwhile, the Cougars shot roughly 36% from the field, and made 92.3% of their free throws (12 of 13).

Wednesday’s win sets up a critical matchup with #5 Lincoln Land (25-2) (8-1). The #1 Cougars and #5 Loggers meet at the CougarPlex on Saturday at 1:00 pm. Coach Redeker acknowledges that it is quite a big game against the Loggers.

“Absolutely. We had a really good matchup with them when we played them in Springfield. I’m sure they’ll (Lincoln Land) be ready to go.”

ICC will be hosting Sophomore Day, honoring Madison Faulkner, Kathy Pinnock-Branford, Emma Henderson, Abby Coates, and Marquitta Easley. Those ceremonies will take place in between the women’s and men’s games.

At Saturday’s game, there will be a celebration of cancer survivors at halftime of the women’s game. Any survivors who attend the game have the option to fill out a celebration card prior to halftime to be recognized over the public address system. Fans are being given free admission, but are asked to make a donation to the Susan G Komen Foundation.

#1 ICC Scoring: Madison Faulkner (13), Marquitta Easley (11), Summer Stoewer (9), Abby Coates (8), Jordyn Hare (6), Emma Henderson (6), Kathy Pinnock-Branford (4), Josi Becker (2)

#1 ICC Team Stats: Field Goals (21 for 58 – 36.2%), 3’s (5 for 19 – 26.3%), Free Throws (12 for 13 – 92.3%), Rebounds (32), Assists (13), Steals (14), Blocks (1), Turnovers (14), Fouls (18)

#1 ICC Individual Leaders: Field Goals Made (Madison Faulkner – 5), 3’s (Emma Henderson – 2), Free Throws Made (Stoewer / Pinnock-Branford – both 4-4), Rebounds (Stoewer / Easley – 6 each), Assists (Kathy Pinnock-Branford – 5), Steals (three with 3 apiece), Blocks (Marquitta Easley – 1)

Saturday Game Info: Web Stream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkdeHsnyegs) || In-Game Updates (twitter.com/StaabAlex & twitter.com/ICCSportsLive)