NIACC women set to play in Illinois Central tournament

Kelsie Willert brings the ball up the court against Central CC on Dec. 2 in Fort Dodge.
Kelsie Willert brings the ball up the court against Central CC on Dec. 2 in Fort Dodge.
December 22, 2017

PEORIA, Ill. - The Illinois Central Cougar Holiday Tournament has a loaded field this season.

The annual eight-team tournament, which runs from Dec. 28-30, includes four teams ranked in the top 10 in the latest NJCAA Division II women's poll, including No. 2 NIACC.

Other top 10 teams are No. 5 Illinois Central, No. 8 Kirkwood and No. 10 Owens CC.

NIACC (12-1) faces Kalamazoo Valley CC at 4 p.m. on Dec. 28 in its tournament opener.

RECENT HISTORY AT ILLINOIS CENTRAL TOURNAMENT

The Lady Trojans placed third in the 2013 and 2014 holiday tournaments. They placed fourth in 2016, fifth in 2017 and seventh in 2015.

Last season, the Lady Trojans dropped a 85-70 decision to Kalamazoo Valley in their tournament opener. They bounced back with a 65-54 win over South Suburban College in the consolation round and topped Cincinnati State Tech & CC 75-71 in the fifth-place game.

THURSDAY, DEC. 28

Noon - Sauk Valley CC (3-4) vs. Kirkwood (10-3)

2 p.m. - South Suburban (9-3) vs. Owens CC (11-1)

4 p.m. - NIACC (12-1) vs. Kalamazoo Valley CC (0-9)

6 p.m. - McHenry County (7-5) vs. Illinois Central (9-2)

FRIDAY, DEC. 29

10 a.m. - Sauk Valley/Kirkwood loser vs. South Suburban/Owens loser

Noon - NIACC/Kalamazoo Valley loser vs. McHenry County/Illinois Central loser

2 p.m. -  Sauk Valley/Kirkwood winner vs. South Suburban/Owens winner

4 p.m. - NIACC/Kalamazoo Valley winner vs. McHenry County/Illinois Central winner

SATURDAY, DEC. 30

10 a.m. - 7th-place game

Noon - 5th-place game

2 p.m. -  Consolation game

4 p.m. - Championship game

TOURNAMENT NOTES

ILLINOIS CENTRAL (9-2)

Last game: Illinois Central 72, Jefferson (Mo.) 64 (12-16-17)

TEAM LEADERS

Scoring (74.1 ppg.): Kellyn Maynard 11.8; Abby Coates 11.2; Madison Faulkner 10.6.

Rebounding (37.8 rpg.) - Maynard 6.4; Coates 6.3; Faulkner 5.0.

3-point goals (38) - Bailey Larsen 13, Emma Henderson 12, Sia Williams 9.

Assists (220) - Larsen 32, Aubrey Magro 32, Kathy Pinnock-Branford 32.

Steals (134) - Larsen 23, Coates 22, Krystal Walker 16.

KALAMAZOO VALLEY (0-9)

Last game: Kankakee 76, Kalamazoo Valley 54 (12-16-17)

TEAM LEADERS

Scoring (52.3 ppg.): Onika Berkley 15.1; Darlynn Jackson-Peek 9.6; Onkari Thomas 8.0.

Rebounding (34.9 rpg.) - Jackson-Peek 7.9; MaKayla Barnhart 6.9; Emma Burns 6.8.

3-point goals (20) - Tazjah Pruitt 8, Berkley 4, Rachel Cook 4.

Assists (71) - Berkley 21, Pruitt 16, Jackson-Peek 10.

Steals (64) - Berkley 19, Jackson-Peek 11, Pruitt 9.

KIRKWOOD (10-3)

Last game: Chicago All-Stars 74, Kirkwood 67 (12-16-17)

TEAM LEADERS

Scoring (71.6 ppg.): Awal Ajak 9.4; Megan Axcell 8.7; Leah Robinson 8.5.

Rebounding (34.2 rpg.) - Christmas Puok 3.9; Robinson 3.9; Mackenzie Jenkins 3.9.

3-point goals (87) - Ajak 21, Axcell 17, Tayana Wilson 10.

Assists (226) - Wilson 49, Niaja Taylor 28, Olivia Usher 25.

Steals (124) - Wilson 24, Usher 20, Jenkins 12.

MCHENRY COUNTY CC (7-5)

Last game: Bryant & Stratton (Wis.) 75, McHenry County 68 (12-19-17)

TEAM LEADERS

Scoring (68.1 ppg.): Lacey Gardner 17.1; McKaylie Krey 15.5; Kaleigh Johnson 12.4.

Rebounding (44.7 rpg.) - Gardner 10.8; Maddie Kaempf 7.3; Johnson 5.9.

3-point goals (41) - Grace Gajewski 13, Johnson 12, Krey 7.

Assists (167) - Kaempf 34, Krey 34, Johnson 33.

Steals (155) - Jasmine Glover 30, Krey 27, Gajewski 23.

NIACC (12-1)

Last game: NIACC 106, Dakota College-Bottineau (12-9-17)

TEAM LEADERS

Scoring (102.9 ppg.): Taylor Laabs 15.5; Mikayla Homola 11.8; UU Longs 11.5.

Rebounding (50.5 rpg.) - Khalilah Holloway 7.8; Morgan Frank 4.7; Cici Kieger 4.4.

3-point goals (197) - Kelsie Willert 30, Shayley Vesel 27, Laabs 23.

Assists (301) - Longs 47, Laabs 41, Kieger 40.

Steals (208) - Longs 33, Laabs 23, Holloway 22.

OWENS CC (11-1)

Last game: Owens CC 66, Macomb 57 (12-21-17)

TEAM LEADERS

Scoring (87.8 ppg.): Dai'Shaina Washington-Polk 17.7; Da'Vina Shelton 15.3; Brenda Pennington 13.6.

Rebounding (39.9 rpg.) - Kaylah Ivey 8.3; Washington-Polk 7.6; Pennington 4.9.

3-point goals (92) - Shelton 32, Essence Cowan 21, Washington-Polk 11.

Assists (208) - Pennington 69, Shelton 34, Washington-Polk 28.

Steals (115) - Washington-Polk 32, Pennington 25, Shelton 20.

SAUK VALLEY (3-4)

Last game: Sauk Valley 62, Rock Valley 60 (12-14-17)

TEAM LEADERS

Scoring (64.6 ppg.): Jaida Carson 16.6; Kennedy Kuykendall 16.6; Isabelle Shiaras 11.9.

Rebounding (41.9 rpg.) - Shiaras 8.7; Kuykendall 6.9; Bailey Wetzell 6.8.

3-point goals (54) - Kuykendall 22, Carson 14, Bre Scheidegger 13.

Assists (71) - Carson 30, Shian Galbreath 18, Scheidegger 15.

Steals (67) - Carson 30, Galbreath 10, Scheidegger 10, Shiaras 10.

SOUTH SUBURBAN (9-4)

Last game: Carl Sandburg 66, South Suburban 64 (12-21-17)

TEAM LEADERS

Scoring (61.0 ppg.): Angel Kidd 18.7; Tammy Russell 10.2; Tyesha Riggins 10.1.

Rebounding (42.9 rpg.) - Rusell 8.3; India Pierson 7.6; Erica Howard 5.6.

3-point goals (86) - Kidd 26, Riggins 23, Destiny Browning 13.

Assists (171) - Kidd 60, Riggins 34, Pierson 20, Russell 20.

Steals (139) - Kidd 42, Riggins 26, Pierson 22.