By Brain Morefield, Sports Writer
With emotions running high in the Pink Zone at the Saturday, Feb. 2 night game, the Titan women donned pink jerseys to raise cancer awareness and celebrate those who have beat the terrible disease.
The Illinois Wesleyan women jumped on the Wheaton College Thunder from the start, maintaining a hefty full-court press to spark a dominating first half.
“The goal was to come out at the start with as much pressure as we could and to jump on them from the beginning. Our plan worked mightily in the first half, because it seemed like everything was going our way,” junior Colleen McMahon said.
This was easy to see in McMahon’s stellar play, as her nagging defense throughout the first half helped create a few crucial turnovers from the Wheaton Thunder.
The first half finished with a few key three-pointers from the Wheaton women, but the Titans still led the half by the narrowest of margins, 36-35.
“We were pleased with our first half effort but knew we would need a picture-perfect second half if we wanted to win this game,” sophomore Emily Beoletto said.
Despite their fantastic first half, the second half did not turn out as Beoletto hoped. The Wheaton women started the half with a tenacious run, hitting shot after shot even with the Titan women’s stellar defense.
The full-court press that had worked so magnificently in the first half failed to have the same effect in the latter twenty minutes of the ball game.
The game ended 75-67 for the bad guys, as the Titans fell to an overall record of 14-7 and a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin record of 7-3.
That being said, this season is far from over. Wheaton consistently has one of the top teams in the conference, and, although the Titans fell short, they proved to everyone how tough they really are.
“Our conference is one of the toughest in the country, and even though we have lost a few games here and there, we have been competing with each and every one of these teams night in and night out,” sophomore Kasey Reaber said. “We fix a few minor details here and there and we are in for a very prosperous season.”
Reaber’s confidence in her team resonates with each one of her teammates and her coaches as they all embrace the idea of another run at a national title. They are looking forward to starting up another win streak this week. The Titans played North Central College on Wednesday, Feb. 6, and their next stop is Carthage College on Saturday, Feb. 9 for a game they are all fired up to win.
