Basketball Wed Dec 09 2009

Local College Hoops Roundup

By Ken Green

Loyola
Guard Geoff McCammon dropped 18 points and two other players also scored in doule figures as the Ramblers downed Milwaukee 69-64 this past Saturday to improve to 5-2 overall and 2-2 on the road. The win made Loyola the first team to post a Horizon League road win this season. The Ramblers will next face San Francisco this Saturday at the Gentile Center on Sheridan Road, a game which will feature a salute to the 1980s All-Decade Team as well as the 1985 team that reached the NCAA Sweet 16.

The Loyola women's team, meanwhile, were pummeled by DePaul 73-30 this past Sunday in a battle of crosstown rivals that included 28 turnovers by the Ramblers. The loss dropped Loyola to 4-3. They'll take a week off for exams before hosting Northern Illinois at the Gentile Center in a game to be broadcast live on Lakeshore Public Television.

Chicago State
The CSU women (3-6) got off on the wrong foot at the Air Force Classic tourney in Colorado with a 68-48 loss to the host Falcons this past Friday. Alyssa Waldon (15 points) hit to three pointers in the first half to pull the Cougars to a 28-26 deficit but that was the closest they would come the rest of the way. But CSU bounced back in the consolation game the next day with a 72-58 win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi, with Waldon leading the way with 24 points, four assists and four steals. The Cougars travel north to take on Milwaukee this Sunday.

The men's team (3-3) stumbled against Central Michigan, falling 78-40 on the road. They'll be keeping their suitcases packed for games at Nebraska (Thursday) and Honolulu (Saturday).

Northwestern
The Wildcat women's (6-2) team may have made a statement with their Big Ten opener, notching a 60-58 win over Purdue. Amy Jaeschke led the way with 16 points and seven rebounds and helped lead the 'Cats to their first Big Ten season opening victory since 1998 and their first win over Purdue in 13 years. They're currently on an exam break before meeting Kansas this Sunday.

The NU men's team (6-1) is still basking in the glow of their 65-33 win over N.C. State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 1 and will tip off against another North Carolina team, this time A&T, this Sunday in Evanston. In the meantime, they offer the musings of freshman guard Drew Crawford for your reading pleasure.

UIC
The Flames men's team (1-5) continued their downward spiral with a 85-59 loss to Green Bay this past Saturday in Horizon League play. Green Bay builts a 20-point lead in the first half and boosted it to 29 points in the second. The Flames shot a paltry 35 percent from the floor. After taking a much-needed week off for exams, UIC will try to right the ship again DePaul on Sunday at the Allstate Arena.

Meanwhile, the UIC women's team (1-6) had their own problems with DePaul, dropping a 67-56 decision this past Friday. Senior Jesse Miller led the Flames with 19 points after scoring only three in the first half. Like a lot of other team, they'll take a break for exams this week. They then travel to Western Michigan on Sunday.

DePaul
Will Walker was the only thing going on for the Blue Demons (5-2) as they dropped a 67-54 decision to Vanderbilt this past Saturday. Walker's 17 points led the way as only one othe player scored in double figures. Vanderbult outscored DePaul 40-26 in the second half. The Blue Demons meet Mississippi State in Tampa, Fla., tomorrow night in the SEC/Big East Invitational.

As noted above, the DePaul women had no problem with Loyola to boost their record to 7-2. Freshman Katherine Harry came off the bench to led all scorers with 16 points. The Blue Demons travel to California to take on Stanford this Sunday.