25th-ranked Tiger women set school win mark, claim MCC crown outright

MOUNT PLEASANT –  All coach Steve Williamson hoped for was a winning season from his Iowa Wesleyan College women’s basketball team. What he witnessed Wednesday night was the winningest season in school history.

The 25th-ranked (NAIA Division II) Tigers set the school record for wins and claimed the Midwest Classic Conference title outright in a 74-66 victory over St. Ambrose University before more than 600 fans at Ruble Arena. The feats came just hours after IWC cracked the Top 25 for the first time in the program’s history.

IWC (21-7 overall, 12-1 MCC) captured its seven consecutive win and 13th in 14 games. The Tigers improved to 10-0 at home this season.

The Tigers broke the previous win mark held by the 1950-51 team which finished 20-6 under Olan Ruble, IWC’s all-time winningest coach and whom the court is named in honor of.

IWC stretched its first-place lead to three games over St. Ambrose (19-9, 9-4) with o­ne game left in the regular season. The Tigers play host to Waldorf College at 1 p.m. Saturday in the finale.

“This win shows that we have taken this program to another level,” said Williamson, whose squad finished 10-22 in his first season at the helm in 2004-05. “This is not the same Iowa Wesleyan team that used to be the doormat of the conference. The girls have the desire and determination to win every time they step o­n the floor. With this group of girls, you never know what can happen.”

Allison Falls (Blue Springs, MO) paced the Tigers with another outstanding game, missing o­nly o­ne shot the entire night. The 5-foot-11 senior forward tossed in 26 points o­n 8-of-8 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 from the foul line. Falls also chipped in seven rebounds.

Katie Bartsch (Phoenix, AZ) scored 14 of her 17 points in the first half, shot 4-of-8 from 3-point range and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Amber Pence (LaHarpe, IL) added 17 points, seven boards and three steals. Erin McFadden (Bagley, IA) dished out a game-high nine assists.

The Tigers raced to a 42-24 lead at halftime, thanks to 60.7 percent shooting. St. Ambrose chiseled the margin to 65-62 with five minutes left in the game, but couldn’t get any closer.

Jennifer Goetz led the Queen Bees with 26 points and 13 rebounds.        

For more information regarding the IWC women’s basketball program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Kerry Kahl (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; kkahl@iwc.edu e-mail) or log o­n to IWC's web page at www.iwc.edu.