NEWS RELEASE
Iowa Wesleyan College Athletics
610 N. Main St.
Mount Pleasant, Iowa 52641 March 8, 2006
Tigers’ magical season ends in 93-78 loss to Northwestern at women’s national tournament
SIOUX CITY – The Tigers provided quite a fight, but sharp-shooter Deb Remmerde closed the book on Iowa Wesleyan College’s storied basketball season Wednesday night in the first round of the NAIA Division II Women’s National Tournament. Remmerde erupted for 42 points and set a pair of tournament records as sixth-ranked Northwestern (Iowa) College held off the 25th-ranked Tigers, 93-78, at Tyson Events Center.
IWC wrapped up an incredible campaign with a school-record 25 wins and eight defeats under head coach Steve Williamson, who inherited a program that won only four games two seasons ago. The Tigers, regular-season and tournament champions of the Midwest Classic Conference, saw their 11-game winning streak snapped and suffered just their second loss since December.
The Tigers shattered several school records en route to their first national tournament appearance since 1970.
“I’m extremely happy with our girls,” said Williamson. “I can’t be upset. We played hard and gave a great effort. They battled all year and almost pulled off another upset. Northwestern was just the better team tonight.”
Northwestern (28-4) advances to play ninth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan (28-6) in a second-round game at 5:45 p.m. Friday.
Remmerde, who came into the tournament averaging over 30 points a game, put on a shooting clinic from long range. The 5-foot-9 sophomore guard broke the Division II Tournament record with 10 3-point goals and tied another mark with 16 3-point attempts. Remmerde, who had 30 points with eight 3-point goals by halftime, was one point shy of tying the tournament record for points in a game. She finished 14-of-22 shooting from the field and accounted for all of the Red Raiders’ made 3-point goals.
“There was nothing we could do,” said Williamson. “(Remmerde) did some things that I’ll never see at this level ever again. We had girls in her face.”
All five Tiger starters scored in double figures. Katie Bartsch (Phoenix, AZ) paved the way with 17 points. Amber Pence tallied 16 points, Sara Goodman (State Center, IA) and Allison Falls (Blue Springs, MO) had 11, and Erin McFadden added 10.
The Tigers battled their way back from an 11-point deficit early in the second half, using a 12-1 run to tie the score at 67-67 with 10 minutes, 36 seconds left in regulation and forcing Northwestern to call timeout. Junior forward JoBeth Vincent (Taylorville, IL), who had eight points off the bench, capped the spurt with consecutive baskets for the Tigers.
Remmerde unlocked the tie with a 3-pointer and the Red Raiders finally pulled away with a 20-6 run.
“We came out flat after the timeout,” said Williamson. “That was the turning point of the game.”
The Tigers found themselves in a 6-0 hole to start the game. IWC trailed by 11 points midway through the first half before pulling to within 49-43 at intermission.
IWC connected on 9-of-18 shots from 3-point range. Bartsch went 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and Pence nailed a pair of 3-pointers. Bartsch also tied for game-high honors with six rebounds.
Pence collected three steals and broke IWC’s single-season record with 109 this campaign. Pence, a transfer from John Wood Community College, topped the previous mark of 108, set by Sandy Hesseltine during the 1979-80 season.
Falls climbed into second place on IWC’s all-time scoring list with 1,717 points. The 5-11 forward finished with 590 points this season, three shy of the single-season school record set by Stacey Scharer in 1999-2000.
McFadden will graduate as the program’s leader in assists for a career (404) and a season (208).
“I can’t say enough about this group,” concluded Williamson.
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.