Williams Scores 20 for Purdue Northwest in Loss to St
The Purdue University Northwest men’s basketball team dropped a 104-89 decision to NCAA Div. 2 opponent St. Joseph’s College Thursday night at the Fitness and Recreation Center.
The Pride (4-7) were led by senior guard Mike Williams (Gary, Ind./Lew Wallace) led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of 12 shooting while Chandler Spring (Covington, Ind./Covington)recorded 18 points, four rebounds and four steals.
Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) scored 14 points while Franklin Nunn (Anderson, Ind./Liberty Christian) chipped in with 11 points to round out the leaders for the Black and Gold.
Pride jumped out to an early 7-2 lead over the Pumas, but St. Joseph’s would take the lead on a large run, to take a 25-12 advantage with 9:46 left in the first half.
The Pumas would extend their lead toward the end of the period to take a 53-33 advantage heading in to the break.
The Black and Gold trailed St. Joseph’s for the remainder of the second half, but continued to fight hard, cutting their deficit to 14 points, 96-82 with just over three minutes left in the game.
St. Joseph’s would keep its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, leading the Pumas to a 104-89 victory.
Nick Jeffirs led the Pumas offensively with 18 points while Nic Williams finished the night with 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Black and Gold return to action Saturday, Dec. 10, when they travel to Chicago, Ill. for a CCAC contest with Robert Morris. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (CT).
Purdue Northwest's Reyes & Cunha Named NAIA Scholar-Athletes Purdue University Northwest men’s soccer players Sergio Reyes and Murilo Cunha both earned 2016 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors, as released by the organization.
Reyes (Tabio, Colombia) and Cunha (Sao Paulo Brazil) were two of the 423 men’s soccer student-athletes in the NAIA to earn the award, which requires students maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale along with junior academic status to qualify for the honor.
Reyes was also selected to the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Men’s Soccer First Team, and helped lead the Pride to back-to-back NAIA National Tournament appearances.
A team captain, Reyes started in 18 matches for the Black and Gold, recording a pair of goals and playing 1386 minutes in senior season. He carries a 3.91 grade point average in mechanical engineering.
Cunha also played an integral role for the Black and Gold this season, playing in 15 matches for the Pride this season. Named an CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, Cunha carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average in mechanical engineering.
Coe, Johnson Fuel Comeback Win over Holy Cross The Purdue University Northwest men’s basketball team used some late game heroics to come back and defeat Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Holy Cross College, 70-65, Tuesday night.
The Pride (4-6, 3-3 CCAC) have won three out of their last four CCAC contests, after taking down the Saints (6-7, 2-3 CCAC) at the Student Services and Activities Complex.
The Black and Gold were led by Torrance Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) who racked up his fourth straight double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds.
Junior guard Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) hit a pair of clutch trifectas late in the contest and finished the game with 18 points while Max Clifford (Franklin, Ind./Roncalli) scored nine points with a trio of three-point field goals.
After the Saints took a 22-13 lead to start off the contest, PNW would battle back to put the game within three points, 31-28 heading in to the break.
Holy Cross held a 10-point advantage, 56-46, with just under eight minutes remaining in the game, but the Black and Gold battled back after three-straight trifectas from Coe and Clifford put the Pride within one, 58-57.
Freshman guard Brandon Cory (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) would give the Black and Gold a 61-60 lead with 3:13 left, followed by another trifecta from Clifford which put the Pride up by four.
PNW would finish the game strong and hold on to complete their comeback efforts and defeat the Saints, 70-65.
The Black and Gold return to action on Thursday, Dec. 8, when they host NCAA Div. 2 opponent St. Joseph’s College at 7 p.m. (CT) at the Fitness and Recreation Center.
Deno, Thompson Lead Purdue Northwest Past Holy Cross, 91-77 Cassidy Deno and Darien Thompson led the way as the No. 15 Purdue University Northwest women’s basketball team handled league foe Holy Cross College, 91-77, Tuesday at the James B. Dworkin Center.
Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) netted a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 from the field – including 5-of-8 from deep – and Thompson (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) added 22 points on 8-of-16 from field and 4-of-9 from 3-point land.
Purdue Northwest improved to 10-3 overall and remained perfect in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 6-0 mark, while Holy Cross fell to 4-8 overall and 3-2 in the CCAC.
Senior Katie Wampler (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) added 14 points on 4-of-7 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line, junior post Ellie Michalski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) added 12 points and seven boards and freshman Shae Rhonehouse (Fremont, Ind./Fremont) had 11 points to round out the Pride leaders.
PNW led 17-13 at the end of the first quarter and then outscored the Saints by a 21-13 margin in the second to take a 38-26 lead at halftime. Wampler and Thompson led the way in the first half, each scoring nine points and Deno added seven.
The Pride would go up by as many 20, 57-37, after a three-point play the old-fashioned way by junior forward Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) at the 4:35 mark in the third quarter. The Saints would make a charge, cutting that lead to nine, 66-57, early in the fourth quarter, but back-to-back 3s by Deno and Thompson sent PNW back to a 13-point lead with 7:57 left.
Rhonehouse would later join the 3-point party, draining her lone make from deep with 4:06 to play to put the lead back to 20, 83-63.
PNW shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the field compared to 42.4 percent (28-of-66) for Holy Cross, and the Pride made 10-of-22 from 3-point land compared to 8-of-26 for HCC.
The Saints won the rebounding battle, 40-30, but the Pride capitalized on 14 HCC turnovers, scoring 22 points while committing just nine giveaways.
Tagin Schultheis led the Saints with 21 points and Keysha Streater had 19 in the loss.
Purdue Northwest returns to action Saturday, Dec. 10, when the Pride travel to Robert Morris Illinois for a CCAC contest in Arlington Heights, Ill.
Purdue Northwest's Kotas Sisters Earn NAIA Scholar-Athlete Honors Purdue University Northwest women’s soccer siblings Christina and Tiffani Kotas were two of 578 student-athletes to earn Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors, as released by the organization.
Tiffani Kotas (Alsip, Ill.) led the Black and Gold in minutes played this season (1204) while playing and starting in all 16 matches en route to a 5-11 record. Kotas majors in mechanical engineering and carries a 3.90 grade point average.
Christina Kotas (Alsip, Ill.) also played a large role for the Pride during the year, participating in 16 matches, 15 of them being starts, while playing in 1032 minutes. Majoring in mechanical engineering, Christina carries a 3.96 grade point average.
In order to be nominated by an institution’s head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status.
Men's Hoops Drops 87-73 Contest to Trinity International The Purdue University Northwest men’s basketball team dropped an 87-73 contest to Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Trinity International Saturday afternoon.
The Pride (3-6, 2-3 CCAC) were led by junior Torrance Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) who brought down a career-high 20 rebounds while scoring 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Franklin Nunn (Anderson, Ind./Liberty Christian), Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) and Lukas Vilkovsky (Kosice, Slovakia/Get Better Academy) all scored 13 points while Chandler Spring (Ciovington, Ind./Covington) chipped in with 10 points to round out the PNW leaders.
The Black and Gold would jump out to a 7-0 lead to start off the contest, but the Trojans (9-2, 3-1 CCAC) would climb back to take a 16-14 lead with 13:38 remaining in the first half.
Trinity International would extend their lead and eventually take a 48-39 lead heading into the half.
Purdue Northwest would fight back to get within three points midway through the final half, after a layup by Nunn made it 61-58 in favor of TIU.
The Trojans would stop the Pride from taking back the lead, extending their advantage late in the game and taking the 87-73 win over the Black and Gold.
TIU was led by Zach Kirschbaum who scored 18 points while bringing down 16 rebounds with five assists to headline the offense for the Trojans.
PNW will return to action Tuesday night, when they host Holy Cross College in a CCAC contest at the Student Services and Activities Complex in Westville, Ind. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (CT).
#15 Purdue Northwest Handles TIU, 73-46 Every player reached the scoring column as the No. 15 Purdue University Northwest women’s basketball team cruised to a 73-46 league victory over Trinity International Saturday to remain unbeaten in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
Sophomore guard Heather Burton (Valparaiso, Ind./Washington Township) led the Pride (9-3, 5-0 CCAC) with a career-high 14 points, draining 4-of-6 from downtown, and teammates Cassidy Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) and Katie Wampler (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
PNW never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 19-10 lead after one quarter, led by two triples by Deno. The Pride would extend that lead at the half, outscoring TIU (2-7, 0-5) by a 22-8 margin to take a 41-18 lead at the break.
Purude Northwest finished the game shooting 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field and 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from 3-point land, and only missed five free-throws, making 14 of 19 (73.7 percent). The Pride owned the boards, 43-28, led by junior post Ellie Michalski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago), who snagged nine to go along with six points and two assists.
PNW’s bench outscored TIU, 33-19, and the Pride took advantage of second-chance points, winning that category 11-0.
Freshman post Skylar Ostrowski (Dekalb, Ind./Dekalb) chipped in seven points and classmate Shae Rhonehouse (Fremont, Ind./Fremont) had eight points, five boards, and three assists for the Pride.
Arielle Miree and Basha Ramsey led TIU, who has lost six straight, with 10 points each.
Purdue Northwest returns to action Tuesday, Dec. 6, when the Pride host CCAC foe Holy Cross College at the James B. Dworkin Center in Westville, Ind. Game time is set for 5 p.m. CT in the first game of a doubleheader with the men’s teams.
Purdue Northwest's Gabrielle Martin Earns AVCA All-Region Honors Purdue University Northwest junior Gabrielle Martin snagged the first all-region honor in Pride volleyball program history, as the outside hitter was tabbed an honorable mention selection on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NAIA MidEast all-region team.
Martin (DeMotte, Ind./Kankakee Valley) was a first-team all-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference selection in 2016 after she finished the 2016 season as the league’s top hitter, leading the CCAC in kills per set at 4.03 in conference play.
The junior finished the season with 458 kills on the year, and became a member of the 1,000-kill club back in October. Martin started 31 of 33 matches for PNW, hitting .224 in overall play to go along with 267 digs (2.19 per set), 39 service aces and 41 total blocks.
Martin joined seven other members on the MidEast region team from the CCAC, including first-team selections Tori Mantel (Trinity Christian), Leah Alles (St. Francis), Ashley McClintock (Indiana South Bend), Courtney Joyce (St. Xavier), and Alyssa Bridleman (St. Francis); as well as honorable mention selections Helena Atton (St. Xavier), and Danielle Oeverman (Trinity Christian).
Purdue Northwest, a new program in 2016 after the merger of the Purdue Calumet and Purdue North Central programs, finished the year with 18 wins under head coach Julie Wiejak, the most by either team since the 2010 season when PNC finished with 22 victories.
PNW earned a berth in the CCAC Tournament, the first for either program since the 1990s, eventually falling to No. 2 seed and CCAC Tournament champion St. Francis (Ill.) in five sets Nov. 8.
For a full list of the AVCA NAIA All-Region teams: https://www.avca.org/awards/all-regional-all-america-awards/2016-naia-region.html
