No. 10 Panthers top seed in Region IV tournament

By Press release submission

Feb 23, 2022

With the start of the Region IV playoffs, the only win streak Morton College needs to be concerned about is a three-game one.

Three more wins and the Panthers will have earned back-to-back trips to the NJCAA Division II women's basketball national tournament.

Morton College earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight year as the Panthers open the playoffs against Elgin at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 23rd, in the Henry J. Vais Gymnasium.

The Panthers became the first basketball team at Morton College to run the table in Skyway Conference play in 11 years with a 92-31 win over Elgin. The Morton College men put together back-to-back 14-0 seasons in Skyway play during 2010 and 2011 seasons.

It was Morton College's 20th consecutive win as the No. 11 Panthers ended the regular season 24-2 overall and 12-0 in the Skyway.

In addition, the No. 10 Panthers have occupied the NJCAA's top 20 for a Morton College-record 24 consecutive weeks. They're 41-4 in coach Jason Nichols' two seasons at 38th Street and Central Avenue. Morton College also is 22-0 at home and 29-0 against Illinois Region 4 opponents.

MVP, MVP

Sophomore guard Tadriana Heard received the Skyway Conference's Most Valuable Player award. She averaged 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Heard also made 48 three-pointers as Morton College outscored Skyway foes 86.3 to 42.5.

Heard is Morton College's first Skyway MVP since 2000 when guard Yasmin Amezaga pulled down the honors.

Four of Skyway's 10 best are ours

Morton College pulled down four spots on the 10-member all-Skyway team.

Joining Tadriana Heard on the First Team was sophomore Dylan Van Fleet, who averaged 17.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Panthers ran the table for first time in program history.

Second Team honors went to freshman guard Mia Simpson and sophomore guard Franchesca Metz.

Simpson shot 62 percent in league games, averaging 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 3.0 assists per game. Metz averaged 7.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest.

Playoff picture

Region IV quarterfinal games are Wednesday with the highest-seeded team hosting.

District D pairings include:

Elgin (8) at Morton College (1)

South Suburban (5) at McHenry (4)

Lake County (7) at Black Hawk (2)

Milwaukee Area Tech (6) at Moraine Valley (3)

District L pairings include:

Bryant & Stratton (1), bye

Kishwaukee (5) at Olive-Harvey (4)

Carl Sandburg (7) at Oakton (2)

Kankakee (6) at Waubonsee (3)

The semifinals and finals are the following two Saturdays, February 26th and March 5th. Both District winners will represent Region IV at the national tournament.

300th 3 of the season

Jalyssa Carrasco had the honors of making Morton College's 300th three-pointer this season with a trifecta to start the scoring in the Panthers' 92-31 win over Elgin February 18th.

100 Percent Club

Morton College was perfect from the free-throw line for the fifth time this season, going 4 of 4 vs. Elgin.

20-20 Club

Morton College's 26 assists and 23 steals vs. Elgin was the first time this season the Panthers put up a 20-20 in those categories.

3 for 3, Part I

Morton College made 16 three-pointers in the win over Elgin, but only three players were responsible. Jalyssa Carrasco had half of them with eight, while Dylan Van Fleet and Tadriana Heard made up the other half with four apiece.

3 for 3, Part II

Leia James was 3 of 3 from the floor in accounting for her six points off the bench.

Multiples of three

Tadriana Heard's line vs. Elgin – 18 points, six assists and six steals.

Crazy eights

Franchesca Metz led the Panthers with eight rebounds vs. Elgin. She also scored eight points and took eight shots. Also, Tadriana Heard went over the 800 career point mark in the win. She has 808 points in her two seasons at Morton College.

Jelly on a roll

Jalyssa Carrasco reached double figures for a fourth straight game with a career-highs of 26 points and eight three-pointers. She was 8 of 17 from three-point land and added five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The freshman guard is averaging 17.8 points per game in her four contests.

The Simpsons

Mia Simpson's 6 for 8 showing from the floor helped extend the freshman guard's lead on her country-leading field-goal percentage. She's shooting 65.9 percent from the floor. This month, Simpson's field goal percentage is 78.3. She's made 36 of 46 attempts.

Simpson finished with 12 points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists.

Panther flashback

Morton College's 24 wins matches the victory totals by the 2011 Panther men's basketball team. The single-season record for wins by any Morton College basketball team is 26, done by the 2010 men's squad.

A February to remember

Morton College is averaging 95.7 points per game through six contests this month. The Panthers have scored over 90 points in their last five games.

Morton College's 34-point third quarter was the Panthers' highest-scoring quarter of the season. The three points they allowed was the second-lowest.

Terrific twos

Morton College shot 58.8 from two-point range by making 20 of 34 attempts. The Panthers shot 43.9 percent overall, making 36 of 82 attempts.

Skyway splits

Morton College is scoring 86.3 points per game and allowing 42.5 in Skyway play. On the season, the split is 80.7 offense and 43.0 defense.

We're No. 1

Morton College's national leaders:

Individual field-goal percentage – Mia Simpson (65.9 percent)

Individual three-pointers – Tadriana Heard (109)

Defensive average – 43.0 points per game