The record-setting season for the women's basketball program at Morton College continued in the Panthers' 113-59 Region IV District D semifinal win over McHenry February 26th at the Henry J. Vais Gymnasium in Cicero.

Morton College's 113 points broke the single-game high for points, accomplished December 11, 2018 in a 110-46 win over Olive-Harvey.

The win over McHenry was Morton College's 22nd straight and pushed the Panthers to 26-2, tying the single-season school record of 26 wins set by the 2010 men's squad. 

In addition, the No. 10 Panthers have occupied the NJCAA's top 20 for a Morton College-record 24 consecutive weeks. They're 43-4 in coach Jason Nichols' two seasons at 38th Street and Central Avenue. Morton College also is 24-0 at home and 31-0 against Illinois Region 4 opponents.

Here come the Hawks
The Panthers host Black Hawk in the Region IV title game at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 5th. It's being billed as a "White Out Game," where fans are encouraged to wear white T-shirts in support of the Panthers.

Morton College's 22-game win streak kicked off with a 90-51 win over Black Hawk in the only meeting between the two schools this season November 20th in Cicero. Black Hawk fell to 2-5 at that point, but enter the Region IV title game with 20 wins in its last 24 games. They're 22-9 and carry a nine-game win streak.

The Braves are led by Megan Teal (11.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg), Khloe Damm (9.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Kayla Torres (8.7 ppg) and Alexis Nichols (8.7 ppg).

Hip, hip hooray for Skyway
The Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference is represented in both Region IV district championship games Saturday, March 5th.

Top-seeded Morton College (26-2) hosts Black Hawk (22-9) in the District D title game, while Oakton (22-6) heads north to the Milwaukee area for a championship date at No. 6 Bryant & Stratton (24-3) on the District L side.

Oakton coach Tony Siriscevich Jr. is a former Morton College student-athlete, having played both basketball and golf for the Panthers.

Playoff picture
Saturday's final pairings (March 5th)
District D
No. 2 Black Hawk at No. 1 Morton College

District L
No. 2 Oakton at No. 1 Bryant & Stratton

Both District winners will represent Region IV at the national tournament.

Saturday's semifinal pairings (February 26th)
District D
No. 4 McHenry 59 at No. 1 Morton College 113
No. 3 Moraine Valley 55 at No. 2 Black Hawk 74

District L
No. 5 Kishwaukee 78 at No. 1 Bryant & Stratton 103
No. 3 Waubonsee 65 at No. 2 Oakton 80

Wednesday's quarterfinal results (February 23rd)
District D 
No. 8 Elgin 36 at No. 1 Morton College 95
No. 5 South Suburban 58 at No. 4 McHenry 65
No. 7 Lake County 26 at No. 2 Black Hawk 67
No. 6 Milwaukee Area Tech 51 at No. 3 Moraine Valley 77

District L
Bryant & Stratton (1), bye
No. 5 Kishwaukee 76 at No. 4 Olive-Harvey 67
No. 7 Carl Sandburg 42 at No. 2 Oakton 80
No. 6 Kankakee 65 at No. 3 Waubonsee 93

Franchesca's fabulous February
Sophomore guard Franchesca Metz's fantastic month of February reached another level against McHenry with a career-high 29 points in just 26 minutes. She was 12 of 16 from the floor and made a season-high five three-pointers in eight attempts.

During February, Metz is shooting 59.1 percent from the floor (39 of 66), 81.8 percent from the free-throw line (9 of 11) and averaging 12.4 per game over seven contests.

MVP, MVP
Sophomore guard Tadriana Heard, the Skyway Conference's Most Valuable Player, added 17 points and eight assists, one shy of her season-high. All of Heard's points came in the first half, a span where she and teammate Franchesca Metz outscored McHenry 30-26.

Heard's also been a great playmaker, averaging 6.1 per assists over eight games in February. This month, Heard has had two games with five assists, four with six assists, one with seven assists and one with eight assists. She's 18th in the country with 135 assists.

Jovanna's jump start
Sophomore guard Jovanna Martinucci jump started the Panthers vs. McHenry with a steal, the first of a season team-high 25, in the opening moments.

Martinucci's line for the day was a steady one – four points (2 of 2 shooting), five assists and five steals. She also added a blocked shot.

The Simpsons
Mia Simpson was 5 of 9 from the floor against McHenry as the freshman guard continues to lead the country in field-goal percentage at 65.3 percent. This month, Simpson's field goal percentage is an out-of-this world 72.6. She's made 45 of 62 attempts.

Simpson finished with 10 points and two assists vs. McHenry.

Jelly back on a roll
After having a streak of four consecutive games in double figures stopped against Elgin, freshman guard Jalyssa Carrasco rebounded with a 13-point, nine-assist, five-steal effort vs. McHenry. The nine assists was a season-high.

Turkey shoot
Aden Edebali put the Panthers over the century mark for the third time this month with a three-pointer from the corner during the fourth quarter vs. McHenry. Edebali, who hails from Istanbul, Turkey, was 3 of 5 from three-point range to finish with nine points. Her three threes matched a season-high against Olive-Harvey, a game where Edebali netted her career high of 11 points.

Boado, Boado
Freshman guard Gianine Boado has been steady in a reserve role during Morton College's two playoff games. She chipped in six points and two steals vs. McHenry.

In the two playoff games, Boado is averaging seven points and 3.5 rebounds. She's shooting 58.3 percent, connecting on 7 of 12 attempts.

Autumn in February
Autumn Jones came off the bench and enjoyed her second straight nine-point game in the playoffs. She finished with nine points and eight rebounds, six on the offensive end.

Jones' two-game playoff line – 18 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots. She's also shooting 61.5 percent, making 8 of 13 attempts.

Fast and furious in the middle 
Morton College's 35-point third quarter vs. McHenry was a season high. After establishing a 24-17 first-quarter lead, the Panthers outscored McHenry 29-9 and 35-5 (64-14) over the next two stanzas to open up an 88-31 advantage. 

It also was just fourth time this season the Panthers have posted four 20-point quarters in a contest.

Just plain fast and furious
Morton College forced 45 turnovers, which resulted in 63 points. The Panthers also got up 87 shots to McHenry's 38.

Five 20-point efforts
Franchesca Metz became the fifth Morton College player to turn in a 20-point performance this season. She joins Tadriana Heard, Dylan Van Fleet, Mia Simpson and Jalyssa Carrasco.

Five on the floor
The Panthers put five players in double figures against McHenry. Franchesca Metz led the way with 29 points, followed by Tadriana Heard (17), Jalyssa Carrasco (13), Dylan Van Fleet (11) and Mia Simpson (10). Autumn Jones and Aden Edebali toyed with double figures as both scored nine.

Panther flashback
Morton College's 26 wins equal the school-record victory total of the 2010 men's squad. 

Legendary Morton College teams
The .929 winning percentage by the 2021-22 women's basketball team is the second-highest in program history.

The top five single-season winningest programs in Morton College athletic history are:
.952 – 1947 men's basketball (20-1)
.929 – 2022 women's basketball (26-2)
.895 – 2021 women's basketball (17-2)
.848 – 2018 men's soccer (19-3-1)
.813 – 2010 men's basketball (26-6)

The winningest programs over back-to-back years in Morton College athletic history are:
.915 – 2021-22 women's basketball (43-4)
.912 – 1946-47 men's basketball (31-3)
.870 – 1947-48 men's basketball (40-6)
.815 – 2018-19 men's soccer (37-8-1)
.800 – 1956-57 men's basketball (32-8)
.781 – 2010-11 men's basketball (50-14)

A February to remember
Morton College is averaging 97.8 points per game through eight contests this month. The Panthers have scored over 90 points in their last seven games.

Terrific twos
Morton College shot 67.3 from two-point range by making 33 of 49 attempts vs. McHenry. The Panthers shot a season-high 54.0 percent, connecting on 47 of 87 attempts. 

Terrific threes
Morton College's 14 three-pointers against McHenry was the eighth straight time the Panthers have reached double digits for threes. The Panthers' previous longest streak this season was six between November 20th and December 18th.

100 Percent Club
Morton College was perfect from the free-throw line for the sixth time this season, going 5 of 5 vs. McHenry. The Scots also were pretty good from the welfare walk, making 12 of 13 tries.

We're No. 1
Morton College's national leaders:
Individual field-goal percentage – Mia Simpson (65.3 percent)
Individual three-pointers – Tadriana Heard (114)
Defensive average – 43.3 points per game

We're No. 2
Morton College is second nationally in team three-pointers with 339

We're also ranked…
Assists per game (21.7) – 3rd
Field-goal percentage defense (31.7) – 6th
Points per game (82.4) – 8th
Turnovers per game defensive – 22.9 (8th)
Steals per game (13.5) – 14th
Assists – Tadriana Heard (135) – 18th
Steals per game – Dylan Van Fleet – 81 (19th)