Morton College is headed back to the NJCAA Division II women's basketball national tournament by virtue of a 101-51 win over Black Hawk in the Region IV finals March 5 at the Henry J. Vais Gymnasium in Cicero.

The win over Black Hawk was Morton College's 23rd straight and pushed the Panthers to 27-2, breaking 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 44-4 in coach Jason Nichols' two seasons at 38th Street and Central Avenue. Morton College also is 25-0 at home and 32-0 against Illinois Region 4 opponents.

It's just the third time in Morton College history for a Panther athletic team to win back-to-back Region IV crowns. Women's basketball (2021-22) joins men's cross country (2005-06) and men's soccer (2014-15) to pull off this feat.

Selection Tuesday
Morton College and all 16 teams will learn their fate when the NJCAA Network airs its "Selection Show" at 2 p.m. Tuesday from its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Nationals run March 15 to 19 in Port Huron, Michigan.

The 16 teams in:
Central - Illinois Central (24-9)     
Central Plains - North Central Missouri    (24-5)     
East A - Niagara County (NY) (28-3)     
East B - Union County (NJ) (24-4)     
Great Lakes A - Muskegon (MI) (24-4)     
Great Lakes B - Oakland (MI) (22-8)     
Great Lakes C - Edison State (OH) (29-0)      
Mid-Atlantic - CCBC Essex (MD) (32-0)     
Midwest A - Bryant and Stratton College (WI) (25-3)     
Midwest B - Morton College (IL)    (27-2)     
North Central - Kirkwood (IA) (32-1)     
Northwest Plains - Dakota (ND) (21-12)     
Plains - Johnson County (KS) (31-1)     
South Atlantic A - Cape Fear (NC) (18-5)     
South Atlantic B - Wake Tech (NC) (25-2)     
West - Mesa (AZ) (22-7)    

Ranked teams in as of final NJCAA D-2 poll February 21st:
1 – Kirkwood
2 – Johnson County
3 – CCBC Essex
6 – Bryant & Stratton
9 – Union County
10 – Morton College
11 – Illinois Central
12 – Wake Tech
13 – Mesa
17 – North Central Missouri
18 – Edison State
20 – Niagara County

Receiving votes:
Muskegon

Unranked:
Oakland, Dakota and Cape Fear

Championship atmosphere
The "White Out Game" vs. Black Hawk generated a great college atmosphere with close to 400 packing the Vais Gymnasium. Black Hawk traveled well, too, bringing a contingent of about 100. 

Playoff picture
Saturday's final pairings (March 5th)
District D
No. 2 Black Hawk 51 at No. 1 Morton College 101

District L
No. 2 Oakton 58 at No. 1 Bryant & Stratton 110

February 26th 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

February 23rd quarterfinal results 
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

MVP, MVP
Tadriana Heard was named the Region IV MVP for the second straight year. The sophomore was one of five Panthers in double figures with 18 points and six assists. She averaged 15.7 points and 6.7 assists per game in Morton College's three Region IV tournament wins.

Heard's also 17th in the country with 141 assists and No. 1 in three-pointers with 118.

Dynamic Dylan
Sophomore guard Dylan Van Fleet was part of the five-member all-tournament team. She registered Morton College's first double-double since February 1st when Franchesca Metz had 11 points and 11 rebounds against Moraine Valley.

Van Fleet went off for 23 points and 14 rebounds. She also had seven steals and five assists. Van Fleet also was instrumental in delivering the knockout blow to any thought of a Black Hawk comeback when she trigged a 9-0 run in the final minute of the first half with a three-pointer, followed by a steal and subsequent layup that built the Panther lead to 51-18.

Van Fleet was a thorn in Black Hawk's side this season. She also registered a double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds in Morton College's 90-51 win November 20th. That victory started Morton College's 23-game win streak.

The Simpsons
Mia Simpson was the third Morton College selection to the all-tournament team. She had 17 points, four assists and four steals. She lost her hold on leading the country in field-goal percentage, but is still shooting a sizzling 65 percent.

She was 7 of 12 from the floor against Black Hawk and connected on 57.1 percent of her shots in the three tournament games. Simpson averaged 11.7 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals.

Roadrunner rooters
It would have a "twice as nice" moment for Nazareth alums Jovanna Martinucci and Franchesca Metz. They celebrated a second straight Region IV title at Morton College and were pulling for a Roadrunner victory over Carmel in the IHSA Class 3A state girls basketball finals later that day. However, Carmel defeated Nazareth 43-39.

Jelly on a roll
Jalyssa Carrasco put together back-to-back double-figure scoring efforts during the Panthers' run through Region IV. The freshman guard put up 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots against Black Hawk.

Boado, Boado
Freshman guard Gianine Boado was Morton College's fifth player in double figures against Black Hawk with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals.

In the three playoff games, Boado averaged 8.3 points and shot 58.8 percent, connecting on 10 of 17 attempts.

100-point mark falls in Autumn
Autumn Jones' two free throws with 1:02 left against Black Hawk pushed the Panthers over the 100-point mark for the fourth time this season and second in the Region IV playoffs. She finished with six points and two rebounds.

Jones' two-game playoff line – 24 points, 16 rebounds and two blocked shots. She's also shooting 62.5 percent, making 10 of 16 attempts.

He couldn't be denied
Morton College coach Jason Nichols picked up his second consecutive Region IV Coach of the Year award. The Panthers won three Region IV tournament games by a 309-146 margin. Morton College averaged a staggering 103 points per game and enjoyed a victory margin of 54.3 points.

The 400-point club
Tadriana Heard and Dylan Van Fleet are the first pair of Panthers in women's basketball history to both score over 400 points in a season. Heard leads the Panthers with 488 points, while Van Fleet's scored 458.

Four quarters of 20-plus 
Morton College posted four 20-point quarters in a contest for the fifth time this season in the win over Black Hawk. The Panther scoring line was 22-29-24-26. 

Five on the floor
The Panthers put five players in double figures against Black Hawk and went to 7-0 when doing so.
Dylan Van Fleet led the way with 23 points, followed by Tadriana Heard (18), Mia Simpson (17), Jalyssa Carrasco (11) and Gianine Boado (11).

Record trips to free-throw line
Morton College's 25 trips to the free-throw line against Black Hawk was the second-most attempts for a single game this season. The Panther high for free throws shot in a game was 27 against Waubonsee January 4th.

Morton College's 18 makes tied a season-best done against Waubonsee January 4th.

Panther flashback
Morton College's 27 wins broke the school-record victory total of the 2010 men's squad, which went a perfect 14-0 in Skyway play and 26-6 overall. 

Best of Morton College 
The .931 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)
.931 – 2022 women's basketball (27-2)
.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:
.917 – 2021-22 women's basketball (44-4)
.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)

Terrific twos
Morton College shot 61.1 percent from two-point range by making 22 of 36 attempts vs. Black Hawk.  The Panthers shot 50.7 percent, connecting on 35 of 69 attempts. 

Terrific threes
Morton College's 13 three-pointers against Black Hawk was the ninth 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.

We're No. 1
Morton College's national leaders:
Individual three-pointers – Tadriana Heard (118)
Defensive average – 43.6 points per game

We're No. 2
Morton College is second nationally in team three-pointers with 352
Individual field-goal percentage – Mia Simpson (65.0 percent)
Assists per game (21.8)

We're also ranked…
Turnovers per game defense (24.0) – 3rd
Field-goal percentage defense (31.4) – 4th 
Points per game (83.0) – 6th 
Field-goal percentage offense (44.2) – 9th
Steals per game (13.9) – 12th
Steals per game – Dylan Van Fleet – 88 (tied for 16th) 
Assists – Tadriana Heard (141) – 17th