The Carthage College women's basketball team (15-4, 6-2 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 32nd in the Jan. 24 "D3hoops.com" poll, began the second half of CCIW play with a 68-43 defeat of North Central College (6-13, 0-8) in a CCIW game Saturday, Jan. 28 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The Lady Reds remain in a three-way tie for second place with Elmhurst College and Wheaton College (Ill.), but picked up a game on first-place Illinois Wesleyan University, thanks to Wheaton's double-overtime victory over visiting Illinois Wesleyan.
Cailee Corcoran (Jr., Oak Lawn, Ill., Chicago-Marist) led Carthage with 19 points. Diana Jacklin (Sr., Berwyn, Ill., Morton West) contributed 14 points and became the 19th player in the history of the program to pass 1,000 points. She stands at 1,003. Kristi Schmidt (So., Bloomington, Ill., Normal-Community) scored nine points, Allison Groessl (Sr., Park Ridge, Ill., Maine South) eight, and Dani Ripkey (Sr., Deerfield, Ill., Deerfield) added six assists and three steals.
The Lady Reds took control early. They made seven-straight field-goal attempts to open a 16-3 lead with 13 minutes, 33 seconds to play in the first half. The Lady Reds opened the advantage to 25-3, and held a 42-14 halftime lead after a basket by Corcoran. Jacklin's basket on Carthage's first possession of the second half put her at 1,001 points. Carthage opened its biggest lead, 68-30, on a three-point basket by Haley Stercic (So., Chicago, Ill., Marist) with 4:30 remaining. North Central scored the final 13 points. Jacklin, who also blocked four shots and had three steals, is in her third season after transferring from Florida Gulf Coast University. Next on the school scoring list is Ellen O'Connor (1982-85) with 1,038 points
Carthage, which came into the game leading NCAA Division III in field-goal shooting at 46.8 percent, made 28 of 56 shots against North Central to boost its season mark 47.0 percent. The Lady Reds shot 19-for-36 (52.8 percent) during the first half while committing only two turnovers (they finished with 15). Carthage held its opponent under 28-percent shooting for the second time in three games, as the Cardinals were 16 of 59 (27.1).
"As long as we can take care of the ball and execute, we've got people who can score from all over the floor," Carthage coach Tim Bernero said. "The last time we played them we had 27 turnovers. This time, they didn't really do anything drastically different defensively, and once we got comfortable and started making shots, that's what happened. Had Diana Jacklin been here for four years, she'd be in the top-five in the school's history, but a 1,000 in less than three years is pretty good. She's really taken on a different level in the last two months. She didn't play as many minutes as she usually does, but she did a good job again today. The thing I said to the girls at halftime was, you guys are worried more about her getting (1,000) than she is. That's the kind of kid she is. She's very humble. She's a great kid. She's doing whatever she can for her teammates. She doesn't need the spotlight and doesn't look for it, but for us to be good she needs to be that player."
On Wednesday, Feb. 1, Carthage travels to Chicago for a CCIW game against North Park University (8-11, 2-6 CCIW) at 7:30 p.m. in the North Park Gym.