It would have been 22 degrees at game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday night, so even 41 degrees in Texas qualifies as a holiday trip.  The Carthage College women's basketball team (8-2, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 16th in the Dec.21 "D3hoops.com" poll and 16th in the Dec. 14 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll, opened a two-game trip to the Lone Star State on Tuesday, Dec. 28 with a 72-53 win over Austin College (3-5) at Hughey Gym in Sherman, Texas.  Carthage plays the University of Texas-Dallas (10-1) on Wednesday, Dec. 29, also at 6 p.m. at Hughey Gym.

In the win over Austin, Carthage took a 12-10 lead at 11:50 first half before a 12-0 run by the Lady Reds extended their margin to 14 points, 24-10. at 5:42.  A three-pointer by Drewann Pancratz at 4:16 made it a 15-point game, 27-12.  Carthage led by 12 points, 32-20, at halftime.  The Kangaroos pulled to within 10 points, 32-22 at 18:54.  Leading by 11 points, 43-32, at 11:26, Carthage took off on an 14-4 run to take its largest lead of the game at 21 points, 57-36, at 6:41.  The Lady Reds went on to win by 19 points, 72-53.

Carthage shot 41 percent (24-58), including 52 percent (14-27) in the second half, while Austin managed 35 percent for the game (18-52), including just 28 percent (7-25) in the first period.  The Kangaroos out-rebounded the Lady Reds by four, 40-36, but turned the ball over 19 times to just 11 for Carthage.  Diana Jacklin (Jr., Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) led the Lady Reds with 15 points on four-of-nine field goals and seven-of-10 free throws, along with four rebounds.  Kristi Schmidt (Fr., Bloomington, Ill./Normal-Community) was the only other Carthage player in double figures with 14 points on four-of-six shooting and six-of-seven from the free-throw line.  Kersti Marusich topped Austin with 13 points and five rebounds, while Shayna Clardy had 12 points.