The Carthage College women's basketball team (10-4, 1-2 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 32nd in the Jan. 11 "D3hoops.com" poll and 26th in the Jan. 4 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll, snapped a two-game losing streak on Tuesday, Jan. 11 with a 67-53 win over CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (6-8, 1-2 CCIW) at R.A. Faganel Hall in Elmhurst, Ill.
Carthage used a 12-0 run to jump out to a 14-3 lead, thanks in part, to three field goals by Cailee Corcoran. Elmhurst got as close as six points, 21-15, at 5:04, but the Lady Reds led by 12 at halftime, 31-19. The second half was all Carthage, as the Lady Reds opened the period with a 24-6 run to open up a 25-point lead, 55-25, at 9:29 second half. Carthage went on to win by 14 points, 67-53, despite being out-scored, 26-10, down the stretch. Carthage shot 47 percent (25-53), while Elmhurst connected at just a 28 percent clip (16-58). The Lady Reds had a narrow, 39-35 edge in rebounding over the Bluejays.
Cailee Corcoran (So., Oak Lawn, Ill./Chicago-Marist) was the lone Carthage player in double figures with 11 points on five-of-10 field goals, along with one-of-two free throws and five rebounds. Allison Groessl (Jr. Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) had eight points with Dani Ripkey (Jr., Deerfield, Ill.) and Taylor Tondelli (Sr., Downers Grove, Ill./South) scoring seven points each. Ceejay Harris topped the Bluejays with a game-high 14 points, and Kelsey Monroe added 11 points.
"I gave a lot of people a chance to play in this game," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero, "which is part of the reason things got a little sloppy at the end." Those players have to play at the same level as everyone else, and that's the standard you set. We had a really good one early and frustrated Elmhurst early, but they kept playing hard to the end. That was still a pretty convincing win for us. We were concerned, coming in, about Megan Ney and Meghan Merklein, and we held them to a total of six points. That's a good prescription for us to have a good night. We also did a good job on the boards. We need to keep going. The intensity and play moves up when you get into conference play. You have to be ready to play, and we were tonight."
On Saturday, Jan. 15, the Lady Reds play host to conference-opponent Augustana College (Ill., 4-10, 0-3 CCIW) in a 5 p.m. contest at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.