The Carthage College women's basketball team (17-7, 8-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) survived a scare on Tuesday, Feb. 15 with a 58-56 win over CCIW-opponent North Park University (9-15, 3-10 CCIW) at the North Park Gym in Chicago. Carthage trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half. The Lady Reds remain in fourth place, trailing first-place Illinois Wesleyan University, second-place Wheaton College (Ill.) and third-place Millikin.
North Park took an eight-point lead in the first half, 24-16 at 6:25. A three-pointer by Sara Christensen and a layup by Sarah Peterson gave the Vikings a 14-point advantage, 40-26, with 35 seconds to go in the period. North Park led by 12 at the break, 40-28. The Lady Reds whittled the lead down to five points on two occasions in the second half, the last time at 46-41 at 13:07. A three-pointer by Carthage's Allison Groessl at 7:58 made it a three-point game, 50-47 and a three-pointer by Dani Ripkey at 2:15 tied the game, 54-54.
Heather Gilmore missed a layup at 1:29, and the Vikings' Sarah Peterson missed a jumper at 1:00, ether of which would have broken the tie. North Park rebounded Peterson's miss but turned the ball over. Carthage took over and called a time out with 44 seconds to play. Gilmore scored on a layup with 39 second remaining to put the Lady Reds up by two, 56-54. The Vikings took a time out at 33 seconds. Roxanne Jones was fouled at 22 seconds, and she made the first shot of a one-and-one to make it 56-55. Carthage's Taylor Tondelli was fouled at 17 seconds and made both free throws to put the Lady Reds up by three, 58-55. Shaina Yalda missed a three-pointer at seven seconds that would have tied the game. Lyndsey Thompson was fouled at two seconds and made one free throw to make it 58-56. Roxanne Jones rebounded for the Vikings but missed a layup at the buzzer that also would have tied the game.
Carthage shot 38 percent (20-53), including six-of-17 three-pointers, while North Park shot 39 percent (22-56), including four-of-15 from three-point range. The Lady Reds had a narrow, 38-37 rebounding edge. Cailee Corcoran (So., Oak Lawn, Ill./Chicago-Marist) led Carthage with 14 points on six-of-12 field goals, along with five rebounds, while Heather Gilmore (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa/Pleasant Hill-Southeast) had 13 points and six rebounds. Diana Jacklin (Jr., Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) scored eight points with seven rebounds before fouling out. Lyndsey Thompson topped North Park with 12 points and five boards. Roxanne Jones scored 11 points with nine rebounds, and Sarah Peterson added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Carthage closes out its regular-season schedule on Saturday, Feb. 19 by playing host to conference-opponent Millikin University in a 2 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.