The Carthage College women's basketball team (6-1, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 31st in the Dec. 6 "D3hoops.com" poll, came up with a big second half to defeat Loras College (4-4), 67-51, on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the Athletic Wellness Center in Dubuque, Iowa.  The loss for Loras was the first at home this season for the Duhawks.

Carthage was leading by six in the first half, 28-22, when Haley Stercic connected on a three-pointer with 2:00 to play to put Carthage up by nine, 31-22.  The Lady Reds led by that amount at halftime, 35-26.  A three-pointer by Dani Ripkey and a layup by Diana Jacklin early in the second half put Carthage up by 12, 40-28, at 17:23.  The Duhawks came up with an 9-1 run to pull to within four, 41-37, at 15:09.  The Lady Red went back up by eight, 47-39, at 12:30. before Loras took off on an 8-2 run to make it a two-point game, 49-47, at 8:42.  Carthage took control at that point with a 18-4 run to close out the game and take a 67-51 decision.

Carthage shot 50 percent (27-54), while Loras connected at just a 36 percent clip (19-53).  The rebounds were even at 33 each.  Kristi Schmidt (So., Bloomington, Ill./Normal-Community) came off the bench to lead Carthage with 14 points on five-of-six field goals and three-of-four free throws, along with five rebounds.  Carthage's Cailee Corcoran (Jr., Oak Lawn, Ill./Chicago-Marist) scored a game-high 19 points on eight-of-18 field goals, along with three-of-six free throws and six rebounds, while Diana Jacklin (Sr., Berwyn, Ill..Morton West) had 18 points on seven-of-12 shooting and four-of-four free throws, along with nine rebounds.  Kelly Rogowski topped Loras with 15 points.

"We played really well in the first half," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero.  "We weren't as crisp on either end for the first couple of minutes of the second half, and it gave Loras a little life.  We did a fine job the last 12 or 15 minutes to grind them down.  Our zone defense was good tonight, and we haven't used a lot of that.  We used it to prevent Loras from getting to the free-throw line.  We also did a really nice job of handling their half-court pressure and getting some easy layups.  If we get good shots, we have the players who can make them.  A 16-point win on the road against a team that's going to have a pretty good year--we'll take that.  You hope you can go through the season clean, but the University of Chicago game over Thanksgiving was a moment where we got slapped in the face.  We're playing better since then, and Saturday's Coe game should be another test."

Carthage plays host to Coe College on Saturday, Dec. 10 in a 4 p.m. contest at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.