You got to believe. After not being at all sure of even getting into this year's NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship, the Carthage College women's basketball team (22-7), ranked 34th in the Feb. 28 "D3hoops.com" poll, is in the "sweet 16" after eliminating No. 4 DePauw University (27-2), 53-48, in a second-round game on Saturday, March 3 at DePauw's Neal Fieldhouse in Greencastle, Ind. Carthage knocked off No. 19 Wisconsin-Whitewater (22-7), 74-68, on Friday, March 2 in a first-round game, with DePauw defeating Westminster College (Mo., 22-5), 66-46, in Friday's other first-round contest.
The sectionals will take place on Friday-Saturday, March 9-10, with the national championship at Hope College's DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland, Mich., on Friday-Saturday, March 16-17. Carthage's likely destinations for sectional play are the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, or Centre College in Danville, Ky. The NCAA will announce the sectional sites on Monday, March 5. Wherever the next game is played, the Lady Reds will take on No. 22 Centre College. The Colonels (26-3) defeated Washington University (Mo.), 57-55, in a second-round home game on Saturday in Danville, Ky.
The Carthage win snapped a 26-game home winning streak for DePauw, who had also won 76 of its last 77 home contests and 88 of its last 90. The Tigers also entered the game with a 26-game overall winning streak this season.
Neither team struck much of an advantage in the first half. Carthage had an early, five-point lead, 7-2, and a four-point edge, 10-6 lead at 13:19. DePauw took its first lead, 12-10, at 11:01 and led by as four, 14-10, at 10:05. The Lady Reds went back up, 15-14, and the lead seesawed from there, with Carthage leading by one at halftime, 25-24. DePauw, ranked second in the nation in rebounding margin (12.6 per game), showed how good they were on the boards in the first period, out-rebounding Carthage, 23-7, including a 15-1 margin on the offensive boards. The Tigers, however, shot only 30 percent in the period (10-33), while the Lady Reds connected at a 56 percent clip (10-18).
The tight game continued in the second half, with the Lady Reds inching out to a five-point lead, 34-29, at 13:25. Carthage was still leading by five, 36-31, at 11:45 when DePauw took off on a 10-0 run to go up by five, 41-36. Back-to-back three-pointers by Ali Ross and Alex Gassaway capped the 10-0 run. The Lady Reds pulled to within one, 45-44, at 4:09 on two free throws by Cailee Corcoran, but a three-pointer by Kate Walker at 3:53 put the Tigers up by four, 48-44. A layup by Diana Jacklin at 2:12 made it two-point game, 48-46, and Stephanie Kuzmanic's three-pointer at 1:25 gave Carthage a one-point lead, 49-48.
With 1:21 left, DePauw called a timeout, but Ali Ross missed a three-point attempt with 43 seconds remaining. Carthage's Diana Jacklin rebounded, Carthage called timeout, and Dani Ripkey hit a 20 footer to put Carthage up by three, 51-48, with 20.6 seconds to go. Ross missed a three-pointer at 11 seconds. DePauw rebounded, but Kuzmanic was called for a foul, and the Tigers inbounded under their own basket with 6.9 second left. Savannah Trees turned the ball over, and Kuzmanic was fouled by Ross. Kuzmanic drained both free throws at 4.5 seconds for the final, 53-48 margin.
Carthage shot 50 percent (20-40), including six-of-12 three-pointers, while DePauw shot just 30 percent (18-60), including five-of-16 from three-point range. The Lady Reds converted seven-of-nine from the free-throw line, while the Tigers shot seven-of-eight. DePauw wound up with a whopping, 41-19 rebounding advantage. Dani Ripkey (Sr., Deerfield, Ill.) led the Lady Reds with 15 points on six-of-10 field goals, including three-of-five three-pointers. Diana Jacklin (Sr., Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) and Allison Groessl (Sr., Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) had 10 points each, with Jackal adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
"This was not exactly how we wanted to finish up," said DePauw coach Kris Huffman, "but we ran into a very good Carthage team. "Our effort was good, and we stuck to our game plan. We had good looks, and "if we hit a couple more shots, the outcome might have been different."
"When I looked at the stats sheet after the game," said Carthage Tim Bernero, "it didn't make any sense. They were every bit as advertised as to how they handle you on the boards. The play a methodical style, and they're hard to guard. We had to get used to it, because our last two games have been full court, chase and press kind of games. It was old-fashioned, half-court basketball, and we're hoping to stand up to them just enough on the boards. I guess we did that for the last four minutes, but to get out-rebounded, 41-19, and still win the game is strange. The way they play, you have to physically stand up to them and play in front of them When we did that, they had a hard time making shots. It sort of seemed odd they had so many extra shots. DePauw did a good job at making us uncomfortable, as well. I thought we were in trouble late in the game when we missed some free throws, and that's when DePauw almost took control of the game. The kids hung in there and made some plays.
"I sort of thought we were undervalued all year," concluded Bernero, "but we earned that by not winning some big games like the University of Chicago, Coe College and Illinois Wesleyan University. Some of those games were so close. Getting into the tournament gave us another breath, and maybe now we'll be in the radar a little more."
Carthage has made two other appearances in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. Coach Tim Bernero's 2010 team advanced to the sectional semifinals in St. Louis, Mo., before losing to the George Fox University. Coach Rich Fanning's 1996 squad made the Lady Reds' first-ever NCAA appearance but lost to CCIW-opponent Wheaton College (Ill.) in a first-round game in Wheaton, Ill.