The Carthage College women's basketball team (8-3, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 26th in the Dec. 18 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll and tied for 37th place in the Dec. 18 "D3hoops.com" poll, closed out its non-conference schedule on Saturday night, Dec. 29 with a 64-52 win over Trinity University (Texas, 6-4) at the Trinity Classic at the Earl C. Sams Gymnasium in San Antonio, Texas. Carthage opened tournament play on Friday afternoon, Dec. 28 with a 62-54 loss to Howard Payne University (8-2).
Much like Friday's game with Howard Payne, Carthage opened a quick and substantial lead, 16-4, at 14:14 with the help of two three-pointers by Haley Stercic. Carthage still led by 12, 24-12, at 8:17 before Trinity closed the gap. An 18-6 run over the next five minutes gave the Tigers a 30-30 tie at 1:44. The Lady Reds led by two at the break, 32-30.
Trinity took its first lead since the game's opening basket, 39-37, at 14:13. A three-pointer by Stephanie Kuzmanic at 13:58 put the Lady Reds up to stay, 40-39. Carthage opened up a five-point lead, 44-39, at 10:19 and went up by 10, 53-43, at 7:11 on a three by Stercic. The Lady Reds led by as much as 14 points with just over two minutes to go and went on to win by 12, 64-52.
Carthage short 41 percent (26-64), including six-of-19 three-pointers, while Trinity shot just 30 percent (18-60), including six-of-21 from three-point range. The Lady Reds had a 53-36 rebounding advantage over the Tigers. Three Carthage players scored in double figures. Stephanie Kuzmanic (Jr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Wheeling) led the way with 19 points on seven-of-13 field goals, including three-of-seven three-pointers, along with two-of-three free throws, eight rebounds and six assists. Cailee Corcoran (Sr., Oak Lawn Ill./Chicago-Marist) scored 13 points on six-of-12 shooting, along with a game-high 10 rebounds and four steals, while Kristi Schmidt (Jr., Bloomington, Ill./Normal-Community) added 12 points and eight boards.
Murphy Burns led the Trinity with a game-high 23 points on eight-of-20 from the floor, including three-of-nine from three-point range, along with a perfect four-of-four free throws, six rebounds and three steals.
The Lady Reds open their CCIW-schedule on Wednesday, Jan. 2 by traveling to Decatur, Ill., to take on Millikin University in a 5:30 p.m. game at the Griswold Physical Education Center.