The Carthage College women's basketball team (19-3, 11-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 25th in the Feb. 6 "D3hoops.com" poll and 26th in the Feb. 6 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll, remains undefeated in the league following a 78-54 win over Elmhurst College (9-13, 3-8 CCIW) on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at R.A. Faganel Hall in Elmhurst, Ill.
Carthage remains undefeated in the conference race at 11-0 and has a two-game lead over second-place Wheaton College (Ill.) with three games remaining. The win also extended the Lady Reds' current winning streak to a school-record 12 games, which betters a mark of 11-straight set by the 2009-10 team. In addition, the win was Carthage's 10th in a row on the road, which is also a school-record. The Lady Reds last loss was to Howard Payne University, 64-52 on a neutral court, on Dec. 28 and their last road loss was a 49-46 decision at St. Norbert College on Nov. 17.
Carthage never trailed against Elmhurst. The Lady Reds opened up a 30-10 lead at 8:34, led by as much as 22 points late in the first half and led by 19 at the break, 44-25. The lead grew to 25 points, 50-25, at 17:19 second period and to 30 points, 77-47, at 3:20. Carthage wound up with a 24-point win, 78-54.
The Lady Reds shot 52 percent (30-58), including four-of-nine three pointers, while the Bluejays shot just 33 percent (19-57), including six-of-18 from three-point range. Carthage had a 37-31 rebounding advantage. Three Lady Reds scored in double figures. Stephanie Kuzmanic (Jr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Wheeling) led the way with a game-high 23 points on eight-of-13 field goals, along with a perfect six-of-six free throws, a career-high 13 rebounds and three steals. She also matched a career high with nine assists. Cailee Corcoran (Sr., Oak Lawn, Ill./Chicago-Marist) scored 18 points on eight-of-11 field goals, along with four rebounds and three steals. Haley Stercic (Jr., Chicago, Ill./Marist) added 10 points on four-of-nine shooting, and she also had three steals. Karen Senette topped Elmhurst with 12 points.
"I was very pleased with our focus and attention to detail tonight," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero. "We executed our defensive game plan well and were very efficient on the offensive end. Stephanie Kuzmanic was brilliant, and if we left her out there, she would have picked up a triple-double. I can't imagine there have been many of those in CCIW history. She may get one before she's done."
Carthage plays host to CCIW-opponent Illinois Wesleyan University (15-7, 8-3 CCIW) on Saturday, Feb. 9 in a 5 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.