The Carthage College women's basketball team (24-4, 13-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 23rd in the Feb. 26 "D3hoops.com" poll and tied for 24th place in the Feb. 26 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll, opened play in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Friday, March 1 with a 72-55 win over No. 7 Thomas More College (27-2) at Wisconsin-Whitewater's Kachel Gymnasium in Whitewater, Wis. 

No. 22 Wisconsin-Whitewater (22-6) defeated No. 32 Wisconsin Lutheran College (25-3), 68-48, in the other first-round game on Friday.  Carthage (24-4) takes on Wisconsin-Whitewater (22-6) in a second-round contest on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m.

Carthage is making its fourth appearances in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship in 2013. Coach Tim Bernero's 2012 team advanced to the "elite eight," and his 2010 team reached the "sweet 16." The 1996 squad made the Lady Reds' first-ever NCAA appearance.

Carthage had a 17-13 lead at 9:53 first half, but Thomas More scored 11 unanswered points to open up a seven-point lead, 24-17, at 5:50.  Jill Brunsman scored on jumper and a three-pointer in that 11-point Saints run.  The Lady Reds came back with an 11-4 run the close the half with a tied game, 28-28.  Thomas More opened the second period with a 6-1 run to take a 35-29 lead at 18:17.  The Lady Reds came back with a 12-4 run to go up by four, 41-37, at 14:37.  Carthage made it a seven-point game, 53-46, at 7:54 on a layup by Erin Quinn. 

The Saints pulled to within two points, 57-55, at 4:38, but the Lady Reds closed out the game with a 15-0 run to win by 17, 72-55.  A layup by Erin Quinn at 4:30 opened that run, followed by a three-pointer by Stephanie Kuzmanic at 3:54, a jumper by Cailee Corcoran at 3:07, another three by Kuzmanic at 2:23, a layup by Michelle Wenzel at 1:36, a Corcoran free throw at 1:09 and finally a pair of free throws by Wenzel with 53 seconds left.

Carthage shot 47 percent (22-47), including eight-of-16 three-pointers, while Thomas More shot 38 percent (20-53), including just two-of-15 from three-point range.  The Lady Reds got to the free-throw line 26 times and converted 20 of those, while the Saints connected on 13-of-17 free throws.  Thomas More had narrow, 33-32 rebounding edge.  Carthage's Stephanie Kuzmanic (Jr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Wheeling) led all scorers with 24 points on eight-of-13 field goals, including four-of-seven from three-point range, along with four-of-four free throws and three steals.  Michelle Wenzel (Jr., Darien, Wis./Delavan-Darien) came off the bench to add 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.  Jenny Burgoyne was the lone Thomas More player in double figures with 17 points on eight-of-10 shooting, along with five boards.

"We kind of wore Thomas More down," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero.  "For a team as high-powered as they are, I thought we guarded them pretty well.  To keep a team that's averaging in the mid-70s to 55 points is a credit to our team.  We stuck to the plan, and things finally broke open at the end.  It wasn't a 17-point game, except for the final score.  It took us awhile for us to get in gear, and their press was bothering us a little in the early going.  We needed some kind of offensive push late in the first half, and once we got even at 28, we sort of caught our breath.  Kasey Kleiner and Haley Stercic did most of the hard work defending Thomas More's initial ball screen, and that's not easy.  Kasey did a great job doing that when Stephanie Kuzmanic got into foul trouble.  We also got great bench production, particularly from Erin Quinn and Michele Wenzel.  We're very sound off the bench. "

"I think our tournament experience the last two years helped us," said Stephanie Kuzmanic, "but some of our younger players, without tournament experience, really stepped up in this game."