The Carthage College women's basketball team (9-2, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) ranked 14th in the Dec. 17 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today NCAA Division III poll and 16th in the "D3hoops.com" poll, knocked off No. 8 Wisconsin-Whitewater (8-2), 91-77, on Sunday, Dec. 29 on the second day of the "D3hoops.com Classic" at the South Point Hotel Casino Arena in Las Vegas.
Carthage opened tournament play on Saturday, Dec. 28 with an 88-61 win over Carroll University (Wis., 5-4).
Carthage took a 17-19 lead at 15:57 first half. After Wisconsin-Whitewater closed to within five, 19-14, at 14:04, a couple of three-pointers by Kasey Kleiner, one at 13:29 and the other at 11:59, put the Lady Reds up by 11 points, 27-16. Another three by Kleiner, her third of the half, gave Carthage a 16-point lead, 32-16, at 10:55. a three-pointer by Haley Stercic at 10:06 made it a 19-point game, 35-16. Stercic hit another three-pointer at 9:38, and the Lady Reds led by 22, 38-16, capping a 19-2 run over six minutes.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Abbi Reeves (So., Salem, Wis./Westosha Central) at 5:10 and 3:56 cut the lead to 11 points, 38-27. Two free throws by Amy Mandrell at 3:21 made it a nine-point game, 38-29. The Warhawks pulled to within six, 39-33, at 2:15, as the Lady Reds went just over seven minutes without a field goal in that stretch. An 8-0 run to close out the half gave Carthage a 14-point lead, 47-33, at the break.
The Lady Reds went back up by 17 points early in the second half, 54-37, at 16:50. The Warhawks cut the lead to eight points, 62-54, at 9:24. Still leading by eight, 67-59, at 7:44, Carthage scored eight unanswered points to take a 16-point lead and put the game away, 75-59, at 5:38. The Lady Reds went on to win by 14 points, 91-77.
"We had control of the game when the ball was in Stephanie Kuzmanic's hands," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero. "She and I got at it a little bit, because I am so adamant about having the ball in her hands. It's not that I don't trust the others, but she is so good. She's the one who has to drive this group."
Carthage shot 52 percent (34-65), including seven-of-15 from three-point range, while Wisconsin-Whitewater shot just 38 percent (24-63), including nine-of-20 three-pointers. The Lady Reds got to the free-throw line 26 times and made 16, while the Warhawks hit 20-of-27. Carthage out-rebounded UW-Whitewater by a 45-35 margin.
Michelle Wenzel (Sr., Darien, Wis./Delavan-Darien) led the way with 20 points on nine-of-13 field goals and two-of-three free throws, along with eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Stephanie Kuzmanic (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Wheeling) scored 16 points on five-of-17 shooting and six-of-eight free throws, along with eight rebounds and seven assists. Kasey Kleiner (Jr., South Milwaukee, Wis./Somers-Shoreland Lutheran) had 15 points on four-of-five field goals, including three-of-four three-pointers. Kristi Schmidt (Sr., Bloomington, Ill./Normal-Community) had 11 points and five boards, while Alexis Hahn (So., Itasca, Ill./Roselle-Lake Park) added 11 points and six rebounds. Kuzmanic was named the tournament MVP, and Wenzel was named to the all-tournament team.
Abbi Reeves led the Warhawks with a game-high 22 points on six-of-11 shooting, including six-of-nine three-pointers, along with four-of-five free throws. Mary Merg added 15 points.
"Wisconsin-Whitewater gave us a chance to play in the open court at the beginning of the game," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero, "and our guards scored on layups. They adjusted, but we made a truckload of three-pointers in the middle of the half. The only problem we had in the first half was when we didn't score on either of those, and they got some momentum. The doomsday coach in me said that Wisconsin-Whitewater came back from 20 points down to beat Elmhurst earlier this season, but it was a fun game and a great effort by our kids. We've had multiple post players with 20-point games of late, and today it was Michelle Wenzel. UW-Whitewater is very athletic, and they rebound from all over the place, but we did a good job of gang-rebounding."
The tournament completed the Lady Reds' non-conference schedule. Carthage opens its CCIW-schedule on Saturday, Jan. 4 by traveling to Rock Island, Ill., to play Augustana College (Ill.) in a 5 p.m. game at the Roy J. Carver Physical Education Center. "I've told our kids that you don't defend a conference championship—you have to go an win another one," said Bernero. "It starts on Saturday. The intensity of the UW-Whitewater game was like an NCAA tournament game, and that should get us ready for the CCIW."