The Carthage College women's basketball team (15-2, 6-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin), ranked 12th in the Jan. 21 "D3hoops.com" poll and 11th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today NCAA Division III poll, defeated CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (10-7, 2-4 CCIW), 71-33, on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. 

Carthage remains in a first-place tie in the CCIW with Illinois Wesleyan University (12-5, 6-0).  The Titans defeated North Central College, 115-106, on Wednesday in Naperville, Ill.  Carthage plays host to Illinois Wesleyan this Saturday, Jan. 25 in a 5 p.m. contest, also at Tarble Arena.

In a low-scoring first half, Carthage led, 12-6, at 10:34  The Lady Reds led by as much as 11 points on three occasions in the first period and led by nine points at halftime, 23-14.  Carthage pulled away in the second period, outscoring Elmhurst, 48-19.  The Lady Reds extended their lead to 20 points 42-22, at 12:49 and to 31 points, 57-26, at 5:53.  Carthage cruised to a 39-point victory, 71-33.

The Lady Reds shot 48 percent (29-61), including seven-of-16 from three-point range, while the Bluejays managed to connect at just a 23 percent clip (12-52), including one-of-16 three-pointers.  Carthage had a 39-34 rebounding edge over the Elmhurst, and the Bluejays turned the ball over 23 times.

Michelle Wenzel (Sr., Darien, Wis./Delavan-Darien) led the way for Carthage with a game-high 14 points on seven-of-10 field goals, along with eight rebounds.  Stephanie Kuzmanic (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Wheeling), held scoreless in the first period, scored 11 second-half points, connected on five-of-10 field goals and dished out nine assists.  Karen Senette topped Elmhurst with nine points, and Fiona McMahon had eight points and a game-high nine boards.

"We couldn't get ourselves going in the first half," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero  "and they did some stuff to us that made us hesitate.  Elmhurst has some nice pieces, and they made us take some shots a little quicker than we should have.  Once we got going, they couldn't get comfortable scoring.  I thought Michelle Wenzel did a fantastic job defending Fiona McMahon.  We kept them under duress, and for the most part, they never got going.  I told our kids at halftime not to be so down about missed shots in the first half.  You have to stay confident, and the shots will start falling."