The Carthage College women's basketball team (19-2, 10-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin), ranked ninth in the Feb. 4 "D3hoops.com" poll and eighth in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today NCAA Division III poll, won its 12th game in a row on Saturday, Feb. 8 with an 80-53 decision over CCIW-opponent Augustana College (Ill., 5-17, 1-10) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.  With the win, the Lady Reds matched a school-record 12-game win streak set in the 2012-13 season.  Carthage has not lost since falling to Coe College on Dec. 17. 

Augustana scored the game's first field goals and led by four, 12-8, at 12:57.  The Lady Reds broke a 17-17 tie with a 13-2 run to go up by 11 points, 30-19, at 4:39.  The Vikings closed out the half on an 8-2 run to pull to within five, 32-27.  The second half was pretty much all Carthage, as the Lady Reds out-scored the Vikings by a 48-26 margin.  Carthage went up by 13, 56-43, at 8:54 and pulled away from there.  The Lady Reds led by as much as 28 points late in the game, 80-52, and won by 27, 80-53.

Carthage shot 55 percent (30-53), including nine-of-19 from three-point range, while Augustana shot just 35 percent (20-57), including just three-of-17 three-pointers.  Carthage had a 38-26 rebounding edge over Wheaton.  The Lady Reds got to the free-throw line 15 times and made 11, while the Vikings hit 10-of-15.

All five Carthage starters scored in double figures.  Kasey Kleiner (Jr., South Milwaukee, Wis./Somers-Shoreland Lutheran) led the way with 15 points on five-of-seven three-pointers.  Erin Quinn (Jr., Island Lake, Ill./Mundelein-Carmel Catholic) scored 12 points.  Haley Stercic (Sr., Chicago, Ill./Marist), Kristi Schmidt (Sr., Bloomington, Ill./Normal-Community) and Michelle Wenzel (Sr., Darien, Wis./Delavan-Darien) had 11 points each, Stercic with seven rebounds and Wenzel with five assists.  

Stephanie Kuzmanic (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Wheeling) missed her second-straight game with a turned ankle.  She may return on Wednesday at Elmhurst College.  Molly Etheridge led Augustana with 12 points. 

"Sometimes, if you can make shots," pointed out Carthage coach Tim Bernero, "you can forgive some other sins.  We were indifferent, defensively, in the first half.  It felt like we were disorganized, and that was my fault.  I told our team at halftime that just because they're pressing you doesn't mean you have to play out of control.  In the second half, we stuck to our half-court game, and Kasey Kleiner started to knock down some three-pointers.  All of the sudden, we had a big lead.  We played a more physical and more urgent game in the second half.  We were able to get two wins this week without our All-American point guard, so that's good."

Carthage travels to Elmhurst, Ill., on Wednesday, Feb. 12 to play conference-opponent Elmhurst College (12-9, 4-6 CCIW) in a 7 p.m. game at R.A. Faganel Hall.