The Carthage women's basketball team (7-3, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opened play at the Carthage Classic on Monday, Dec. 29 with an 86-42 win over St. Mary's College (Ind., 3-8) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis. In Monday's first game, No. 8 the University of St. Thomas (Minn., 9-0) thumped Manchester University (3-6), 73-41. Manchester meets St. Mary's (Ind.) in the Tuesday, Dec. 30 consolation game at 2 p.m., with Carthage taking on St. Thomas (Minn.) in the 4 p.m. title contest.
Carthage jumped out to a 16-point lead, 17-1, at 13:29. The Lady Reds continued to pull away and led by as much as 27 points late in the first period, 43-16. Carthage led by 25 points at the break, 43-18. The lead went to 34 points midway thru the second period, 52-18, at 13:49. The Lady Reds led by as much as 46 points, 86-40, with under a minute to play and went on to win by 44 points, 86-42.
Carthage shot 59 percent (30-51), including nine-of-20 from three-point range, while St. Mary's shot just 26 percent (14-55). The Lady Reds got to free-throw line 29 times and made 17, while the Belles converted 14-of-23. Carthage won the rebounding battle handily, 45-30.
Three Lady Reds starters scored in double figures, with Taylor Boardman (Jr., Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) leading the way with 16 points on a perfect seven-of-seven field goals, along with two-of-four free throws and four rebounds. Kasey Kleiner (Sr., South Milwaukee, Wis./Somers-Shoreland Lutheran) scored 15 points on five-of-eight shooting, including five-of-seven three-pointers, while Erin Thomas (Jr., Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton) added 13 points, four rebounds and five assists. Eleni Shea was the lone St. Mary's player in double figures with 16 points.
"We had a good effort from our kids tonight," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero. "We took a lot of stuff away from them in the first half, even though Alexis Hahn got into foul trouble. The second half was more like a scrum. St. Mary's chooses not to shoot the three-pointer, which makes it an odd game. If you stand up to them, you can make it difficult for them to get shots. It's hard to play, though, when you're up by 25 points at halftime--kids tend to lose their focus. We're starting to find our offensive rhythm. St. Thomas has several All-American-type players, especially in the post. Win or lose, we'll be a better team after tomorrow's game. It should be a heck of a game."