The Carthage women's basketball team (8-4, 1-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opened its CCIW-schedule on Saturday, Jan. 3 with a 74-51 win over Augustana College (Ill., 6-6, 0-1) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.

Carthage led for most of the first half, as the Lady Reds eased out to a 12-point lead, 31-19, at 5:06.  Carthage led by 13 points at halftime, 38-25.  The Lady reds upped their lead to 20 points midway thru the second half, 54-34, at 12:08.  The Vikings made a run a the 10-minute mark and closed the gap to seven points, 54-47, at 6:50, but Carthage pulled away to take a 24-point lead, 74-50, with 54 seconds left.  The Lady Reds wound up with a 23-point victory, 74-51.

Carthage shot 45 percent (23-51), including eight-of-21 three-pointers, while Augustana was limited to 37 percent shooting (20-54), including just two-of-23 from three-point range.  The Lady Reds got to the free-throw line 27 times and made 20, while the Vikings converted nine-of-17.  Augustana had a narrow, 34-33 rebounding edge.

All five Carthage starters scored in double figures.  Alexis Hahn (Jr., Itasca, Ill./Roselle-Lake Park) had 17 points on seven-of-16 field goals, along with three-of-three free throws and six rebounds.  Taylor Boardman (Jr., Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) also scored 17 points on five-of-19 shooting, along with seven-of-nine free throws and six boards.  Allison Riley (Sr., Cudahy, Wis.) had 14 points on four-of-field field goals, including three-of-four three-pointers, along with seven rebounds and five assists.  Erin Thomas (Jr., Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton) had 11 points, as did Kasey Kleiner (Sr., South Milwaukee, Wis./Somers-Shoreland Lutheran).

Erin Quinn (Sr., Island Lake, Ill./Mundelein-Carmel Catholic), who re-injured her right shoulder in the Dec. 30 St. Thomas (Minn.) game, did not play and remains sidelined for at least another week.  Marissa Pezzopane was the lone Augustana player in double figures with 19 points on eight-of-18 shooting and a game-high 10 rebounds.

"We lost focus for a few minutes," admitted Carthage coach Tim Bernero.  "I don't know if that was my fault for substituting, or if we just took our foot off the gas.  We get bored sometimes, which is maturity issue that this team has to work through.  When we were good, we were really one, but we got rushed in the second half and started to take the three-point shot a little fast.  Allison Riley did a nice job today, which nice to see, because she hasn't had a chance to play much over the past two seasons.  Everybody played a pretty good game.  We need to be a better defensive team, especially on the drive to basket."

Carthage plays host to North Park University (8-4, 0-1 CCIW) on Wednesday, Jan. 7 in a 7 p.m. contest, also at Tarble Arena.