The Carthage College women's basketball team (9-13, 5-6 CCIW) got a major scare from but prevailed over Augustana College (Ill., 10-12, 5-6 CCIW), 72-65, on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Roy J. Carver Physical Education Center in Rock Island, Ill. The Lady Reds saw a 25-point third-period lead almost disappear down the stretch. Augustana defeated Carthage, 56-51, on Jan. 16 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
With the win, the Lady Reds pulled to within hailing distance of fourth place in the league. Carthage entered the game tied for sixth place and two games out of fourth place. The Lady Reds have three games remaining on their league slate.
Carthage was nursing a one-point lead in the first period, 12-11, before Bailey Gilbert connected on three-consecutive three pointers to give the Lady Reds an eight-point lead, 21-13, after the period. A three by Morgan Harris to open the second period put Carthage up by 11 points, 24-13. The Lady Reds scored the first 11 points in the second period, seven of those by Harris, to open up a 19-point lead, 32-13, at 4:23.
Meanwhile, Augustana went from 2:08 first period to 3:46 in the second, a span of just over eight minutes, without a field goal. The Lady Reds out-scored the Vikings, 15-2, in the period and led by 23 points at halftime, 38-15. Augustana shot just 22 percent in the first half (6-of-27), while Carthage's Morgan Harris scored 17 points with 11 rebounds.
The Lady Reds opened up a 25-point lead in the third period, 44-19, at 7:10. The Vikings mounted a furious comeback attempt late in the period, cutting a 20-point lead, 53-22, to 12 points, 53-41, going into the final period. Augustana opened the fourth period with an 18-9 run to close to within three points, 62-59, at 4:12. A jumper by Harris at 3:26 put Carthage up by five, 64-59, and the Lady Reds hung on to win by seven, 72-65.
Carthage shot 43 percent (25-of-58), including eight-of-18 three-pointers, while Augustana shot just 33 percent, including seven-of-22 from three-point range. The Lady Reds got to free-throw line 16 times and made 14, while the Vikings connected on 14-of-21. Augustana had a 42-39 rebounding edge.
Carthage's Morgan Harris (So., Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey), currently third in CCIW scoring at 17.0 points per game, led all scorers with 26 points on seven-of-18 field goals, including just one-of-five three-pointers, along with 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, 14 rebounds and six assists. Bailey Gilbert (Fr., Sycamore, Ill.) scored 17 points on six-of-seven shooting, including a perfect five-of-five from three-point range, while Mandy Hozzian (Jr., New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) chipped in 10 points. Kaycee Kallenberger led Augustana with 15 points on six-of-nine field goals, along with a game-high 15 boards, while Jenn VanWatermeulen came off the bench to add 14 points.
"We did a great job in the first half and made it hard for them to score," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero, "although they missed some shots they should have made. In the second half, Augustana's three-pointers changed the momentum and gave them a chance. Fortunately, we were able to hang on. Morgan Harris was under the weather this week, and we were going back and forth on whether to even play her. Once she got going, she didn't want to come out, and she wound up playing 40 minutes like she always does. Twenty six points, 14 rebounds and six assists are crazy numbers for anyone. We ran into both foul trouble and injury trouble late in the game, but we made enough shots to get the win. We played the first half like a veteran-type team and did enough in the second half to win. We're getting there."
Carthage travels to Naperville, Ill., on Wednesday, Feb. 10 to play North Central College (11-11, 5-6 CCIW) in a 7 p.m. game at Merner Fieldhouse/Gregory Arena. The Cardinals upset first-place Illinois Wesleyan University, 87-81, on Saturday.