Box Score

The Carthage College women's basketball team (9-1, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 14th in the Dec. 15 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll and 24th in the Dec. 15 “D3hoops.com” poll, stunned Hope College (9-1), 51-47, on Monday, Dec. 28 in the opening round of the Oglethorpe University “Holiday Classic” at the Dorough Fieldhouse in Atlanta, Ga. Hope was ranked was ranked first in the Dec. 15 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll and third in the Dec. 15 “D3hoops.com” poll. The host-Stormy Petrels (6-3) defeated Piedmont College (2-6), 66-56, in Monday's second game. Hope will take on Piedmont in the Tuesday, Dec. 29 consolation game at 1 p.m., EST, with Carthage playing Oglethorpe in the championship game at 3 p.m., EST.
 

Offense was hard to come by in the first half for either team, as Hope shot just 18 percent (6-34), while Carthage shot 21 percent (6-29). The score was tied, 5-5, at 10:52. The Flying Dutch opened up an eight-point lead, 17-9 at 3:12, before the Lady Reds pulled to within two points at halftime, 19-17. In the second period, Hope went up by eight, 32-24, at 15:18. The Lady Reds pulled into a 35-35 tie at 9:45, but Hope went back up by six, 43-37 at 4:55. The Lady Reds took their first lead of the game, 46-45, at 2:09 when Heather Gilmore made the front end of a two-shot foul. Diana Jacklin connected on the back end of a two-shot foul at 1:27 to make it 47-45. Two free throws by Katie Klemke with 58 seconds remaining bumped Carthage's lead to four points, 49-45. Hope's Philana Greene scored on a jumper in the lane at 44 seconds to cut the lead to 49-47. 

With 27 seconds to go, Gilmore made the back end of a two-shot free throw for a 50-47 margin. Hope's Jenny Cowen missed what would have been a game-tying three-pointer with 18 seconds to go, and Greene followed with a missed trey at the eight-second mark. Rosie Dorn rebounded Greene's miss and was fouled with six seconds to go. Dorn made the first free throw but missed the second, and Carthage had its final, winning margin of four points, 51-47.

 

Carthage shot 29 percent (15-52), while Hope shot just 23 percent (16-69). The Flying Dutch edged the Lady Reds, 50-46, off the boards. Diana Jacklin (So., Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) was the lone Carthage player in double figures with a game-high 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rosie Dorn (Sr., Chicago, Ill./Wilmette-Regina Dominican) and Dani Ripkey (So., Deerfield, Ill.) had nine points each. Philana Greene topped Hope with 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while Erika Bruinsma had 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

“It feels great to beat a number-one team,” said Carthage coach Tim Bernero. “We found out yesterday that Hope's WBCA first-team All-American Carrie Snikkers was injured and would not play against us, but they're still a number-one team. They are so good, defensively, with or without their top player. It wasn't pretty, but we made some plays down the stretch and made some big free throws, which is something we have not done a lot of, to date. In the beginning, we defended great. We had some good looks at the basket, which we rushed. I thought we should have been ahead. In the second half, we lost a couple of possessions where we didn't get them off the boards. I got worried when we got down by eight. I was thinking things might go the other way. It was like a street fight. They let us play, and there was good defensive work on both ends. We made some big shots to get back to even. They fouled us immediately in the final couple of minutes, and if you look at our free-throw numbers, that was probably a good idea. We made enough of those to keep us ahead. Jenny Cowen's three-point attempt at 18 seconds was covered pretty well by Diana Jacklin, and the second shot was sort of a scramble and not as good a look as the first one. I need to make sure we're not too giddy tonight about winning this game and ready to come back and play tomorrow. This win was an upset, but it was no fluke. We're pretty good, and we should get a little bit more notice now.”