Box Score
The Carthage College women's basketball team (11-3, 1-2 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 10th in the Jan. 12 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/
USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll and 12th in the Jan. 12 “D3hoops.com” poll, lost to CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (10-4, 3-0 CCIW), 73-65, on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
The first half was a back and forth affair with four lead changes and three ties. Elmhurst jumped out to an early, 9-2 lead. Carthage led by as much as five points four occasions, the last at 30-25 at 6:28, before the Bluejays managed an eight-point lead, 38-30, at 2:28. Elmhurst led by five at halftime, 40-35. In the opening minutes of the second half, the Bluejays used a 10-2 run to quickly open up a 13-point lead, 50-37, at 16:45. Elmhurst was still leading by 13, 54-41, at 14:29 when Carthage mounted a furious comeback. Using a 16-3 run over the next five minutes, the Lady Reds forced a 57-57 tie at 8:52. The Bluejays went back up, to stay, 59-57, at 8:25 on jumper by Megan Ney and went on to win by eight points, 73-65.
Elmhurst shot 42 percent (24-57), while Carthage shot 41 percent (22-54). The Bluejays won the battle of the boards, 39-30, over the Lady Reds. The Bluejays' Lyndsie Long, who leads the CCIW in scoring (22.0 points per game), tallied a game-high 25 points on nine-of-15 field goals, including four-of-eight three-pointers, along with five rebounds. Meghan Merklein also had 25 points on seven-of-12 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, along with five rebounds and five assists. Megan Ney chipped in 12 points.
Four Carthage starters scored in double figures. Katie Klemke (Sr., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) had 19 points on seven-of-17 shooting, including five-of-eight three-pointers. Dani Ripkey (So., Deerfield, Ill.) had 14 points, Heather Gilmore (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa/Pleasant Hill-Southeast) 13 points, and Diana Jacklin (So., Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) added 11 points, a game-high 10 rebounds and four assists. Carthage travels to Rock Island, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 16 to play CCIW-opponent Augustana College (Ill., 6-8, 1-2 CCIW) in a 5 p.m. game at the Carver Physical Education Center.
