Box Score
The Carthage College women's basketball team (11-1, 1-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked eighth in the Jan. 5 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/
USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll and 11th in the Jan. 5 “D3hoops.com” poll, opened CCIW play on Tuesday, Jan. 5 with a 69-52 win over Wheaton College (Ill., 6-5, 0-1 CCIW) at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.
With the win and an 11-1 record, Carthage is off to its best start in school history, bettering a mark of 10-1 set by coach Diane Mizerka's 1972-73 squad. Carol Nailor, a letterwinner on that 1972-73 squad, was in the stands for Tuesday's win, which was also the 100th career victory for current head coach
Tim Bernero (100-67, 7 years).
Carthage led from the start. The Lady Reds opened up a 10-point lead, 23-13, at 6:58 and led by as much as 11 points on two occasions. Still leading by 11, 32-21, at 2:11, Carthage was out-scored, 8-0, to end the half, and the score at the break was 32-29. The second half was pretty much all Lady Reds however, as Carthage out-scored Wheaton (Ill.), 37-23. The Lady Reds opened the second period with a 15-2 run to take an 18-point lead, 49-31, at 11:26. Carthage made it a 20-point game, 58-38, at 5:25 and led by as much as 23 points, 69-46, with 53 seconds to play. The Lady Reds went on to win by 17 points, 69-52.
Carthage shot 41 percent (26-64), while Wheaton (Ill.) shot just 31 percent (16-51). The Lady Reds out-rebounded the Thunder, 45-33. Three Carthage players scored in double figures. Rosie Dorn (Sr., Chicago, Ill./Wilmette-Regina Dominican) scored 16 points on five-of-six field goals and six-of-seven free throws, along with a game-high 12 rebounds. Cailee Corcoran (Fr., Oak Lawn, Ill./Chicago-Marist) came off the bench to score 12 points with four rebounds, and Heather Gilmore (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa/Pleasant Hill-Southeast) added 10 points with six rebounds and four assists. Lindsey Brenneman topped the Thunder with 16 points, while Annie Bowen chipped in 10 points.
On Saturday, Jan. 9, Carthage travels to Bloomington, Ill., to take on Illinois Wesleyan University (12-0, 1-0 CCIW), in a 2 p.m. tilt at the Shirk Center. The Titans are ranked first in both national polls. Carthage has already knocked off one top-ranked team, defeating Hope College, 51-47, on Dec. 28 in the first round of Oglethorpe University “Holiday Classic” in Atlanta, Ga. The Flying Dutch were ranked first at the time in the WBCA/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll and third in the “D3hoops.com” poll.
