Box Score
The Carthage College women's basketball team (22-4), ranked 10th in the Feb. 22 "D3hoops.com" poll, fell to Elmhurst College (18-8), 68-56, in the semifinals of the CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday, Feb. 26 at the Illinois Wesleyan University Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill.
No. 3 Illinois Wesleyan (25-1) defeated Millikin University (15-11), 87-52, in the other semifinal contest. On Saturday, Feb. 27, Illinois Wesleyan (26-1) defeated Elmhurst (18-9), 82-72, in the tournament-championship game to earn the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
After falling behind 5-0, Carthage went on a 12-0 run to take a 12-5 lead with 13:26 left in the opening half. The Lady Reds did not trail the remainder of the opening 20 minutes, leading by as many as eight. Carthage held a 31-26 advantage at the intermission.
After falling behind 5-0, Carthage went on a 12-0 run to take a 12-5 lead with 13:26 left in the opening half. The Lady Reds did not trail the remainder of the opening 20 minutes, leading by as many as eight. Carthage held a 31-26 advantage at the intermission. Elmhurst kept Carthage off the board until the 16:05 mark of the second half when Heather Gilmore snapped a 31-31 tie with a free throw. Elmhurst embarked on a 9-0 run with the game tied at 36 to take a nine-point edge at 45-36 with 11:03 to play. The Lady Reds answered with an 8-0 run to get within 45-44 when Heather Gilmore finished a three-point play with 8:06 remaining. The Bluejays went on to lead by as many as 12 points and Carthage could get no closer than nine the rest of the game.
Elmhurst shot 47 percent (24-51) while Carthage shot just 34 percent (20-58). The Bluejays, who were outrebounded by four in the first half, finished with a 38-33 edge on the glass. Carthage held the CCIW's Most Outstanding Player, Lyndsie Long, to a season low nine points, but Megan Merklein responded with a game high 17 on 6-of-11 field goals, along with a game high 12 rebounds. Kelsey Monroe scored 15 off the bench and Megan Ney added 11. Heather Gilmore (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa/Pleasant Hill-Southeast Polk) had 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting to lead Carthage. Rosie Dorn (Sr., Chicago, Ill./Wilmette-Regina Dominican) netted 11, while Diana Jacklin (Sr., Berwyn, Ill./Morton West ) contributed a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"The urgency Elmhurst played with in the second half was difficult to keep up with," said Carthage coach
Tim Bernero. "They outworked us to a lot of loose balls. I'm not sure if we thought our NCAA tournament slot was set, but we started wearing down and they got the momentum. It was disappointing that we didn't match them. We took out their first option (Long) but their second, third, fourth, and fifth options did the job."
The Lady Reds will await the decision of the NCAA selection committee to find out their next opponent and location, needing a Pool-C, or at-large bid, to reach the NCAA Tournament.
"I'd be surprised if we weren't in," Bernero said. "We've responded well all season coming off a defeat. We just didn't get what we needed tonight."
