Box Score Nineteen points from Cailee Corcoran and 17 points by Stephanie Kuzmanic lifted the Carthage College women's basketball team (7-2, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) to a 62-55 win over Coe College (5-4) on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at Moray Eby Fieldhouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

The Lady Reds were ranked 26th in the Dec. 18 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll and tied for 37th place in the Dec. 18 “D3hoops.com” poll.
 
A nine-minute scoreless streak over the final six minutes of the first half and the first three minutes of the second period was Coe's undoing.  The Kohawks jumped out to an 11-point lead, 15-4, at 15:16.  Carthage closed to within three, 21-18, at 9:52.  After Coe took a 25-18 lead at 6:06, a three-point play by Carthage's Stephanie Kuzmanic at 3:31 tied the game, 25-25.  A jumper by Kuzmanic at 1:17 gave the Lady Reds their first lead at 27-25.  That was the halftime score, as Carthage scored the last nine points of the period.
 
The Lady Reds opened the second half by scoring 10 unanswered points to go up by 12, 37-25, at 17:04.  Coe came back with a 7-0 run to close the gap to five points, 37-32, at 14:32.  Coe made it a four-point game, 43-39, at 11:55, but a three-pointer by Erin Quinn at 11:32 and a jumper by Kuzmanic at 11:06 upped the Lady Reds margin to nine, 48-39.  Another basket by Kuzmanic at 9:44 made it an 11-point game, 50-39.  The Kohawks got as close as four points, 57-53, at 2:07, but Carthage wound up with a seven-point victory, 62-55.
 
Carthage shot 40 percent (20-50) and converted 19-of-26 free throws, while Coe shot just 35 percent (21-60).  The Kohawks out-rebounded the Lady Reds, 43-32, but turned the ball over 15 times to just 10 for Carthage.
 
Cailee Corcoran (Sr., Oak Lawn, Ill./Chicago-Marist) scored her 19 points on six-of-10 field goals, along with seven-of-eight free throws and five rebounds.  Stephanie Kuzmanic (Mount Prospect, Ill./Wheeling) collected her 17 points on five-of-10 shooting, along with seven-of-nine from the free-throw line, a career-high eight assists and a career-high five steals.  Kayla Waskow was the lone Kohawk in double figures with 11 points and eight boards.

"This was a quality win on the road against an excellent program in Coe,” said Carthage coach Tim Bernero.  “We had some adversity early, falling behind by double digits, but we were able to tighten up, defensively, and get our offense going.  We're making strides to being a pretty good team.”

 The Lady Reds conclude their non-conference schedule by playing in the Friday-Saturday, Dec. 28-29 Trinity University (Texas) Classic at the Earl C. Sams Gymnasium in San Antonio, Texas.  Carthage plays Howard Payne University on Friday, Dec. 28 at 2 p.m. and the host-Tigers on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 6 p.m.