KENOSHA, Wis. – The Carthage College Lady Reds dropped their second-straight home contest at Tarble Arena in a week, falling to Illinois Wesleyan University, 75-72. 
 
With the loss Carthage falls to 7-13 overall on the season and 3-6 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, while the Titans improve to 12-8 and remain tied at the top of the conference at 7-2.
 
The loss comes on the heels of the heartbreaker Wednesday night, when Carthage fell on a buzzer beater to North Park University, 59-57.
 
As a team Carthage outshot Illinois Wesleyan 44.1-percent to 42.2-percent from the field and 38.5-percent to 13.3-percent from three.  However, Illinois Wesleyan earned eight more trips to the free throw line in the game and going 19-of-22 at the charity stripe to Carthage's 10-of-14.
 
"We cleaned up some of the mess we made last time, but it seems right now we just find a way to make enough bad plays or bad choices that we can't overcome it," said head coach Tim Bernero.  "It looked like the start of the third quarter we were going to handle their press as we did down there, where we were beat by 20 points.  But we did a good job not to let it get away and have to persevere what we did earlier in the game and I think the consistency will come with the experience."
 
Bailey Gilbert was one of four starters in double-figures in the game, registering a game-high and career-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 5-of-9 from three.  Others in double digits included Morgan Harris with 13 points, Erin Thomas and Morgan Vukovich each with 10, and Monica Masini off the bench with 11 points.
 
The first two quarters saw the Lady Reds control most aspects of the game, including an 18-6 advantage in the paint and a 6-0 advantage on second chance points, despite being outrebounded on the offensive end 10-7.  Carthage led for 19:05 of the first half, pushing the lead to as many as seven in the second quarter and took a 31-27 lead into the break.
 
The momentum swung away from the Lady Reds in the third quarter as Illinois Wesleyan shot 55-percent from the field in the quarter and went 7-8 to take a two-point, 56-54, lead into the final ten minutes.  Gilbert managed to keep the game at reach, scoring eight of her 21 in the third on three-of-five shooting.
 
On Bailey keeping the Lady Reds in the game Bernero added, "She is going to be, and already is, a very good player.  We are putting a lot of pressure on her and tonight she had to guard McGraw who was an all-conference player as a freshman last year.  I think as a freshman that is one of the things you start learning; some kids in high school can get away with just being a good offensive player and someone else will do the dirty work for them.  The Freshman are learning that and Bailey is getting awfully good at it!  She is going to be very good for four years."

Gilbert continued to carry the Lady Reds in the fourth quarter as she had 11 of the teams 18 points in the final frame, including nine points on three-of-three from beyond the arch.  However it wasn't enough as Gilberts final three of the night cut the game to a one-possession affair with just sixth-tenths of a second remaining, which the Titans would run-out. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan was led Saturday by Maddie Merritt, who scored a team-high 17 points, thanks in large part to going 9-of-10 from the stripe. 
 
The Lady Reds continue their three-game home stand Wednesday, February 3rd, as Carthage hosts Elmhurst College at 7:00 p.m.