MILWAUKEE, WIS.—The Carthage College women's basketball team traveled to Wisconsin Lutheran College to play Bethel University (Minn.) in the Paul F. Knueppel Classic on Friday evening. The Lady Reds, who are in the midst of a rare three-game week, were in pursuit of their first victory of 2016-17 after dropping an 81-77 decision at Loras College on November 15.
 
The Royals were looking to bump their record to 2-0 after routing Northland College 87-47 on November 15. Carthage spoiled those plans as they came from behind to defeat Bethel 70-61.
 
The Lady Reds improve to 1-1, 0-0 CCIW while Bethel falls to 1-1, 0-0 MIAC
 
Lady Reds 70, Bethel (Minn.) 61
 
Taite Anderson, Abby Miller and Jasmine Bretoi each tallied a shot from beyond the arch to propel Bethel to a 16-6 lead at the 5:15 mark of the first quarter. The Lady Reds narrowed that margin to 16-12 with 3:05 left in the first quarter thanks to a pair of free throws and a layup from Morgan Harris.
 
Bethel jumped back to a 10-point 22-12 lead with 0:21 left in the frame before a Morgan Vukovich jumper in the final seconds narrowed the Carthage deficit to 22-14.
 
The Royals opened the second quarter with a 13-2 run en route to their largest lead of the game at 35-16 with 5:34 remaining. Mandy Hozzian helped shrink that deficit with a field goal and three-pointer down the stretch, making the score 39-28 at halftime.
 
Carthage edged the Royals 18-16 in the third quarter to shrink their deficit to 55-46 before opening the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run. The dagger occurred when Autumn Kalis converted on a free throw with 5:47 remaining to give Carthage a 56-55 advantage.
 
The Lady Reds didn't look back as Monica Masini, Gilbert and Harris each converted on their two free throw attempts down the stretch to lock a 70-61 victory.
 
Harris led all scorers with 19 points and a career-high six steals. Masini tied for a career-high 13 points. Maggie Berigan led all Lady Reds with six rebounds.
 
Carthage will return to action on day two of the Wisconsin Lutheran Tournament tomorrow, Saturday, November 19 against #12 UW-River Falls. Game time is for 1:00 p.m.