KENOSHA, WIS.—The Carthage College women's basketball team played North Central College (Ill.) on Wednesday night following a three-game road swing. Home cooking was the recipe Carthage needed to dig themselves out of a four-game losing skid, but Rachel Szydlowski was also a factor.
 
The sophomore poured 22 first-half points en route to a career-high 32 to propel Carthage to a 106-95 win over the Cardinals.
 
Morgan Harris registered her third double double of the season with 13 points and 11 boards. Madie Kaelber (20), Bailey Gilbert (18), and Autumn Kalis (15) round out the five Carthage players to tally double-figure points. It was the first time that many Lady Reds scored in double figures since January 20, 2016, when six eclipsed the 10-point plateau in a 101-95 win over North Central. It was also the last time Carthage reached the 100-point mark. 
 
"I give the kids a lot of credit for making the adjustments and getting into places to break the press," said head women's basketball coach Tim Bernero. "We did a good job, anytime your assists (23) are higher than your turnovers (16) it's a good thing. We knocked down free throws and it was a good win."
 
The Lady Reds improve to 9-8, 4-5 CCIW while North Central falls to 10-8, 4-5 CCIW.
 
Lady Reds 106, North Central 95
 
Szydlowski notched 10 of the Lady Red's first 15 points, which generated a 15-3 run at the 5:47 mark of the opening frame. The Cardinals took over the lead with a 13-0 run to make the score 16-15 with 2:56 left in the first quarter.
 
Both teams traded leads twice before Szydlowski converted a layup with 0:28 on the clock to give Carthage a 24-22 lead heading into the second frame.
 
Szydlowski added six more points in the second quarter to help Carthage hang onto a 44-43 lead at intermission. Her 22 points in the opening half included an 8-for-10 mark from the field, and 6-of-8 figure at the charity strip.
 
The Lady Reds nearly doubled North Central in the third-quarter scoring column with a 31-17 advantage en route to a 75-60 cushion. Kalis, who tallied six points to open the fourth quarter, generated a Lady Red 19-12 run that pushed their lead to 94-72 with 5:38 left in the game.
 
The Cardinals responded with a 16-1 run to close their deficit to 95-88 with 2:46 on the clock. A pair of Gilbert three-pointers in the final 2:30 helped Carthage lock up a 106-95 win.
 
The Lady Reds achieved a .507 (35-69) mark from the field, and a season-high 26 free throws made.
 
Carthage will return to Tarble Arena on Saturday, January 28 against Augustana College (Ill.) at 5:00 p.m.