KENOSHA, WIS.—The Carthage College women's basketball team was in pursuit of a four-game win streak in their CCIW matchup with Elmhurst College at Tarble Arena on Saturday evening. The Bluejays entered their bout with the Lady Reds fresh off a seven-day hiatus from competition after defeating Beloit College 70-61 on December 31.
 
In a game that featured eight lead changes, Carthage registered a 56-55 advantage with 00:28 left in the fourth quarter. However, Elmhurst responded with a field goal and took advantage of a pair of Lady Reds fouls with seconds on the clock to secure a 59-56 win.
 
Carthage falls to 8-5, 3-2 CCIW while Elmhurst College improves to 10-3, 2-2 CCIW.
 
Elmhurst 59, Lady Reds 56
 
The Lady Reds' only lead of the first quarter occurred at the 6:15 mark when Bailey Gilbert registered a three-pointer to make the score 5-4. The Bluejays responded with a 13-2 run en route to their largest advantage of the contest at 17-7 with 1:44 left in the opening frame.
 
After taking an 18-10 lead into the second quarter, Kaela Jones tallied a layup and a pair of free throws to give Elmhurst another 10-point cushion at 24-14 with 7:08 remaining.
 
A pair of Gilbert three-pointers highlighted a Carthage 10-0 run that gave them a 26-24 lead with 2:41 left in the second quarter before taking a 28-26 advantage into intermission.
 
The Lady Reds defense held the Bluejays to 0-of-7 from beyond the arch in the first half.  
 
The Lady Reds registered a pair of seven-point leads in the third quarter, with the latest occurring at the 5:51 mark when Morgan Harris converted a jump shot to make the score 37-30. This was enough to fuel the Bluejays and leading scorer Mikaela Eppard had a lot to do with it. Eppard responded with 10 points in the frame to give Elmhurst a 45-42 lead with 2:26 left in the third quarter.
 
However, the Lady Reds regained a 48-43 lead when Harris registered a layup with seconds left in the third frame.
 
Harris continued her clutch play with back-to-back layups to open the fourth quarter to help Carthage regain their seven-point cushion at 54-47 with 8:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Bluejays put together an 8-0 run to regain a 55-54 lead with 00:36 on the clock.
 
Carthage and Elmhurst traded leads before the Bluejays took advantage of a pair of Lady Reds fouls with under 00:08 left to play. Michaela Kumer and Hannah Lipman converted each of their free throws to help lock a 59-56 win for the Bluejays.
 
Both teams were nearly identical from the field as the Lady Reds were 22-of-62 (.355) while Elmhurst was 20-of-56 (.357). Carthage held the Bluejays to 1-of-16 (.063) from the three-point line.
 
Eppard, who ranks sixth nationally in double-doubles, tallied her seventh of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Harris added another double-double for the Lady Reds with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Carthage College head women's basketball coach Tim Bernero on Harris's double-double:
 
"We ended up in a situation, because of our foul trouble, that we had to play our four-guard lineup more," said Bernero. "She (Harris) was the one creating action off the dribble."
 
Carthage will return to action on Saturday, January 14 at Illinois Wesleyan University. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.