MOUNT VERNON, IOWA—The Carthage College women's basketball team will call Iowa their home for the opening three games of 2017-18. The first of those three bouts pitted them against Bethel University at the Cornell College Classic in Mount Vernon, Iowa on Friday night. Carthage came back from a 19-point deficit to claim a 70-61 victory in their first-ever match-up against Bethel University last season.
 
Bailey Gilbert's layup with 2:53 left in the first quarter gave Carthage the lead for good en route to a 77-68 victory over the Royals to improve the all-time series to 2-0. Morgan Harris registered her 12^th career double-double in the contest with 14 points and 12 boards. Madie Kaelber paced the Carthage scorers with 17 points, which includes a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity strip. Autumn Kalis and Bailey Gilbert each converted three shots from beyond the arch en route to 14 points each.
 
This marks the first time four Lady Reds eclipsed double-figure points since a 65-54 win over North Park University on February 15.
 
The Lady Reds open their 2017-18 campaign with a 1-0, 0-0 CCIW record while Bethel, who received votes on the 2017-18 Preseason WBCA Coaches' Poll, fall to 0-1, 0-0 MIAC.
 
Carthage now owns a 13-10 all-time record in Iowa.
 
Lady Reds 77, Bethel 68
 
The Royals registered a lead and held onto it until the 2:53 mark of the first quarter when Gilbert tallied a layup and converted an and-one to give Carthage an 11-9 lead. Four different Lady Reds registered points throughout Carthage's 11-6 run to close the first quarter, which widened their lead to 22-15.
 
Morgan Vukovich came up with three second-quarter rebounds, two of which were of the offensive variety. She also closed the frame with back-to-back layups in the paint to widen Carthage's lead to 40-34 at halftime. Autumn Kalis also notched a pair of three-pointers in the frame.
 
The Lady Reds eclipsed a double-digit lead again with 3:19 left in the third quarter off a Gilbert three-pointer to make the score 53-44. The Royals held a 17-15 advantage in the fourth-quarter scoring column, but it wasn't enough as Carthage held onto a 77-68 victory.
 
The Lady Reds will return to action tomorrow, Saturday, November 18 against the host Cornell College at 2:00 p.m.