KENOSHA, WIS.—Home-cooking has treated the Carthage College women's basketball team well in recent history, with the only exception occurring in a 79-52 loss to Wheaton on January 4.
The Lady Reds, who either tied or led throughout regulation, surrendered a game-tying three-pointer from Elmhurst's Kelly Weyhrich with 0:05 left in the fourth to make the score 58-58.
Madie Kaelber gave Carthage a shot in the arm with a three-pointer at the 2:51 mark of OT, which gave them the lead for good in a 71-67 OT victory over the Bluejays to redeem their home dominance.
Kaelber led all scorers with 28 points, which included an 11-of-20 mark from the field.
Bailey Gilbert contributed 16 points while
Rachel Szydlowski rounded out the Lady Reds in double-figure scoring with 13 points along with three blocks.
Morgan Harris led the Carthage rebounding efforts with 10.
Elmhurst's Mikaela Eppard, who was named to the 2016-17 D3hoops.com All-American Third Team, tallied 21 points and a game-high 14 boards.
The Lady Reds improve their record to 10-5, 3-3 CCIW while Elmhurst falls to 8-8, 4-3 CCIW.
Lady Reds 71, Elmhurst 67 OT
Carthage forced six Bluejays turnovers within the opening 6:00 of play, which helped them gain a 10-0 advantage with 4:00 remaining in the opening frame. Elmhurst, who didn't register their first basket until the 3:38 mark of the first quarter, responded with a 6-0 run to cut their deficit to 10-6 with 2:15 left. The Lady Reds eventually went into the first-quarter intermission with a 16-10 cushion.
The Bluejays and Lady Reds battled to a 14-14 second quarter. Carthage proceeded to force five turnovers in the second frame to maintain a 30-24 lead, capped by a
Bailey Gilbert three-pointer with 0:03 left.
The Lady Reds turned three Bluejay turnovers into points within the opening 4:00 of the third quarter, which helped them gain their double-digit lead at 39-27 with 5:33 left.
This proved to be the turning point for Elmhurst, who'd only commit two more turnovers the remainder of regulation. The Bluejays outscored Carthage 16-8 the rest of the third quarter to close their deficit to 47-43 heading into the final 10:00.
The Lady Reds held onto the lead until 0:05 left in regulation, when Elmhurst's Weyhrich tied the game 58-58 with a three-pointer to send things to overtime. Carthage, who entered Saturday 0-2 in overtime games, found themselves in a 63-59 hole with 3:45 left in the extra session. The Lady Reds responded with a 12-4 run to close the contest, highlighted by Kaelber's go-ahead three-pointer with 2:51 left to give them the lead for good en route to a 71-67 victory.
The Lady Reds return to action on Wednesday, January 17 at North Park University. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
