CHICAGO—The Carthage College women's basketball team took a two-game win streak into their Wednesday-night contest at North Park University. The contest featured Carthage's CCIW-leading .372 three-point field goal percentage, and the Vikings' league-leading .264 three-point field goal percentage defense. The Lady Reds' perimeter game prevailed with 10 three-pointers en route to an 84-59 victory over North Park.
"People know that we have a lot of three-point shooters, so they try to stay out on them," said head women's basketball coach Tim Bernero. "We needed players like Morgan (Harris) and Sammie (Woodward) to get the ball to the rim so they'd ease up on our shooters. We like the three-pointer because we're good at it, but it can't be all we do. Having Rachel and Morgan scoring in the lane really helped open things up from the three-point line."
Morgan Harris led all scorers with 18 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, but it was the Lady Reds' outside game that propelled them against a lethal North Park three-point defense. Madie Kaelber registered 13 points on three 3-pointers. Autumn Kalis, who tallied 11 points, also notched a trio of three-pointers.
Rachel Szydlowski contributed 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting for the Carthage offense. Sammie Woodward's 14 points rounds out the five Carthage players scoring in double-figures.
The Lady Reds up their record to 11-5, 4-3 CCIW while North Park falls to 8-8, 3-4 CCIW.
Lady Reds 84, North Park 59
Carthage, who either led or tied for 8:59 in the opening quarter, were led by Szydlowski's eight points in the frame en route to a 16-15 lead over the Vikings. Shaylee Sloan notched 10 points for North Park in the second frame after not recording a point in the first quarter. Sloan's presence didn't result in more than a one-point lead as Carthage took the driver's seat for good at the 5:32 mark of the second quarter off Szydlowski's layup to make the score 26-25. The Lady Reds generated a 13-6 run to close the second quarter en route to a 39-31 halftime lead.
Morgan Harris recorded 14 second-half points after she notched just four in the opening 20:00. Her season-high 18 points was capped by a 6-of-10 mark from the field in the second half. However, it was Carthage's four three pointers in the third quarter that engineered their 24-15 run that propelled them to a 63-46 lead heading into the final 10:00.
Harris notched seven points and four rebounds in the fourth quarter before Lady Reds head coach Tim Bernero emptied his bench with 1:42 left, where Carthage sported a 79-56 advantage. The Lady Reds notched a 5-2 advantage within the final 1:42 to lock up an 84-59 victory.
Carthage will take a three-game win streak into their match at Millikin University on Saturday, January 20. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.
