KENOSHA, WIS.—The Carthage College women's basketball team, a week removed from defeating North Park University 84-59 in Chicago, had a chance to salvage a season-sweep of the Vikings at Tarble Arena on Wednesday night. That mission was accomplished as the Lady Reds registered a 77-51 victory over North Park to stretch their win streak to five games. This marks Carthage's longest win streak since the 2013-14 campaign, when they strung seven together.
 
"The curse of playing someone back-to-back is thinking it might be easier than expected," said head women's basketball coach Tim Bernero. "We came out and attempted three-pointer after three-pointer before we went 0-for-8. We had to get to the free throw line to soften up the defense, where we finished 14-of-22. The ball was heavy for us in the first quarter, so to come back and win by 26 points was something to be proud of."
 
The Lady Reds pulled down a season-high 21 offensive boards, the most since February 1, 2014 when they registered 25 en route to an 80-76 win over North Central College (Ill.). Morgan Harris led the rebounding efforts with 12 boards, along with 10 points for her fifth double-double of the season. Madie Kaelber led all scorers with 19 points, while Sammie Woodward (12) and Rachel Szydlowski (10) rounded out the four Carthage players in double-figures.
 
The victory gives Carthage a 13-5, 6-3 CCIW record, while North Park falls to 8-10, 3-6 CCIW. The Vikings now sport a six-game losing skid. 
 
Lady Reds 77, North Park 51
 
Carthage's first five rebounds of the contest were of the offensive variety. The Lady Reds finished the first quarter with 10 offensive rebounds compared to six defensive ones en route to a 14-11 lead after the frame.
 
Carthage proceeded to out-rebound North Park 14-5 in the second quarter. The Vikings didn't pull down their first board of the frame until 3:41 was on the clock. Six different Lady Reds scored in their 27-14 second quarter to push their advantage to 41-25 at halftime.
 
Sammie Woodward powered the Lady Reds' 24-10 third quarter with eight points to push their lead to 65-35 heading into the final 10:00 of play. The Lady Reds held onto a 77-51 victory over the Vikings after being outscored 16-12 in the final frame. Carthage finished the game with 50 rebounds, two shy of their season-high of 52 in an 81-77 OT loss at North Central on December 6. The victory also gives Tim Bernero 128 CCIW victories, which puts him alone in fourth place on the all-time CCIW wins list. 
 
The Lady Reds will return to action on Saturday, January 27 at Augustana College (Ill.). Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.

"A win at Augustana puts us in good shape because we'd own the tie-breaker, so it'll be tough for them to catch us," said Bernero.