KENOSHA, WIS.—A ranked opponent in #24 Illinois Wesleyan University invaded Tarble Arena on Saturday for a showdown against the Carthage College women's basketball team. The Lady Reds, who entered Saturday 1-4 against regionally-ranked teams, couldn't maintain a 13-point cushion in the first quarter as they dropped an 85-77 decision against the Titans.
 
"We're probably going to get Wheaton in the semi-final game now," said Lady Reds head coach Tim Bernero. "We're going to have to take care of Carroll and build some momentum for the conference tournament."
 
All five Carthage starters eclipsed double-figure scoring, plus one bench player for a total of six. Madie Kaelber paced all Lady Reds scorers with 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting. Bailey Gilbert, who now owns 178 career three-pointers, moved into third place on the Carthage all-time three-point field goals made list. Her four three-pointers for 12 points passed Angela Beyer's 177 career three-pointers. Sammie Woodward and Autumn Kalis each chipped in 11 points. Morgan Harris notched 10 points while Rachel Szydlowski tallied 10 points and nine boards.
 
The Lady Reds registered a 12-of-32 mark from the three-point line.
 
The loss drops Carthage's record to 17-7, 10-5 CCIW while Illinois Wesleyan University, who clinched at least a share of the 2018 CCIW Women's Basketball Regular Season Crown, improves to 21-3, 14-1 CCIW.
 
#24 Illinois Wesleyan 85, Lady Reds 77
 
A pair of Gilbert three-pointers within the opening seven minutes of the first quarter propelled Carthage to a 19-6 lead with 3:21 remaining. The Titans responded with an 11-0 run to close the frame, which narrowed their deficit to 19-17 heading into the second quarter.
 
A pair of Molly McGraw free throws at the 7:59 mark of the second gave Illinois Wesleyan their first lead of the game at 25-24. The Lady Reds would only regain the lead once more in the game when Morgan Harris's three-pointer made the score 52-51. Carthage tied the game twice at 55-55 and 57-57, but a Maddie Merritt jumper in the waning seconds of the third quarter gave Illinois Wesleyan a 59-57 edge.
 
The Titans grabbed their largest lead of the game at 77-64 with 3:49 left in the fourth quarter off McGraw's three-pointer before Carthage responded with an 11-3 run, capped by Madie Kaelber's three-pointer to narrow the score to 80-75. With Carthage in foul mode, Illinois Wesleyan tallied five of their six free throws down the stretch to secure an 85-77 win.
 
Carthage will end the 2017-18 regular season on Tuesday, February 20 at Tarble Arena against Carroll University. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
"It's a quick turnaround, Carroll is playing pretty good right now," said Lady Reds head coach Tim Bernero. "They had some different parts that were injured the first time we played them, so it's not going to be easy."