THE GAMES

• The final regular season bout of 2017-18 will pit the Carthage College women's basketball team (17-7, 10-5 CCIW) against the Carroll University (Wis.) Pioneers (8-16, 5-10 CCIW) on Tuesday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday's contest is billed Senior Night, as Morgan Harris, Morgan Vukovich and Amber Roberts will be honored prior to tip-off.
• The Lady Reds locked the #3 seed in the 2017-18 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament to be played on February 22-24 at either Illinois Wesleyan University or Wheaton College (Ill.) pending Tuesday's slate of conference games. 
• The Pioneers will enter Tuesday fresh off a 73-67 victory over Millikin University in their 2017-18 home finale on February 17.
• An eight-win improvement from 2016-17 is at stake for Carroll (Wis.), who are led by Brittney Wald's 13.3 points per game. Rachel Van Sluys, who sat out the Pioneers' 66-53 loss to Carthage on January 10, owns 11.5 points per game. Van Sluys is also a two-time All-CCIW First Team selection, 2017 United Soccer Coaches Association All-Central Region Third Team selection, and the 2016 CCIW Offensive Player of the Year for the Pioneers women's soccer team.
• Katie Rossetti, who ranks second in the CCIW with 51 blocks and 2.1 blocks per game, commands the Carroll defense. 
• The Pioneers are in pursuit to keep their CCIW sixth-place standing intact. 

THE COACHES

• Lindsay Schultz (9-39) is in her second season as Carroll (Wis.) head women's basketball coach. 

THE SERIES

• The Lady Reds own a 29-25 all-time record against the Pioneers, which includes a 66-53 victory at Van Male Fieldhouse on January 10. 

LAST TIME OUT

• The Lady Reds notched a 92-56 victory over North Central (Ill.) on February 14, and an 85-77 loss to #24 Illinois Wesleyan University in their 1-1 outing last week.
• Bailey Gilbert registered a season-high 20 points on a 6-of-6 mark from the three-point line in Carthage's win over North Central, while Kaelber paced all Lady Reds with 19 points in the loss to Illinois Wesleyan. 

THE LADY REDS ARE....

• 7-0 when they shoot .450 or better from the field.
• 11-1 when they hold opponents to less than 60 points.
• 15-1 when they lead at halftime. 
• 12-3 when they score first. 
• 17-2 when leading with 2:00 remaining.

THANK YOU SENIORS

Morgan Harris, Morgan Vukovich and Amber Roberts make up the trio of Lady Reds seniors. They came in with a class of six freshmen. 

LOCKED UP SPOT

The Lady Reds' 77-72 victory over Elmhurst on February 10 secured them a spot in the four-team 2018 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament on February 22-24. It will mark their first appearance in the tournament since 2015. Carthage currently sits in third place, followed by fourth-place Elmhurst College (13-11, 9-6 CCIW), who clinched a spot in the 2018 CCIW Tournament with their 60-58 win over North Park on February 14. Illinois Wesleyan (21-3, 14-1 CCIW) and Wheaton (21-4, 14-2 CCIW) occupy the top-two spots. 

CLOSING AT HOME

The Lady Reds play their final three regular-season games at home. The last time Carthage closed the regular season with a three-game home stand was the 1999-00 season. 

KEEPING IT CLOSE

Four of the Lady Reds' six losses this season came within 10 points. The only exceptions occurred in both of their losses to Wheaton College (Ill.). 

MOVING UP THE LADDER

Bailey Gilbert, who owns 178 career three-pointers, moved into third place on the Carthage all-time three-point field goal list in Carthage's 85-77 loss to #24 Illinois Wesleyan on February 17, which surpassed Angela Beyer's 177. The all-time record is 202, set by Haley Stercic. 

Morgan Harris, who has 974 career points, needs 26 more points to eclipse 1,000 for her career.