KENOSHA, Wis. - The Carthage College Firebirds women's basketball team led for nearly 34 minutes in a home victory over Lawrence University tonight, picking up its first win of the year. Carthage has now defeated Lawrence in consecutive seasons after winning by three in Kenosha a year ago. 



 

• Final score: Carthage 63, Lawrence 52. 
• Location: Tarble Arena - Kenosha, Wisconsin. 
• Records: Carthage 1-3, Lawrence 1-3. 

 
 

• The two teams played an evenly-matched first quarter, with Carthage leading 12-11 at its conclusion. Carthage's first nine points came courtesy of a three-pointer each by three different starters - Knight, Spear, and Ester. 
• The backcourt tandem of Lauren Knight and Margueret Spear each got to their spots in the second quarter, giving Carthage a 20-13 advantage. 
• Ayanna Ester hit a pair of threes and the Firebirds went into the locker room with a firm ten-point lead. 
• The Vikings scored the first four field goals of the second half to pull within one before back-to-back baskets by Ester and Spear pushed the Firebird lead to five. 
• Emma Thistle, a Sophomore forward, was fouled on a three-point attempt with six seconds to go and hit all three to give Carthage a six-point cushion heading into the final quarter of play. 
• Lawrence pulled to within four with just under five minutes to go before Carthage put on a show offensively to salt things away. A Margueret Spear three and back-to-back threes from Addison Ebeling were all Carthage needed to grab its first victory of the 2022-2023 season. Lauren Knight closed out the Vikings with a number of free throws. 
• The Firebirds shot 35.5% from behind the line, scored 17 second chance points, and scored 16 points off of 23 Lawrence turnovers. 11 of Carthage's 21 baskets were assisted, and the Firebirds also had more steals than turnovers in the win. 

 

• Junior guard Lauren Knight scored a season-high 17 points tonight, while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out four assists. 
• Margueret Spear, a Junior guard, scored a single-game career-high 14 points against Lawrence with the help of four made three-pointers. Spear also contributed defensively, recording a steal, a block, and two rebounds. 
• Senior guard Ayanna Ester hit three threes en route to a 15-point showing. 
• While Bridget Barrett may not have scored a point tonight, she affected the game immensely. Barrett notched four steals, matching a career-high, and now has 11 steals this season in only four games played. 

 

• Women's basketball will embark on a four-game streak of road games starting with a matchup with Lake Forest on Tuesday, November 22 starting at 5:30 p.m. Carthage's next home game will be in mid-December against the Augustana Vikings on Saturday, December 17 starting at 2 p.m.