BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - In the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) action on Saturday, the Carthage College women's basketball team fell to No. 10/No.15 Illinois Wesleyan 97-76 on the road. 

• Final score: No. 10/No.15 Illinois Wesleyan 97 - Carthage 76
• Location: Bloomington, Illinois - Shirk Center
• Records: Illinois Wesleyan 14-2 ( 7-0 CCIW), Carthage 10-6 (3-4 CCIW)

• In the early moments of the first quarter, Carthage secured a one-point lead, courtesy of successful shots from Elena Knebel and Marianna Morrissey. 
• Nora Ahram added to the tally with a three-pointer, bringing the score to 13-9 in favor of Carthage. 
• Grace Wamser's lone free throw contributed to a score of 17-13 before Illinois Wesleyan, ranked No. 10 in this week's D3hoops.com women's top 25 poll and No. 14 in the women's basketball Coaches Association poll (WBCA), tied it at 17 and then took the lead, resulting in a 22-15 score at the end of the first quarter.
• With the momentum in their favor, the home team expanded their advantage to 12 points. However, buckets from Emma Thistle and Knebel narrowed the margin to seven. 
• Illinois Wesleyan managed to establish a 45-29 lead, but a closing basket by Knebel brought the score to 45-31 at halftime.
• Moving into the third quarter, a three-pointer from Lauren Knight made the score 59-38. 
• Despite the Firebirds efforts, Illinois Wesleyan maintained control, leading with a score of 77-48 heading into the final quarter. 
• In the fourth quarter, Grace Cord's layup, with 2:43 remaining, was not enough as the home team ultimately secured a 97-76 victory.

• Elena Knebel matched her career-best in points on the day with 17 going 6-of-11 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. 
• Lauren Knight added 14 points while Marianna Morrissey chipped in with 11. 
• Emma Thistle led the Firebirds in assists with five and totaled nine points. 
• Addison Ebeling recorded eight points for Carthage on the day. 

"We started the game well and really stuck to the game plan. Unfortunately, losing Margueret Spear in the first quarter really changed the flow of the game as we always count on her defensively. I'm proud of how we took care of the ball against a high-pressure defensive team, but we have to learn how to fight through adversity and put a full 40 minutes together."

• Carthage stays on the road facing Carroll (Wis.) on Wednesday night, January 17 at 7 p.m.