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Carthage College Athletics

The Official Website of The Carthage College Firebirds
Cord-Grace
Jana Paulsen
42
North Park NPU 3-10,0-4 CCIW
82
Winner Carthage CARTH 10-2,2-1 CCIW
North Park NPU
3-10,0-4 CCIW
42
Final
82
Carthage CARTH
10-2,2-1 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
North Park NPU 12 6 11 13 42
Carthage CARTH 14 33 19 16 82

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Career Nights for Cord and Ahram Lift Firebirds to Victory Over North Park

Carthage 82, North Park 42
KENOSHA - The Carthage women's basketball team opened the 2025 portion of the home schedule with a CCIW contest against the North Park Vikings at Tarble Arena on Saturday afternoon. After a closely fought first quarter, the Firebirds dominated the second quarter to take a commanding lead and sail to a win over the Vikings. The Firebirds improved to 10-2 on the season and are off to one of the best starts the program has seen in over a decade. Today's win marks the fastest the Carthage women's basketball program has reached 10 wins in a season since the 2013-14 season when Carthage opened at 10-2 before finishing the year at 26-4 and winning the CCIW championship.



Emma Thistle scored on the opening possession to give the Firebirds an early 2-0 lead. Emma Carlson followed the score with a made jump shot to push the Firebirds lead to 4-0, before a 4-0 run for the Vikings evened the score. The two teams then traded baskets throughout the remainder of the quarter, with the Firebirds ahead 14-12 at the end of the period. Grace Cord led the Firebirds with eight points in the quarter, accounting for the last four scores for the Firebirds in the opening period.

Marianna Morrissey extended the Firebirds lead with a layup off a turnover to open the second quarter, before following it up with another layup and drawing the foul on the following possession. Following another Vikings turnover, Morrissey drained a three with an assist from Carlson, extending the Firebirds lead to 10 points at 22-10. Evelyn Abundes hit a jump shot to end the North Park scoring drought, which lasted 6:09 going back to the first quarter. A free throw for Cord and a three point basket for Grace Wamser extended the Firebirds lead to 12 with 5:12 to play. North Park looked to regain momentum with a pair of baskets from Teresa Morrissey, but the North Park offense would fail to score again in the second quarter, allowing the Firebirds to go on a 21-0 run to end the first half with an impressive 47-18 lead. Baskets on the scoring run were made by a combination of Cord, Green, Thistle, and Nora Ahram. Morrissey led the way with eight points in the quarter. Cord finished the half with a team-high 13 points.

Morrissey opened the second half with a layup to extend the run to 23-0 before a pair of free throws for Caroline Long ended the scoring drought for the Vikings which lasted 5:13. The score kicked off a 13-5 run for the Vikings, bringing the score to 52-27 with 4:44 to play in the third quarter. Thistle made a pair of free throws and Alyssa Orozco completed an and-one play to answer the Vikings run and bring the lead back to 28 points. A layup from Wamser kicked off a scoring run to end the quarter, which included a pair of baskets from Cord and a three-pointer from Ahram. The Firebirds ended the third quarter with a 66-29 lead. Cord led the Firebirds offensively with four points in the period.

The Vikings scored first with a layup in the fourth quarter, before Carlson answered back with a tip-in layup to keep the Carthage lead at 37 points. A free throw and a basket for the Vikings cut the lead to 34 before a three from Ahram extended the lead once again to 37 with the score at 71-34 with 5:49 to play. Cord scored back-to-back baskets in the paint to jump the lead to 75-36 to close out the day for the sophomore. Saige Radke made a free throw to extend the lead to a game-high 40 points, which would hold due to scores from Whitney Thompson, Cait Ethen, and Brecken Carsello as the Firebirds closed out an 82-42 victory over the Vikings.


 
  • Cord led the way with a career-high 21 points, as well as eight rebounds and an assist.
  • Ahram finished with a career-high 12 points, along with five rebounds and a team-leading three assists.
  • Thistle registered 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
  • Morrissey ended the game with 10 points, five rebounds, and a steal.







The Firebirds (10-2, 2-1 CCIW) return to Tarble Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 8 as Carthage hosts Elmhurst at 7 p.m. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.

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