Lady Reds Drop Close Road Contest at Wheaton 54-52
WHEATON, Ill. – Making up a game originally scheduled for this past Saturday, the Carthage College women’s basketball team traveled to Wheaton Monday afternoon, falling in a tight matchup 54-52 in King Arena.
Getting her first start of her collegiate career, Destiny Antoine got the Lady Reds (8-6, 3-2 CCIW) going early before a layup by Autumn Kalis put them up 4-0. Midway through the first quarter, Carthage would take a 9-2 lead over the Thunder (10-4, 3-2 CCIW) after a score from Amanda Larson. Following a three-pointer from Kalis, one of her three on the day, the Lady Reds would end the period with a 16-9 advantage.
Wheaton would come out and score seven unanswered, tying the game at 16, before eventually taking their first lead of the game with just over five minutes left in the half, 20-18. While Kalis would put Carthage back out in front 23-22 on a make from deep with just over a minute left, it was the home team that took a lead into the halftime break, as the Thunder led 26-23.
After the home team scored five straight to begin the third period, the Lady Reds would go on a 13-2 run through the remainder of the quarter, led by five quick points from Kelsey Coshun. With their strong stretch of play, Carthage would head to the final frame with a 36-33 advantage,
In a back-and-forth quarter that saw six lead changes and three ties, the Lady Reds would grab their final lead of the day on a pair of free throws from Larson with just under three minutes remaining. However, Carthage would lose their 45-44 advantage after the home team hit a pair of threes. With the Lady Reds missing a deep ball for the tie, Wheaton would eventually win the game by a final score of 54-52.
Carthage will continue their conference schedule with another road contest, as they travel to North Central for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday, January 15.
Head Coach Tim Bernero
“I thought we got off to a good start and put ourselves in a good position. Unfortunately, we’re in a spot right now where our margin for error is small. We held them to 5-21 shooting from three and they made ones that mattered in the last couple of minutes. We didn’t have enough offense and we were a bit out of order, I think we were a bit indecisive. The kids played really hard today, we know that we needed to make a couple more plays with the ball and at the defensive end, but we’ll see them again. Now we need to focus on North Central and just win on Wednesday. We’ve been really good in tough situations, and I like this team a lot. The conference is tough, and we will be ready on Wednesday.”
Quick Facts
- Once again, Autumn Kalis led the Lady Reds in scoring with 19 tonight, and has hit the double-digit mark in scoring in 11 of Carthage’s 14 games so far this season.
- She also moves up to 19th all-time for career points in program history, now with 1,071.
- With a trio of three-pointers tonight, Kalis has now made 204 in her Carthage career which moves her into second place for most in school history.
- Junior Amadna Larson nearly recorded a double-double, after scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
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