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It’s already been an eventful season for the Carthage Lady Reds and it’s not even February yet. Their season took another turn, this time for the good, as they upset No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan 63-55 in Bloomington, Ill.
Carthage opened the season in the Top 25, rose as high as No. 5 and then dropped out of the poll completely. The Lady Reds entered Saturday tied for fourth in the CCIW and playing at Illinois Wesleyan, who hadn’t lost to a Division III opponent since November.
None of that mattered as Carthage exploded for a 22-3 lead midway through the first half. The Lady Reds finished the half up 14 after holding Illinois Wesleyan to 18 percent shooting from the field. The Titans came all the back to tie the game at 37 with 10:49 to play. But the Lady Reds answered with a 9-0 run and held the Titans at arm’s length the rest of the way. Carthage’s Diana Jacklin finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. The teams combined for 52 turnovers, 31 by Carthage. Full story.
No. 3 Kean beat No. 21 William Paterson on the road in impressive fashion, 79-64. The Cougars led by as many as 19 points in the first half. William Paterson cut the lead to nine points midway through the second half but Kean ripped off a 12-0 run to put the game away. Brittanie Payne tallied 17 points, seven assists and five boards while Naimah Clemons scored 25 for Kean. BriAnna Lucas scored 31 points for William Paterson.
Four of the five undefeated teams stayed that way with wins on Saturday. Unranked Gallaudet had the stiffest test but survived at Cazenovia, 64-60. Top-ranked Thomas More beat Westminster (Pa.) 53-37. No. 5 Babson took care of Smith 78-55. No. 15 Denison beat Hiram 65-49. The fifth undefeated team, No. 17 Greensboro, was idle.
No. 7 UW-Stevens Point rolled over UW-Superior 95-49, giving Pointers' Coach Shirley Egner her 400th career victory. Egner got to celebrate the milestone with many of the players who helped her reach it since it was Alumni Day for UW-Stevens Point.
Mount Union forced four turnovers -- including three shot-clock violations -- during Capital's first five possessions en route to a 40-17 halftime lead as the No. 18 Purple Raiders cruised to a 77-54 win. Rosa LaMattina finished with 19 points and six rebounds while Kori Wiedt contributed 18 points and five assists.
Concordia (Ill.) stunned Concordia (Wis.) 79-68 in overtime in a game that doesn't count in the Northern Athletics Conference standings since it is part of the Concordia Invitational Tournament. The Cougars were just 7-11 before the win while the Falcons were 13-6. Marche Smith errupted for 45 points including 15 of the Cougars' 17 points in overtime.
Heather Gilmore led Carthage in scoring with 19
points.