The Carthage College women's basketball team (4-1, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 23rd in the Nov. 20 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll and 26th in the Nov. 27 "D3hoops.com" poll, defeated Clarke University (1-6), 77-50, on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Kehl Center in Dubuque, Iowa.

The game was fairly close for the first 20 minutes.  Carthage's lead was only in the single digits until the Lady Reds took an 11-point advantage, 31-20, at 2:42.  The Crusaders whittled that margin down to seven points at the break, 34-27.  A 12-3 Carthage run to open the second half put the Lady Reds up by 16 points, 46-30, at 17:09.  After Clarke got it back to nine points, 46-37, at 14:13, Carthage scored 10 unanswered points to go up by 19, 56-37, at 12:14.  The Lady Reds were never seriously threatened after that, as the lead grew to as much as 29 points late in the game.  Carthage went on to win by 27, 77-50.

The Lady Reds shot 55 percent (28-51), including 61 percent in the first half (14-23), while Clarke shot 45 percent (17-38).  Carthage connected on seven-of-16 three-pointers, while Clarke sank just three-of-13 from beyond the arc.  The Lady Reds had a narrow, 27-24 rebounding edge but turned the ball over just 13 times to 25 for the Crusaders.  Carthage's Cailee Corcoran (Sr., Oak Lawn, Ill./Chicago-Marist) scored a game-high 20 points on seven-of-10 shooting, along with six-of-seven free throws.  Haley Stercic (Jr., Chicago, Ill./Marist) had 14 points on five-of-nine field goals, including four-of-eight from three-point range, along with four rebounds.  Stephanie Aasen led Clarke with 12 points, while Anna Hahn added 11 points and four boards. 

"We were really pleased with our offensive execution," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero, "especially in the second half.  We had great balance of inside and outside most of the day.  Our defense forced some turnovers, but gave up more easy baskets than we'd like. Now we get to play three-straight home games, which will be nice."  Carthage plays host to Trine University (3-3) on Wednesday, Dec. 5 in a 7 p.m. game at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.