Carthage comes up with massive win
Kenosha saw one of the biggest upsets of the season play out, as Carthage took down No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan, snapping the Titans' 20-game win streak
KENOSHA, Wisconsin — The first time Carthage matched up with Illinois Wesleyan this season, the biggest takeaway for most was how effective IWU was after a bit of a lull. 24 turnovers spoke to IWU’s stellar pressure defense. 20 fast-break points highlighted the Titans’ athleticism in transition. And 24 made free throws pointed to the ability of IWU’s guards to put their heads downs and get to the rim.
But the second time around, Carthage wrote the story in a far different way.
On Saturday afternoon, in front of a packed house, the Firebirds took a torch to IWU’s perfect record, snapping the No. 2-ranked Titans’ 20-game win streak in an 87-81 victory.
It was the kind of win that can galvanize a team. And with Carthage sitting third in the CCIW standings, the Firebirds are building momentum at the perfect time. Unlike in the first meeting, where IWU opened with a 22-10 run, the Firebirds kept perfect pace through the first two quarters, leading 34-32 at the half. After trailing by four entering the fourth quarter, Carthage kicked its offense into high gear, and IWU could do little about it. The Firebirds put 33 points on the board over the final 10 minutes—the most scored in a quarter against IWU this season—and put together a 10-2 run that took them from a 68-66 deficit to a 76-70 lead with 2:10 left.
The biggest factor? Second-chance points. It wasn’t so much the offensive rebounds themselves; IWU allowed 10 offensive boards in the first meeting with Carthage too. But it was what Carthage did with those opportunities that changed the game. The first time, the Firebirds had a mere 3 second-chance points on 10 rebounds. Yesterday? They turned 10 offensive boards into 17 points. It was plays like Emma Carlson’s rebound putback with 2:10 to go that separated Carthage throughout the contest, staying both aggressive and calculated once an offensive rebound was secured. Considering this was an IWU defense that went five straight games in January with no opponent recording a double-digit total in the second-chance category, Carthage’s offensive output in those specific scenarios was all the more noteworthy.
From an individual standpoint, if I was giving out a “Player of the Day” honor, Marianna Morrissey would be near the top of my list. The senior forward kept challenging the Titan defense and winning, as she scored 7 points in the fourth quarter and delivered the assist on a Malia Green 3 that put Carthage up by two possessions.
But as great of a performance as that was, the stunner in Kenosha wasn’t the only big result that happened yesterday. Here’s a look at a few other games that impacted the national picture…
No. 19 UW-Stout came away with one of the more decisive wins of the day, overwhelming No. 16 UW-Whitewater, 87-60. The Blue Devils outscored UWW in all four quarters, with the offensive production never really in doubt. Five different players scored in double figures, led by 17 apiece from Lexi Wagner and Anna Mutch.
» My biggest takeaway: For Stout to respond to the La Crosse loss with back-to-back double-digit wins over UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater is the exact kind of bounce-back we all hoped to see from this group. I’m not sure anyone yesterday shot it as well from long range as Stout did, going 10-of-19 on 3-point shots. When you open the game shooting 4-of-5 from 3, it’s usually going to be a pretty good day. And it certainly was for the Blue Devils, who remain in my Top 10.
Also in the Midwest, No. 8 Gustavus Adolphus made sure it’s second chance against No. 25 Bethel (MN) wasn’t wasted, as the Gusties pulled back into a tie with the Royals for first place in the MIAC. The fact that the 73-61 win came at Bethel made it all the more impressive, considering they’d lost at home, 72-58, three weeks ago. Gustavus has now won 20 games in 7 of the last 10 seasons, including in each of the last four.
» My biggest takeaway: Gustavus just shot the ball way better this time around. The first matchup against Bethel saw the Gusties end up at 34.8% from the field, 18 paint points, a 19-of-28 mark at the free throw line, and 10 assists. All of those numbers jumped up significantly yesterday, a credit to Gustavus’ game prep and learning from the first game. They shot 54.2%, assisted on 19 of 26 made field goals, went 17-of-21 at the line, and the big one: 36 paint points. They repeatedly drove the ball inside against the Royals, which was even more important on a day when 3s didn’t fall too often.
No. 3 Scranton found itself in a very unfamiliar position at halftime yesterday afternoon. The Lady Royals trailed at the half for the first time all season on the road at No. 17 Catholic, and battled back from that 22-18 deficit over the final two quarters, preserving their perfect record (21-0) in a 62-53 win. With 2:27 left, Catholic’s Keegan Douglas tied the score at 49-49, but Scranton immediately answered with a 5-0 run, changing the outlook of the game in a 27-second span. Catholic never got any closer than three points from tying it up over the last two minutes.
» My biggest takeaway: Catholic is really good. That’s a very general statement, but to go from winning at No. 18 Elizabethtown on Wednesday to taking Scranton to the wire on Saturday says a lot about a team. I get it, Catholic didn’t win this game. But nobody else, besides Tufts, has even played the Lady Royals within single digits this season. The defensive performance was pretty impressive and Scranton clearly struggled to get into a rhythm for the first three quarters, something we haven’t seen much from the Lady Royals this year. And I’ll just add, for Catholic to stay right in contention all the way through while going 2-of-15 from 3 and 11-of-20 at the FT line is even more of a testament to the value of their defense.
In what might have been No. 11 Baldwin Wallace’s toughest OAC test in the month of February, the Yellow Jackets found themselves in OT on the road at Capital. Bri O’Connor’s two free throws for Capital tied the contest at 63-63 with two seconds left in regulation, but as has been the case all year, BW found a way when it really mattered. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Yellow Jackets came out on top, 75-69, outscoring Capital, 12-6, in OT. Their new win streak? 20.
» My biggest takeaway: Without staying so aggressive on the offensive glass, I don’t think that’s a game that BW wins. Capital got two huge performances from O’Connor and Samaree Perkins, who had 29 and 27 points, respectively. Ordinarily, that’d be enough to lift the Comets to a win, even with turning it over 18 times. But Capital struggled to keep BW from pulling down offensive rebounds, and had an even more difficult time recovering soon enough to keep BW from getting a good second-chance look. 20 of the Yellow Jackets’ points came off 17 second-chance opportunities.
Today’s Games to Watch (all times ET)
WashU at No. 1 NYU, 12:00 p.m.
Chicago at Brandeis, 12:00 p.m.
Berry at Centre, 1:00 p.m.
Bates at Wesleyan, 2:00 p.m.