KENOSHA, Wis. - The Carroll University women's basketball team lost to third-place Carthage College 71-60 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin showdown between in-state rivals at Tarble Arena on Wednesday night.
It was the fourth consecutive conference loss for Carroll, which dropped to 2-6 in the league standings and 7-10 overall.
Trailing 46-27 midway through the third quarter, the scrappy Pioneers demonstrated their resilience by responding with a gritty 13-3 run over the course of a three-minute stretch to trim the deficit to 49-40 with 2:29 remaining.
Freshman guard Sierra Grubor (Milwaukee, Wis.) scored a team-high 21 points - including 7 of 10 free throws - to lead Carroll, which cut the deficit to six points three times in the fourth quarter but couldn't complete an inspired comeback.
Freshman forward Kayla Stefka (Johnsburg, Ill.) followed with 14 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers, who made three baskets from 3-point range, 17 of 27 free throws and shot 36.4 percent from field-goal range. Sophomore guard Emily Majerus (Plymouth, Wis.) had nine points, five rebounds and five assists.
Sophomore center Katie Rossetti (Wauconda, Ill.) contributed six points, a team-best 11 rebounds, three steals and two assists with freshman point guard Alyssa Cruz (West Allis, Wis.) adding six points.
Each of Carroll's last four losses have come by 11 points or less - including setbacks versus Wheaton (62-52), Elmhurst (77-70) and North Park (70-69).
Senior guard Bailey Gilbert scored a game-high 22 points with six 3-pointers, three rebounds, three steals and an assist to power Carthage, which improved to 6-2 in conference and 12-5 overall. Gilbert eclipsed the 1,000-point career mark to become the 23rd player in program history to accomplish the feat.