WAUKESHA, Wis. - The Carroll University women's basketball team lost to high-powered No. 17-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University 63-48 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin season finale at Van Male Field House on Saturday afternoon.
It was the fourth consecutive conference loss for Carroll, which ended the season 4-12 in the conference standings and 9-16 overall.
Carroll was officially eliminated from the race for a CCIW Tournament berth with a loss to Carthage on Wednesday.
The Pioneers - who were competing with a short-handed seven-player roster - were outscored 39-15 in the first half, including what proved to be a decisive 23-7 margin in the opening quarter.
Freshman guard Sierra Grubor (Milwaukee, Wis.) contributed a team-leading 17 points, including 7 of 11 free throws, and pulled down six rebounds for Carroll - which converted three baskets from 3-point range, 13 of 20 free throws and shot 27.6 percent from field-goal range. Sophomore point guard Emily Majerus (Plymouth, Wis.) followed with 13 points - highlighted by 4 of 5 free throws, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Freshman center Celina Schwantes (Pewaukee, Wis.) chipped in eight points, eight rebounds, one assist and a steal for the Pioneers, who were outrebounded 39-36 and committed 16 turnovers. Freshman guard Gabby Atkins (Southern Door, Wis.) added six points.
Carroll outscored the experienced Titans 33-24 in the second half, including a 15-8 margin in the fourth quarter - trimming the deficit to 60-48 on a mid-range jumper by Grubor with 55 seconds remaining but couldn't get any closer.
Despite the frustrating final outcome to round out the character-building season, Carroll third-year head coach Lindsay Schultz praised her young team's effort.
"We were a young team with a lot of new pieces and this year was all about learning how to play together," said Schultz, whose team continued to showcase its growth by finishing with nine victories (highlighted by CCIW victories over Augustana, Millikin, North Central and North Park along with a signature nonconference win over longtime rival St. Norbert). "At times, we would start to jell and get into a good groove but then adversity seemed to strike in one way or another (noting the impact of season-ending injuries to standout freshman guards Theresa Wichser (Waukesha, Wis.) and Alyssa Cruz (West Allis, Wis.) along with sophomore guard Hailey Herriges (Kewaskum, Wis.). When that happened we were forced to re-identify ourselves and continued to work through the situation. On a positive note, we found people who were ready to step up and made the most of the opportunities. Being the youngest team in the conference, that experience and steady growth will only help in our development as we look to the future.
"We have a lot to be excited about as we move forward. From a program standpoint, we were able to raise our level of competitiveness and took another good step. Looking back, we were in nearly every game so now we just want to build off of that heading into next year."
Senior forward Maddie Merritt scored a team-high 14 points with 4 of 6 free throws, four rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead second-place Illinois Wesleyan, which improved to 14-2 in conference and 21-4 overall. Sophomore forward Raven Hughes had 12 points with senior forward Ashley Schneider and sophomore guard Kendall Sosa each adding 11 points for the Titans, who made three 3-pointers, 12 of 18 free throws and shot 45.3 percent from the field.

PIONEER FAST FACTS
What: The Carroll University women's basketball team lost to high-powered No. 17-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University 63-48 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin season finale at Van Male Field House on Saturday afternoon.
Final Records: 4-12 in CCIW and 9-16 overall
Scoring Leaders: Sierra Grubor (17 points), Emily Majerus (13 points), Celina Schwantes (8 points), Gabby Atkins (6 points)
Rebound Leaders: Schwantes (8), Majerus (7), Grubor (6), Atkins (3), Kayla Stefka (3), Katie Rossetti (3) and Amanda Hooks (3)
Notable: The Pioneers were outscored 39-15 in the first half -  including what proved to be a decisive 23-7 margin in the opening quarter.