Waukesha, Wis. – The Carroll University women's basketball team continued to brawl with the No. 14 Wheaton Thunder on Saturday to conclude their two-game series, but fell in the final minutes 55-66.
Elizabeth Behrndt set a new career-high 21 points on 7-8 shooting from the floor and 7-8 at the free-throw line to go along with 14 rebounds in her third double-double of the season.
Katie Rohner finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and a season-high four assists.
The Pioneers (5-4, 5-4 CCIW) lose back-to-back games for the first time all season. The Pioneers struggled shooting today, finishing 31.7% from the floor (19-60 FGM). The Pioneers had 25 chances at the free-throw line but only came away with 15 points, including 3-9 FTM in the fourth quarter. Eleven lead changes in this contest showed both teams were fighting closely for the win.
Behrndt and Rohner gave the Pios their first five points from a layup by Behrndt and a three-pointer from Rohner. After a missed free-throw at 7:44 in the first quarter, Berhndt made seven straight the rest of the game. The lead bounced back and forth before
Theresa Wichser (3 PTS, 3 REB) made her only three-pointer of the game to give the Pioneers a two-point lead with 3:48 remaining. Both teams struggled to connect on shots, leaving the score 13-11 after one.
Kayla Stefka (7 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST) made a layup in the paint to give the women a four-point lead. Rohner free-throws kept the lead in favor of the Pioneers until Wheaton tied the game on a three-pointer at the 5:29 mark. Rohner kept the Pioneers in front with a driving layup, but Wheaton connected on a layup in the final seconds to take the lead going into halftime.
Wheaton quickly opened the second half on a 9-2 run.
Katie Evans (5 PTS, 3-4 FTM) and Behrndt added free-throws, leading to Behrndt third double-double. Wheaton worked the lead up to 10 points with 2:34 remaining in the quarter. The Pios attempted to cut the lead thanks to a 5-0 run of free-throws and a Rohner layup, but Wheaton had answers and kept the lead at seven going to the final quarter. Eight of Carroll's 14 third-quarter points came from free-throws. The Thunder worked the lead back up to nine with 7:07 remaining forcing Carroll to call a time out. The Pios had a 5-3 run put together when Wheaton responded with a three-point basket off a turnover. Behrndt continued to get looks inside, scoring on layups and free-throws, but the Pioneers had to resort to the foul game with :56 remaining in the game. Wheaton went on to score the final five points on bonus free-throws.
The Pioneer women get a break until next Thursday when they travel down to Rock Island, Ill. to face the Augustana Vikings. This final two-game series will be the last games of the Pios' regular season before the start of the CCIW Conference Tournament.
