WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Carroll University women's basketball team fell in its second-consecutive closely contested contest on Saturday night, falling to Wisconsin-Stevens Point 56-61.
Olivia Rangel scored 15 points followed up by
Allison Thompson's 12-point, 12 rebound performance, which earned her all-tournament honors.
The Pioneers (1-2) and Pointers had 14 lead changes with 10 ties. Carroll's largest lead was five while Point's was six. The Pioneers were out-rebounded 32-45, but Carroll led with 20 points off the bench.
Katie Rohner led with six bench points in seven minutes. Carroll forced, but also surrendered 20 turnovers, and came away with nine steals. Thompson collected three of seven Carroll blocks. The Pios struggled again from three, only making three of 17 shots.
Both programs traded baskets and possessions, as Thompson's first basket of the night with 2:26 left in the first quarter tied the game 9-9. The and-one free-throw for Thompson gave Carroll a 10-9 lead. The Pointers went on a 5-3 run to finish the first quarter up 14-13. Rangel gave Carroll the lead back early in the second quarter with a turnaround jump shot after taking a charge. Rangel knocked down six points in two minutes to push Carroll's lead to four, and
Ryann Wendt provided two more points for Carroll's five-point lead. UW-SP cut it to one going into halftime.
Stevens point regained thee lead on their second offensive possession of the second half and the score bounced back and forth until a Rangel three-point-play gave the Pioneers a two-point advantage. Rohner's jumper outside of the paint with 34 seconds remaining tied the game at 42-42 going into the fourth quarter. Point jumped out to a 6-0 run in the first two minutes of the final quarter that the Pioneers tried to fight to get back into. Thompson cut the lead down to two with 2:06 remaining, followed up by
Natalie Gricius' jump shot to get it back down to two points after UW-SP free throws. The Pointers finished out the game with strong chances at the free throw line after Carroll foul tactics.
The Pioneers return to Van Male Field House on Wednesday, November 16 to take on Benedictine at 7 PM.
