Box Score UW-Whitewater's season came to an end in the first round of the NCAA III championship tournament with a 74-68 loss to Carthage College in a game played Friday at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

UW-Whitewater's postseason website

UW-W led 21-20 with 5:54 on the clock, but Carthage used a 6-0 surge to take a 26-21 lead with 4:55 left.  Whitewater whittled away at the deficit, with Katie Burton (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South)'s basket with 0:29 remaining to tie the game 34-34 at the half.

The Warhawks shot 37% from the floor in the half, with Carthage hitting 45%, but UW-W made up the difference from beyond the arc where they hit 4-10 while Carthage made 3-8.  Carthage scored 22 points in the paint in the first twenty minutes.  The Lady Reds inside duo of senior center Diana Jacklin and junior forward Cailee Corcoran split 16 points, with UW-W sophomore guard Kaitlyn Thill (Belgium/Ozaukee) also notching eight.

Carthage bolted out of the locker room, outscoring Whitewater 11-3, giving the Lady Reds a 45-37 lead at 15:40.  Carthage went up 48-39 at 14:29, their largest lead of the game.  The Warhawks responded with a 12-0 run to take a 51-48 lead at 10:37.  After Carthage had regained the lead at 52-51, Whitewater junior center Stephanie Glynn tied the game at 52-52 with a free throw with 9:05 on the clock.  That proved to be the last tie of the game, as senior guard Dani Ripkey pulled off an old fashioned three point play for a 55-52 Carthage lead at 7:10.   With 6:00 remaining Glynn hit two more free throws to pull UW-W within two at 59-57, but Carthage put up nine points to Whitewater's three over the next four-plus minutes for a 68-60 Lady Red lead with 1:40 left.  Whitewater narrowed it to 68-65 with 0:40 showing, but Carthage sophomore guard Stephanie Kuzmanic hit a pair of free throws to make it 70-65 with 39 ticks left.  At 0:20 sophomore guard Mary Merg (Greendale/Greendale) hit a three from left of the key to make it a two point game, 70-68.  Whitewater fouled again, but Kuzmanic foiled the tactic with two more free throws to make it 72-68 with 13 seconds left, but the Warhawks missed a three point attempt, and when UW-W fouled to stop the clock Ripkey hit both of her free throws for the final margin. 

Carthage's inside game was productive, with the Lady Reds outscoring Whitewater 36-22 in the paint, and scoring ten points on second chances compared to three for UW-W.  Merg led UW-W with 15 points, going 5-8 from the floor.  Thill added 13 points, going 6-6 from the line, and dished out a game high five assists.  Senior guard Jamie Swanson (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) was also in double figures with ten points, and she led UW-W with nine rebounds and with three steals.  Carthage also had three double figure scorers, led by Jacklin's 23.  Senior guard Allison Groessl contributed 15 points and Corcoran finished with 11.  Jacklin and Corcoran each had four assists, and Corcoran was the game rebounding leader with 12.  Kuzmanic was credited with a game high four steals.

UW-W, making its fifth consecutive NCAA III tourney appearance, wraps up the 2011-2012 season with a 22-7 record. 

Carthage, 21-7, will advance to play the winner of Friday's other first round game in Greencastle between host DePauw, 26-1, and Westminster College (MO), 22-4.  That second round game will be played Saturday night.

For additional information:  Keri Carollo, UW-W coach