GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE (L-R): Lindsey Brenneman and Laura Karsten.

Bloomington, Ill. - A big second-half rally by Carthage College dealt the Wheaton College women's basketball team a 70-64 loss in the CCIW Tournament semifinal on Friday.

The No. 2-seed Thunder fell to 18-8 on the season. The third-seeded Lady Reds (20-6) advance to Saturday's tournament final.

The first half was a defensive battle between the two sides. Wheaton went up 8-4 on a Laura Karsten three-pointer, but Carthage came back to tie at 15-15. The Thunder regained control and went into halftime up 30-26. Dani Ripkey kept the Lady Reds in it with three treys and 11 points.

Wheaton held a 20-14 rebounding edge in the opening half and showed balanced scoring with six points each from four different players.

Carthage found their offense in the second half and went on a 27-6 run to take the lead at 60-45 with six minutes remaining in the game. The Lady Reds defense denied many looks in the post as Diana Jacklin blocked four shots in the game.

The Thunder started to claw back down the stretch by employing a full-court press. Three-straight steals led to a pair of three-pointers from Lindsey Brenneman to cut the lead to 61-54. The increased pace and intensity got Wheaton within two points in the final minute of the game. But Carthage converted its free throws, making the last nine of the game to hold on for the win.

Wheaton hit 31 percent from the field (20 of 65), 30 percent from three-point range (8 of 27) and 80 percent from the line (16 of 20). Brenneman ended up with 15 points and Elisabeth Potts (PICTURED RIGHT) scored 12 points. Karsten tallied 11 points, six rebounds and six assists. Maris Hovee pulled down 10 rebounds to go with six points.

Carthage shot 43 percent overall (20 of 47) including 56 percent from beyond the arc (9 of 16) and 81 percent from the charity stripe (21 of 26). Ripkey led the team with 20 points while Jacklin totaled 18 points and 16 rebounds.