Carthage Women’s Basketball 2007 Season Review/2008 Season Outlook

2007 Season Review

Right on the cusp is how close Carthage women’s basketball might be to the top of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.  Carthage went 15-11 in 2007, finished fourth in the CCIW with an 8-6 mark and qualified for the CCIW Women’s Basketball Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.  The Lady Reds lost to CCIW-champion Wheaton College (Ill.), 57-53, in a semifinal game at the CCIW tournament, just three days after Carthage closed out its regular-season schedule with a 54-47 over the Thunder. 

In the loss to Wheaton (Ill.) at the conference tournament, Carthage fell behind by 16 points, 35-19, at 2:42 before the Lady Reds closed out the half on a 7-0 run to close to within nine, 35-26.  The Lady Reds continued to clamp down on the Thunder in the second half, holding Wheaton (Ill.) scoreless for the first seven minutes.  Unfortunately, Carthage managed only a single field goal in that stretch and still trailed by seven, 35-28, at 12:50. The Lady Reds tied the game, 43-43, at 5:05 and took their first lead of the game, 45-43, at 4:18.  The game was tied, 47-47, at 2:38 before Wheaton’s Elizabeth Fox took over.  The Thunder took the lead to stay, 50-47, at 1:25 on a three-pointer from the corner by Fox.  The Thunder made it a five-point lead, 52-47, at 1:05 on a pair of free throws by Fox.  The Lady Reds cut the lead to two, 55-53, with 13 seconds remaining, but the Thunder’s Kathleen Fidelia connected on two free throws with 10.6 seconds on the clock to make it 57-53 for the final score.

“I told the kids how proud I was at how hard they played and the effort they were able to bring to the second half,” said Carthage coach Tim Bernero.  “They knew their backs were against the wall against a pretty good team.  We just couldn’t get enough offense to push past them.  Wheaton (Ill.) got off to a great start, in part, because our zone defense didn’t bother them.  They hit seven-of-13 three-pointers in the first half, and we just didn’t contest them on the perimeter very well.  We had plenty of chances to take control of the game in the second half, but turnovers and missed shots hurt us.”

En route to the CCIW tournament, the Lady Reds compiled a 7-4 non-conference record.  In conference play, while Carthage managed only a 1-5 mark against the top-three teams in the league, the Lady Reds took care of business with a 7-1 mark versus the four teams below them in the standings.

Two members of the Carthage team were named 2007 All-CCIW.  Forward Katie Jarger (Jr., Chicago, Ill./River Forest Trinity) was named second-team All-CCIW, and guard/forward Carlie Janowiak (Sr., Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) earned third-team all-conference honors.  Jarger finished the 2007 regular season ranked 10th among CCIW scoring leaders (13.0 points per game), fourth in blocked shots (1.19 per game), fifth in rebounding (7.5 per game), sixth in field-goal percentage (.481) and 14th in free-throw percentage (.708).  Janowiak led the league in assists (5.46 per game) and was ranked eighth in blocked shots (0.88 per game), 10th in three-point field-goal percentage (.317) and 12th in rebounding (5.6 per game).  “Katie Jarger was sort of a silent assassin in the early part of the season,” said coach Bernero.  “Her basic game is making layups, getting offensive rebounds and finding plays around the basket.  She’s adjusted, pretty quickly, from being a perimeter player to being a post player, and that’s to her credit.  She’s one of the better post players in the league at this point.”

Point-guard Shana Lieberman (Jr., Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) was 14th in CCIW scoring (11.3 points per game), eighth in steals (1.77 per game), ninth in three-point field-goal percentage (.318), 10th in assists (2.62 per game) and 15th in free-throw percentage (.713).  Center Kristina Dredge (graduated-senior, North Aurora, Ill./Batavia) was seventh in free-throw percentage (.789), ninth in blocked shots (0.85 per game), 12th in field-goal percentage (.434) and 15th in rebounding (5.3 per game).  Center Lisa Gartelos (Sr., Lisle, Ill.) averaged 9.0 points per game and 3.5 rebounds and was fourth in CCIW field-goal percentage (.503).  Guard Erika Buchholz (Sr., Lisle, Ill.) averaged 8.4 points and 3.2 rebounds and set a Carthage season record with an .861 free-throw percentage (third in the CCIW).

“After the CCIW tournament,” said coach Bernero, “I told our team that I didn’t think they knew how close they are to being a special team.  Take away one or two games from 2007, and we were in every game.  We’re right on the cusp of being as good as any team in this league.”

2008 Season Outlook

Head coach Tim Bernero (53-49, 4 years) appears to have enough returning talent to challenge for the 2008 CCIW championship.  He returns four-of-five starters and 10-of-12 letterwinners from last year’s 15-11 CCIW-tournament team.  Second-team All-CCIW forward Katie Jarger (13.0 points per game, 7.5 rebounds) and third-team all-conference guard/forward Carlie Janowiak (6.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists) lead the returnees.  Starting point guard Shana Lieberman (11.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists) and guard Erika Buchholz (8.4 points, 3.2 rebounds) round out the returning starters. 

Also returning are guard Katie Klemke (So., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South, 2.9 points per game), guard Laura Barnhart (So., Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech, 2.1 points per game), center Katherine Burshiem (So., Naperville, Ill./North, 1.8 points per game), center Forrest Smith (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va./Gurnee, Ill.-Warren Township, 1.3 points per game) and guard Lauren Johnston (Sr., Carol Stream, Ill./West Chicago-Community, 1.2 points per game).  Leading newcomers include guard Grace Delaney (Fr., Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South, 2006 and 2007 All-DuPage Valley Conference), transfer forward Rosie Dorn (So., Chicago, Ill./Wilmette-Regina Dominican/Eastern Illinois University, 2006 honorable mention all-state), transfer guard Heather Gilmore (So., Des Moines, Iowa/Pleasant Hill/University of Iowa, 2006 honorable mention all-state) and guard Taylor Tondelli (Fr., Downers Grove, Ill./South, 2007 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association honorable mention all-state).

The Lady Reds open the season against Beloit College on Nov. 17.  Other non-conference opponents include Wisconsin Lutheran College, Lake Forest College, Clarke College, the University of Chicago, Manchester College and Aurora University.  Carthage also plays in two tournaments, the final CCIW/MIAA Women’s Basketball Classic on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at Hope College in Holland, Mich., along with the Dec. 28-29 Trinity University “Holiday Classic” in San Antonio, Texas.