CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Chicago women's basketball team built up a double-digit lead in the first half, but No. 16-ranked Carthage College came storming back with 52 points in the second half to defeat the Maroons 80-65 on Sunday.

The Maroons dropped to 3-2 while the Lady Reds improved to 5-1.

Carthage exploited its significant size advantage in the post to score layups in the early going and even hit three-straight treys to go up 15-10. With large bodies clogging the lane, UChicago swung the ball outside for three-pointers, which they hit with regularity in the first half. The Maroons put together a 24-4 run over the course of 11 minutes to turn a seven-point deficit into a 34-21 lead.

The perimeter defenders got after the Lady Reds and effectively kept the ball away from the post during the run. Senior guards Julie Muguira and Maggie Ely were feeling it from deep and combined to hit five of UChicago's seven three-pointers in the first half. The offense also took care of the ball with only three turnovers in the half as the Maroons went into the break with a 40-28 lead. Muguira tallied 14 points in the half and Ely added 10 points.

After struggling to score in the first half (34.4 percent from the field), Carthage turned the momentum around as the game went on. The Lady Reds got into a rhythm pounding the ball into the paint and opened the second half on a 17-2 run to recapture the lead at 45-42.

UChicago hung in and kept thing close at 60-56 with 6:38 left on the clock. But the Maroons couldn't get consistent points down the stretch and Carthage pulled away with layups and free throws to win by double digits.

Carthage shot 59.4 percent from the field in the second half compared to 25.7 percent by UChicago. The Lady Reds held the rebounding edge 51-39 and led points in the paint 42-18.

UChicago Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal percentage – 33.8 percent (23-68)
Three-point percentage – 31.0 percent (9-29)
Free-throw percentage – 62.5 percent (10-16)
Julie Muguira (Guard, Sr.) – 19 points, 6 rebounds
Maggie Ely (Guard, Sr.) – 16 points, 8 rebounds
Morgan Donovan (Guard, Jr.) – 12 points

Carthage Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal percentage – 46.9 percent (30-64)
Three-point percentage – 46.2 percent (6-13)
Free-throw percentage – 63.6 percent (14-22)
Stephanie Kuzmanic – 30 points, 9 assists
Kristi Schmidt – 25 points, 11 rebounds
Michelle Wenzel – 14 points, 17 rebounds, 6 blocks

NEXT GAME:

• Wednesday, Dec. 4 – UChicago at Wheaton College, 5:30 PM