Tournament Website | 2018-19 Statistics

Pictured (L to R): Carthage senior guard Bailey Gilbert and North Park freshman forward Jayla Johnson helped lead their respective teams to victory in the CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Carthage and North Park each advanced in Tuesday night's quarterfinal contests of the 2019 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Women's Basketball Tournament.

The third-seeded Lady Reds earned a 61-53 win over No. 6 seed Elmhurst and move on to face No. 2 seed Illinois Wesleyan at 5 p.m. on Friday at Wheaton. Bailey Gilbert and Autumn Kalis each led Carthage with 13 points apiece in the win as the Lady Reds are making their second-straight conference tournament appearance and are looking to win their first tournament title since 2014. 

No. 5 seed North Park topped Augustana 63-47 in Rock Island and will travel to No. 1 seed Wheaton at 7 p.m. on Friday. 2019 CCIW Newcomer of the Year Jayla Johnson led North Park with 21 points on Tuesday and added 10 rebounds in the win. It was the program's first-ever conference tournament win as North Park is making its first tournament appearance since 2006. 

NCAA Automatic Qualifier: Saturday's tournament championship winner will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. The full 64-team bracket will be announced via an NCAA.com Selection Show at 2:30 p.m. EST on Monday, February 25. 

NCAA History: CCIW teams have won a combined three NCAA Division III national titles including Millikin (2005), Illinois Wesleyan (2012) and North Central (1983). The Cardinals' title came before the CCIW began sponsoring women's basketball beginning in the 1986-87 season. 

2019 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament Schedule

Tuesday, February 19
#3 Carthage 61, #6 Elmhurst 53 Box Score
#5 North Park 63, #4 Augustana 47 Box Score

Friday, February 22
#3 Carthage vs. #2 Illinois Wesleyan, 5 p.m. Live Video | Live Stats
#5 North Park @ #1 Wheaton, 7 p.m. Live Video | Live Stats

Saturday, February 23
Championship game at #1 Wheaton, 7 p.m.
 
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.