Trailing 68-67 with 37 seconds left, the Knights forced a Bethel miss and Mileusnic was fouled on the rebound. The rookie calmly stepped to the line and nailed both free throws and Emily Uzpen's shot at the buzzer just missed, giving the Knights their 18th consecutive win over Bethel.
Fellow rookie Amber Connor paced the Knights (5-1, 2-1 MIAC) with 16 points, going 7-for-11 from the field with no turnovers in 36 minutes of play, and Hannah Oken-Berg added her third career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Connor won Carleton's season opener with a free throw with four seconds left against Chapman, a 59-58 win on Nov. 22.
Sarah Lincoln added 13 points, five assists and three rebounds and Sarah Kunelius came off the bench for 13 points, knocking down 3-of-4 from long distance.
Annegret Nautsch led the Royals (1-4, 1-2 MIAC) with 20 points and 16 rebounds. JoLynn Thielke added 12 and Heather Davis 11 points for the Royals, who led 34-27 at the break.
The Knights started horribly, missing on nine of their first 10 shots and turning the ball over four times in the first eight minutes to find themselves down, 16-4. A quick 9-0 spurt, capped by five straight points by Connor, pulled the Knights within three and they took their first lead on an Anna Biewen basket with three minutes left in the half, but the Royals ended the stanza on a 13-5 spurt to lead, 34-27, at the half.
After Nautsch scored to open the second period, Carleton scored 14 of the game's next 16 points to lead, 41-38. The lead would change hands eight more times in the final 11 minutes as two MIAC Playoff teams from a year ago battled it out in a key conference showdown.
With Carleton leading by three and less than 10 minutes left, the hosts used an 11-4 spurt, capped by a huge Thielke three, to pull ahead 55-51. The Knights answered back as Connor and Kunelius drained three-pointers, with Kunelius adding another three after a Sarah Cotner put-back basket.
The Knights, though, turned the ball over on three straight possessions and the Royals converted on six straight free throws to lead, 65-61, with less than three minutes left. Kunelius scored inside and Davis made one free throw, leaving Bethel in front by three with less than two minutes to go. The Royals had the ball and had two chances at a basket that would have likely sealed the win, but neither would go down. Connor fed Oken-Berg inside for a basket, which Nautsch answered. The Carleton sophomore center scored again in the paint with 37 seconds left, putting the Knights down one and setting up Mileusnic's heroics.
Carleton shot 45.0 percent (27-of-60) compared to only 34.8 percent (24-of-69) for Bethel. The Royals had a 43-37 rebounding edge, but it translated into only a 15-12 second-chance points edge.
arleton College vs Bethel University 12/06/06 7:45 PM at Robertson Center At Robertson Center CARLETON COLLEGE 69, BETHEL UNIVERSITY 68 CARLETON COLLEGE (5-1, 2-1 MIAC) Amber Connor 7-11 0-0 16; Hannah Oken-Berg 7-16 0-0 14; Sarah Lincoln 4-8 5-5 13; Sarah Kunelius 4-8 2-2 13; Anna Biewen 3-8 1-2 7; Megan Mileusnic 1-3 2-2 4; Annie Isler 1-3 0-0 2; Annie Eckhoff 0-2 0-0 0; Joy Esboldt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 10-11 69. BETHEL UNIVERSITY (1-4, 1-3 MIAC) Annegret Nautsch 8-14 4-4 20; JoLynn Thielke 4-9 0-0 12; Heather Davis 3-5 4-5 11; Sarah Cotner 4-8 0-2 8; Kristen Wolters 1-5 3-4 6; Shari Laugen 1-4 0-0 3; Emily Uzpen 1-11 0-0 2; Kiersten Hansen 0-2 2-2 2; Bridget Weber 1-1 0-0 2; Abby Thom 1-10 0-0 2. Totals 24-69 13-17 68. Carleton College.............. 27 42 - 69 Bethel University............. 34 34 - 68 3-point goals-Carleton College 5-12 (Sarah Kunelius 3-4; Amber Connor 2-5; Sarah Lincoln 0-2; Annie Isler 0-1), Bethel University 7-19 (JoLynn Thielke 4-7; Kristen Wolters 1-1; Heather Davis 1-1; Shari Laugen 1-4; Abby Thom 0-3; Emily Uzpen 0-3). Fouled out--Carleton College-None, Bethel University-None. Rebounds-Carleton College 37 (Hannah Oken-Berg 12), Bethel University 43 (Annegret Nautsch 16). Assists-Carleton College 17 (Sarah Lincoln 5), Bethel University 18 (Kiersten Hansen 5; Shari Laugen 5). Total fouls-Carleton College 14, Bethel University 11.