The win gave the Knights (16-7, 13-7 MIAC) the season sweep of the Oles and clinched their seventh straight MIAC Playoff berth. The win moved the Knights into a third-place tie with Concordia-Moorhead, which lost at St. Thomas, but the Knights haven't yet clinched a first-round home game in the conference tournament.
Amber Connor added 13 points and Anna Biewen scored in double figures for the third straight game with 10 points.
The Knights used a 17-6 run over a nine-minute span in the second half and held off the Oles down the stretch to beat their arch-rivals for the 14th time in the last 17 meetings.
Kelsey Oja paced St. Olaf (6-17, 6-14 MIAC) with 12 points and Kristina Stoermer added 11 points. The Oles played without leading scorer and rebounder Christina Sampson, who missed her second straight game with an injury.
The Knights outscored the Oles 32-8 from the free-throw line, as the hosts made 32-for-40, which was only four off the MIAC record for most free-throws made in a game.
Trailing by five, 39-33, at the half, the Oles scored three quick baskets on their first four second-half possessions to pull within a single point, but the Knights answered with the decisive spurt, which started and ended with Oken-Berg scoring inside. Kunelius drained one of her two triples during the run and Annie Isler had a three-point play during the string.
The Knights pushed the lead to 15 points with five minutes left, but the Oles rattled off seven straight points and had the deficit down to six points with 90 seconds left, but Carleton made 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Oles shot 40 percent from the field, only the fourth Carleton opponent to do so in 23 games, but the free-throw disparity was too much to overcome. The Knights continually pounded the ball inside and their perimeter players got into the lane, as the Knights made the second-most free throws in school history. The Knights held a 36-32 edge in rebounding and turned the ball over 15 times, one less than the Oles, but held a 15-3 spread in points off turnovers.
Carleton is back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 14, hosting Macalester College at 7:45 p.m. The game can be heard worldwide on Knights Online.
St. Olaf College vs Carleton College 2/10/07 3:00 pm at Northfield, MN (West Gym) At Northfield, MN (West Gym) CARLETON COLLEGE 75, ST. OLAF COLLEGE 62 ST. OLAF COLLEGE (6-17 (6-14 MIAC)) Kelsey Oja 4-13 2-4 12; Kristina Stoermer 3-9 4-5 11; Kathryn Thompson 4-8 1-2 9; Danielle Stoermer 4-5 0-0 8; Mary Kleingarn 3-6 1-4 7; Holly Grimsrud 2-8 0-0 6; Tasha Mrosak 1-3 0-0 3; Laura Jorgensen 1-2 0-0 2; Britta Hendrickson 1-3 0-0 2; Natalie Holm 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-60 8-15 62. CARLETON COLLEGE (16-7 (13-7 MIAC)) Hannah Oken-Berg 6-7 3-7 15; Sarah Kunelius 3-5 6-7 14; Amber Connor 3-13 6-6 13; Anna Biewen 3-5 4-5 10; Annie Isler 3-4 2-3 8; Sarah Lincoln 1-8 6-6 8; Megan Mileusnic 1-1 4-4 6; Annie Eckhoff 0-0 1-2 1; Liz Baumgartner 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 32-40 75. St. Olaf College.............. 33 29 - 62 Carleton College.............. 38 37 - 75 3-point goals-St. Olaf College 6-20 (Holly Grimsrud 2-7; Kelsey Oja 2-8; Tasha Mrosak 1-2; Kristina Stoermer 1-3), Carleton College 3-8 (Sarah Kunelius 2-4; Amber Connor 1-2; Sarah Lincoln 0-1; Liz Baumgartner 0-1). Fouled out--St. Olaf College-Kristina Stoermer; Danielle Stoermer, Carleton College-Sarah Lincoln. Rebounds-St. Olaf College 32 (Laura Jorgensen 7), Carleton College 36 (Sarah Lincoln 9). Assists-St. Olaf College 10 (Holly Grimsrud 3), Carleton College 9 (Annie Isler 3). Total fouls-St. Olaf College 28, Carleton College 15. A-575