The win secured a home conference tournament game for the Knights (18-7, 15-7 MIAC) and denied the Gusties (21-4, 18-4 MIAC) a share of the MIAC title after St. Thomas upset league-leading St. Benedict. Carleton ended in a tie for third in the final MIAC standings and will be the fourth seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs. The Knights will host fifth seed St. Thomas on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Hannah Oken-Berg added 15 points and seven rebounds and Amber Connor and Anna Biewen were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Jess Vadnais paced the Gusties with 28 points and Julia Schultz added 12 points for the visitors. Carleton limited Bri Monahan, the Gusties' second-leading scorer and the third-leading scorer in the MIAC, to a mere four points.
Carleton broke to a quick 16-9 lead, but the Gusties got on track, using a 15-2 string, highlighted by Vadnais scoring eight points, to take its largest lead at 27-21. The Knights, though, closed the gap by finishing the half on a 10-4 spurt to tie the game at 31-31 at the break. Carleton continued that run, making it a 22-8 run spanning halftime to lead by eight six minutes into the second half.
The Gusties pulled within three with less than nine minutes remaining, but the Knights put the game out of reach by outscoring the Gusties 20-7 over a seven-minute stretch, holding Gustavus to only two field goals in that time span.
Carleton out-rebounded Gustavus, 43-25, and made 29-of-35 from the free-throw line compared to 15-of-19 for Gustavus. Carleton owned a 14-4 advantage on second-chance points.
Carleton now hosts St. Thomas in the MIAC Playoff Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard and seen worldwide on Knights Online and heard locally on Power 96.
Gustavus Adolphus vs Carleton College 2/17/07 3:00 pm at Northfield, MN (West Gym) At Northfield, MN (West Gym) CARLETON COLLEGE 72, GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 59 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS (21-4 (18-4 MIAC)) Jess Vadnais 6-20 12-12 28; Julia Schultz 4-7 3-3 12; Emily Nelson 2-6 0-0 4; Bri Monahan 2-7 0-2 4; Brianna Radtke 2-4 0-0 4; Erin Boese 1-6 0-0 3; Kenzie Consoer 1-3 0-2 2; Katie Layman 1-2 0-0 2; Ashley Raymo 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 15-19 59. CARLETON COLLEGE (18-7 (15-7 MIAC)) Sarah Lincoln 4-8 10-11 20; Hannah Oken-Berg 5-8 5-6 15; Amber Connor 5-11 0-0 11; Anna Biewen 2-5 6-8 10; Megan Mileusnic 4-6 0-0 8; Annie Isler 0-3 4-6 4; Annie Eckhoff 0-1 2-2 2; Sarah Kunelius 0-3 2-2 2; Joy Esboldt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 29-35 72. Gustavus Adolphus............. 31 28 - 59 Carleton College.............. 31 41 - 72 3-point goals-Gustavus Adolphus 6-18 (Jess Vadnais 4-12; Julia Schultz 1-2; Erin Boese 1-2; Brianna Radtke 0-1; Kenzie Consoer 0-1), Carleton College 3-7 (Sarah Lincoln 2-4; Amber Connor 1-1; Sarah Kunelius 0-2). Fouled out--Gustavus Adolphus-None, Carleton College-None. Rebounds-Gustavus Adolphus 25 (Brianna Radtke 4; Katie Layman 4), Carleton College 43 (Sarah Lincoln 12). Assists-Gustavus Adolphus 9 (Emily Nelson 2; Erin Boese 2; Brianna Radtke 2), Carleton College 12 (Annie Isler 7). Total fouls-Gustavus Adolphus 24, Carleton College 15. A-700