Carleton (25-3) used a 14-0 spurt in the opening moments of the second half to build a double-digit lead and held the Muskies (22-6) to one field goal and only four points over the final seven minutes after the visitors pulled within five points with seven minutes left. Linnea Engel tallied 12 points and three steals, setting a new Carleton single-season steals record with 79.
The Knights advance to the NCAA Tournament's second round for the third consecutive year to face the region's top seed, Buena Vista University (Iowa), at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 6, in Storm Lake, Iowa.
"I think we did a great job defensively," Carleton head coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen said. "I think putting pressure on them and also our fast break kind of wore them out and that is what we were trying to do. We took care of the ball offensively, even though we didn't shoot well."
Renne Steinhert paced Lakeland with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots. Aubri Rote added 14 points for Lakeland, the champions of the Lake Michigan Conference (LMC).
"We knew that they defended well," Lakeland head coach April Arvan said. "Carleton has extremely athletic players. They also had a height advantage, and with those two things we were forced into some tough shots. Normally when we are in those situations we hit a little bit better than we did [tonight]. We knew coming in we had to bring a strong game offensively and 27 percent won't win in the tournament."
Lakeland trailed 27-22 at the break but outscored the hosts 8-2 out of the locker room, hitting on its first four shots of the second half to grab a 30-29 lead. It would be its last of the game, as the Muskies went ice-cold the remainder of the game, going 3-for-22 over the final 17:30. Engel and Colbenson keyed the 14-0 run with four points each, while Katie Krueger's triple pushed Carleton's lead to 12 with 11:29 left.
Lakeland had one, final run, rattling off eight consecutive points as Steinhert's bucket pulled the Muskies within five with 7:20 left. The Knights responded with an 11-0 run, highlighted by a Vig's three and driving lay-up and a triple from Katie Freeman.
Lakeland broke to an early five-point lead as Rote scored the visitor's first seven points to lead at 12-6. The Knights responded with a quick 7-0 spurt, only to see Lakeland answer with six consecutive points to grab its largest lead of the game, 20-13. Carleton scored 10 unanswered points, regaining the lead they'd never relinquish.
Carleton turned the ball over only 10 times and forced 16 Lakeland turnovers, holding a 20-8 edge in points off turnovers. The Muskies outscores Carleton 26-18 in points in the paint and 7-4 in second-chance points. Neither team shot the ball well, as Carleton was at 37 percent compared to 33 percent for the Muskies. Carleton owned an 18-9 edge in free throw points, going 18-for-26, compared to 9-of-15 for Lakeland.
Newspaper Box Score Lakeland College vs Carleton College 3/3/04 7:00 p.m. at Northfield, MN At Northfield, MN CARLETON COLLEGE 58, LAKELAND COLLEGE 42 LAKELAND COLLEGE (22-6) Steinert, Renee 6-10 3-6 15; Rote, Aubri 4-12 5-7 14; Thousand, Casey 4-14 1-2 9; Thill, Kristi 1-3 0-0 2; Boehm, Jenna 1-3 0-0 2; Groh, Heather 0-3 0-0 0; Langenhorst, Sara 0-1 0-0 0; Nichols, Karli 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-48 9-15 42. CARLETON COLLEGE (25-3) Megan Vig 7-16 6-6 21; Linnea Engel 3-7 6-10 12; Kristi Colbenson 3-7 2-4 9; Beth Freeman 1-7 4-6 6; Katie Freeman 2-6 0-0 5; Kate Krueger 1-2 0-0 3; Kari Christianson 1-2 0-0 2; Cassie Hammond 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-49 18-26 58. Lakeland College.............. 22 20 - 42 Carleton College.............. 27 31 - 58 3-point goals-Lakeland College 1-7 (Rote, Aubri 1-4; Thousand, Casey 0-2; Nichols, Karli 0-1), Carleton College 4-11 (Katie Freeman 1-4; Kristi Colbenson 1-1; Megan Vig 1-3; Kate Krueger 1-2; Linnea Engel 0-1). Fouled out--Lakeland College-None, Carleton College-None. Rebounds-Lakeland College 35 (Steinert, Renee 13), Carleton College 37 (Megan Vig 12). Assists-Lakeland College 4 (Thousand, Casey 2), Carleton College 12 (Linnea Engel 3). Total fouls-Lakeland College 18, Carleton College 18. A-900 NCAA Championship 1st Round Game Carleton advances to play at Buena Vista, 4:00 p.m. Saturday Linnea Engel sets single season steals record