Beth Freeman added 14 points, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line, and grabbed 11 rebounds for Carleton (19-5), which moved into the MIAC Playoff title game for the fifth straight season. The Knights, the four-time defending MIAC Playoff champions, will host St. Benedict on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 3 p.m.
Jamie Rattunde paced the Cardinals (18-8) with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jessica Weisbrod added 11 points for SMU, which was 4-for-16 from 3-point range, including 1-for-8 in the second half. The Knights held SMU’s second- and third-leading scorers, Angie Arrington and Ashley Luehmann, to a combined 4-for-18 from the floor for 15 points.
The two teams headed to the locker room tied at 25-25, but the Knights held the Cardinals to seven points over the first 10 minutes of the second half, opening a 43-32 lead. SMU rallied within eight, 56-48, on a Rattunde spinning hook shot in the lane and had the ball with a chance to cut the Carleton lead to six with three minutes left. The Knights forced a turnover and Vig canned jumper on other end, sending the Knights to their 10th win in as many tries in the MIAC Playoffs.
Carleton Coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen was very pleased with her team's performance, as they outscored the Cardinals 42-26 in the final 20 minutes. "I think what we tried to do was just try to get back to the tendencies that we talked about early on and make the other kids beside Arrington, Rattunde and Luehmann beat us, and I thought we did what we set out to do at halftime, and that was the story of the ball game."
Metcalf-Filzen was especially happy with the second-half offense which shot 50 percent from the floor and made 20-of-26 free throws. "I thought we moved the ball much better in the second half and that was the key, we were much more active in our internal stuff, we got some greats looks inside, the kind of looks that give high-percentage shots."
Colbenson, who is averaging more than 18 points per game over the last three contests, pointed to Carleton's desire as a motivating factor. "It just comes down to if we don’t win I don’t get to play anymore basketball, and when you have that mindset, when you realize and you look back on all the hours you put into training to perfecting your skills, and it comes down to one or two games and winning those games, its just a great motivation."
The senior from southeast Minnesota had an added stake in the game, playing against players she's grown up competing against since her grade-school days. "It’s definitely an extra incentive, I’ve played against three of their best players since I was in fifth grade and to get the opportunity to keep playing [against them in the MIAC] has been really special, and it’s a huge rivalry between us. We all want to show each other how hard we’ve worked and what type of player we’ve become, but at this time it comes down to anyone who’s not wearing gold, we’re against. So it’s team against team at this point. Maybe we can become better friends at this point without that rivalry hanging over us."
Carleton shot 47 percent for the game and held a gigantic 20-3 edge in free-throw points, going 20-for-27 from the line compared to 3-of-6 for the Cardinals. The Knights dominated the glass, 39-21.
Vig felt it was Carleton's defense, which held SMU 19 points below its season average, which was the key for the Knights. "We just had to keep playing good defense. We were taking good shots in the first half, some weren’t falling, and we were more patient in the second half on offense."
SMU Coach Dan Messmann was disappointed in the loss but not in the effort from his team. "I think we played hard, [but] in the end you’ve got to make a few shots," he said. "Once you lose touch with a team it’s hard, and Carleton made their free throws down the stretch, so [we couldn't] get back in it."
The Knights turn their attention to the Blazers, who ended Concordia's 15-game winning streak in the other semifinal, rallying for a 77-73 victory behind Anna Heikenen's 29-point effort. Carleton swept the season series from the Blazers, winning 71-56 in St. Joseph on Dec. 6 and posting a 84-57 victory at West Gym on Jan. 29. It will mark the third MIAC Playoff meeting between the two and the second title-game showdown.
St. Mary's University vs Carleton College 02/23/05 7:30 P.M. at Northfield, MN (West Gym) At Northfield, MN (West Gym) CARLETON COLLEGE 67, ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY 51 ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY (18-8) Jamie Rattunde 8-15 2-3 18; Jessica Weisbrod 5-13 1-3 11; Ashley Luehmann 4-10 0-0 9; Angie Arrington 2-8 0-0 6; Megan Moran 2-8 0-0 5; Alissa Banttari 1-4 0-0 2; Ashley Fosmo 0-0 0-0 0; Sarah Murphy 0-0 0-0 0; Tessa Stranik 0-0 0-0 0; April Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 3-6 51. CARLETON COLLEGE (19-5) Kristi Colbenson 6-11 6-9 19; Megan Vig 7-17 3-4 18; Beth Freeman 3-5 8-8 14; Andrea Korb 2-4 0-0 5; Katie Freeman 2-5 1-2 5; Kate Krueger 1-3 2-4 4; Andrea Dahl 1-2 0-0 2; Taylor Ross 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 20-27 67. St. Mary's University......... 25 26 - 51 Carleton College.............. 25 42 - 67 3-point goals-St. Mary's University 4-16 (Angie Arrington 2-4; Ashley Luehmann 1-7; Megan Moran 1-5), Carleton College 3-8 (Andrea Korb 1-2; Megan Vig 1-4; Kristi Colbenson 1-1; Kate Krueger 0-1). Fouled out--St. Mary's University-Angie Arrington; Ashley Luehmann, Carleton College-None. Rebounds-St. Mary's University 27 (Jamie Rattunde 7), Carleton College 39 (Beth Freeman 11). Assists-St. Mary's University 6 (Jamie Rattunde 5), Carleton College 13 (Katie Freeman 4). Total fouls-St. Mary's University 21, Carleton College 10. A-650 MIAC Semi-Final Contest