The Knights, trailing by nine with 59 seconds left, scored 10 points in a span of 39 seconds, but the Blazers made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 20 seconds to hold off the Knights.
Kim Johnson scored 19 points and Anna Heikenen added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers. The win pushes the Blazers (22-4) into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 and ended Carleton’s (19-6) four-year run as MIAC Playoff champions. The Blazers’ win avenged two regular-season defeats to Carleton.
St. Benedict will learn its opponent and game site on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 9 p.m. Carleton is technically still alive for one of the seven at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, but it’s unlikely the Knights, with six regional losses, would gain entry into the 50-team field. Carleton lost for the first time in 11 conference post-season games.
“It was as good as we’ve played, buzzer-to-buzzer, this year and maybe ever at St. Benedict,” Blazer Coach Mike Durbin said afterwards. “Today we were able to get some points inside and we were able to bring some depth off our bench which got points inside.”
Trailing 72-63 with less than a minute remaining, Beth Freeman nailed two free throws, stole the inbounds pass and made a 3-pointer. After Johnson split on two free throws, Vig buried a triple from the corner, pulling the Knights with two, 73-71, with 41 seconds left. CSB’s Jen Dahled added one of two free throws and Beth Freeman scored down low, leaving the Knights down, 74-73.
Katie Kempe made two free throws and Vig added one at the other end and Carleton trailed, 77-74. Noreen split on a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, giving Carleton one last chance, but Vig’s off-balance three at the horn was just short.
“I think that’s been characteristic of this team – we’ve fought all year long,” Carleton Coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen said. “Through all the injuries, we’ve been fighting and our kids have a lot to be proud of, I think.”
The Knights took an early 11-7 advantage and promptly went stone cold. The Blazers rattled off 15 unanswered points, building an 11-point lead and eventually leading 35-30 at the break.
The Blazers built the advantage back to nine, 45-36, before Carleton answered with a 13-4 spurt, with Vig tallying seven points during the stretch. The Blazers responded by bumping the lead back to seven and eventually leading by 13 as Johnson scored six consecutive points, giving the Blazers a 69-58 lead with 2:46 before Carleton rallied.
Beth Freeman added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Katie Freeman added 11 points and six assists. Darby Noreen tallied 16 points for the Blazers, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range. Ellie Boone added 10 points off the bench as well, sparking an 18-6 edge in Blazer bench scoring.
The Blazers shot 47 percent compared to 44 percent for Carleton. The Blazers held a 15-5 edge in points off turnovers. Carleton knocked down a season-high 10 three-pointers but was undone by doing 6-for-12 from the free-throw line in the second half.
The Knight seniors likely ended their careers on Saturday, going out with an astounding 93-19, three MIAC Playoff titles and three MIAC regular-season titles.
College of St. Benedict vs Carleton College 02/26/05 3:00 P.M. at Northfield, MN (West Gym) At Northfield, MN (West Gym) COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT 77, CARLETON COLLEGE 74 COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT (22-4) Kim Johnson 7-11 3-4 19; Darby Noreen 5-7 2-4 16; Anna Heikenen 6-12 2-6 14; Ellie Boone 4-5 2-2 10; Katie Kempe 2-8 5-6 9; Tara Schloe 2-5 1-2 5; Justine Richels 1-3 0-0 3; Jen Dalhed 0-5 1-2 1; Laura Zwach 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 16-26 77. CARLETON COLLEGE (19-6) Megan Vig 12-21 3-7 29; Beth Freeman 6-12 2-3 16; Katie Freeman 3-4 2-2 11; Kristi Colbenson 3-9 3-4 9; Taylor Ross 2-5 0-0 6; Kate Krueger 1-6 0-0 3; Andrea Dahl 0-0 0-0 0; Andrea Korb 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 10-16 74. College of St. Benedict....... 35 42 - 77 Carleton College.............. 30 44 - 74 3-point goals-College of St. Benedict 7-20 (Darby Noreen 4-4; Kim Johnson 2-4; Justine Richels 1-3; Katie Kempe 0-3; Jen Dalhed 0-3; Laura Zwach 0-1; Ellie Boone 0-1; Anna Heikenen 0-1), Carleton College 10-24 (Katie Freeman 3-4; Megan Vig 2-4; Beth Freeman 2-3; Taylor Ross 2-4; Kate Krueger 1-5; Andrea Korb 0-1; Kristi Colbenson 0-3). Fouled out--College of St. Benedict-None, Carleton College-None. Rebounds-College of St. Benedict 34 (Anna Heikenen 11), Carleton College 38 (Beth Freeman 12). Assists-College of St. Benedict 8 (Darby Noreen 3), Carleton College 20 (Katie Freeman 6). Total fouls-College of St. Benedict 17, Carleton College 17. A-1350 MIAC Championship Game St. Benedict Advances to NCAA Tournament