Megan Vig added 13 points, including seven straight late in the game that brought Carleton (2-1) within two points in the final minutes. Carleton had two chances to tie the game with less than a minute remaining but committed a turnover each time in suffering their first loss of the season.
Hillary Gowins paced the Ladies (4-0) with 19 points, going a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range. Her shooting enabled the Ladies to go 11-of-15 from beyond the arc. Kenyon, last season’s North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular-season champions, is the NCAC preseason favorite this year.
The Knights, who rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit in beating host North Park the previous evening, trailed 35-24 at the break but rallied behind Oken-Berg’s 13 second-half points. They had the Kenyon lead down to one before Gowins hit a big three, eventually pushing the Kenyon lead back to nine with seven minutes left. Oken-Berg scored inside and Andrea Korb ( nailed a three, but Gowins answered with another triple.
Vig went to work, making two free throws, spinning loose inside for a layup and drilling a three-pointer to make it 60-58 with 2:22 left. The Knights got a stop but turned it over. Another defensive stand was highlighted by a Sarah Lincoln blocked shot, but again Carleton turned the ball over.
Carleton is back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 30, as it opens MIAC play at the University of St. Thomas at 5:45 p.m. The game, part of a men’s/women’s doubleheader, can be heard live on KQCL 95.9 FM and on Knights Online.