Sarah Kunelius (Fy./Eagan, Minn.) tallied a career-high 18 points, going 6-for-8 from three-point range and hitting three straight triples during a 21-3 run midway through the second half as the Knights (18-9) erased a 15-point, second half deficit in advancing to the MIAC Playoff title game for the sixth straight time in the event’s six-year history.
Anna Heikenen paced the Blazers (21-5) with 20 points, surpassing the 1,500-point mark for her career. The Blazers must wait until Monday morning to see if they receive one of the 21 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.
The Knights advance to play Concordia-Moorhead in the title game on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m.
Vig's total pushed her into second on Carleton's all-time scoring list with 1,656 points, passing Lisa Nordeen in the process.
The Blazers led 40-30 at the break and extended to a 45-30 margin before the Knights rallied. Vig got things started with a three, followed by three straight lone-range bombs by Kunelius to give Carleton its first lead of the game, 49-48 with under 11 minutes remaining. After a pair of Annie Isler free throws, the Blazers responded with a 10-0 spurt, capped by Jen Dahled's two straight triples, pushing the lead back to seven for the hosts.
Vig was a monster over the final six minutes of regulation, scoring 13 points, and her two free throws with 11 seconds left forced overtime.
There were two ties and five lead changes in the extra session, with Hannah Oken-Berg, a 41 percent free-throw shooter, nailing two free throws 32 seconds left to put Carleton in the lead. St. Benedict's Darby Noreen made two free throws with 17 seconds left, setting up Korb's heroics.
The senior point guard brought the ball up the floor, caught a high pick and drove to her left. Finding herself open from inside the free-throw line on the left side of the lane, the senior pulled up and knocked down the jumper. The Blazers, following a timeout, got the ball upcourt but Isler tipped the pass out of bounds on the left sideline in the deep corner. The Blazers tried to get the ball into Heikenen with 2.2 seconds left, but it was knocked away by Oken-Berg to seal the win.
The Blazers controlled the first half, scoring the first five points of the game and extending the margin to as many as 12, mainly by owning the offensive glass to the tune of 12 offensive boards which led to 11 second-chance points.
The Knights won despite the Blazers taking 25 more shots and committing only five turnovers. St. Benedict shot only 35 percent from the field to Carleton's 42 percent and the Knights knocked down a seaon-high 10 three-pointers, going 10-of-16 from beyond the arc. Carleton also held the Blazers' starting guards, Noreen and Katie Kempe, to a combined 4-for-28 evening. Noreen especially had a tough night, as the Blazers' second-leading scorer made her first field goal but missed her next 13.
Ellie Boone came off the bench for the Blazers to score 15 points abd grab seven rebounds, six on the offensive end. Dahled was also in double figures with 11 points.
Oken-Berg added eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots while Sarah Lincoln and Korb had seven points each. Senior Kari Christianson had but three points but added six assists (with only one turnover) and five rebounds.
Carleton College vs St. Benedict 02/22/06 7:30 p.m. at College of St. Benedict At College of St. Benedict CARLETON COLLEGE 74, ST. BENEDICT 73 CARLETON COLLEGE Megan Vig 10-16 3-4 25; Sarah Kunelius 6-10 0-0 18; Hannah Oken-Berg 3-9 2-2 8; Andrea Korb 3-7 0-0 7; Sarah Lincoln 2-2 2-2 7; Annie Isler 0-3 6-6 6; Kari Christianson 1-8 1-2 3; Andrea Dahl 0-0 0-0 0; Anna Biewen 0-4 0-0 0; Liz Baumgartner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 14-16 74. ST. BENEDICT Anna Heikenen 9-23 2-2 20; Ellie Boone 7-10 1-2 15; Jen Dalhed 4-10 0-0 11; Ariel Tauer 4-5 0-0 8; Katie Kempe 3-14 1-2 7; Darby Noreen 1-14 3-4 6; Judy Falvey 1-3 0-0 3; Jaime Goehner 0-2 3-4 3; Kari Schroeder 0-0 0-0 0; Nikki Carter 0-2 0-0 0; Mackenzie O'Neil 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-84 10-14 73. Carleton College.............. 30 37 7 - 74 St. Benedict.................. 40 27 6 - 73 3-point goals-Carleton College 10-16 (Sarah Kunelius 6-8; Megan Vig 2-2; Andrea Korb 1-3; Sarah Lincoln 1-1; Kari Christianson 0-1; Annie Isler 0-1), St. Benedict 5-21 (Jen Dalhed 3-5; Darby Noreen 1-6; Judy Falvey 1-2; Katie Kempe 0-5; Nikki Carter 0-1; Mackenzie O'Neil 0-1; Anna Heikenen 0-1). Fouled out--Carleton College-None, St. Benedict-None. Rebounds-Carleton College 38 (Hannah Oken-Berg 8), St. Benedict 47 (Anna Heikenen 12). Assists-Carleton College 18 (Kari Christianson 6), St. Benedict 12 (Darby Noreen 5). Total fouls-Carleton College 11, St. Benedict 15.