Carleton (9-7, 7-4 MIAC) won for the fourth consecutive time to move alone into fourth place in the MIAC standings. Erica Opdahl paced the Tommies (9-7, 6-5 MIAC), who lost for the sixth straight time at Carleton’s West Gym, with 14 points and six rebounds.
The Knights trailed 30-29 at the break but grabbed a 38-34 lead out of the locker room, their largest of the game. UST battled back, using a 13-4 spurt to open a five-point advantage, 47-42, midway through the half, and eventually led 50-45 on a Chelsea Wirtz triple with 10 minutes left.
The Knights whittled the lead down to one over the next four minutes as both defenses dug in, allowing a combined three field goals over the next four minutes. Carleton had but one field goal in the final nine minutes and none over the final six, but made 8-of-12 free throws in the final 4 minutes, 19 seconds for the victory.
UST threatened to run away with the game in the first eight minutes, building an 18-7 lead, fueled by two 3-pointers each by Keiser and Anna Swanson. The Tommies, though, would make only two of their final nine three-point attempts over the last three-fourths of the game. Carleton, meanwhile, methodically got back into the game, using a 19-10 run over the final 10 minutes of the first half to trail 30-29 at the break. Sarah Kunelius had all eight of her points in a two-minute stretch, trimming a 10-point Tommie lead down to four on her own.
Hannah Oken-Berg added 12 points, seven blocked shots and six rebounds for the Knights.
Dee Prioleau added 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Tommies. Jessica Katch and Melissa Keiser had nine points each, but only six combined in the second half.
Carleton shot only 38 percent to 33 percent for the Tommies. Carleton held a 42-40 edge in rebounding and blocked nine Tommie shots. Turnovers were fairly even, with the Knights having 15 miscues (only four in the second half) to 14 for UST, but the Knights had a 16-4 edge in points off turnovers.
St. Thomas vs Carleton College 01/21/06 1:00 p.m. at Northfield, Minn. (West Gym) At Northfield, Minn. (West Gym) CARLETON COLLEGE 57, ST. THOMAS 55 ST. THOMAS (8-7, 6-5 MIAC) Erica Opdahl 3-14 8-9 14; Dee Prioleau 5-8 0-1 10; Jessica Katch 4-16 1-1 9; Melissa Keiser 3-8 0-1 9; Anna Swanson 2-5 0-0 6; Shannon Kane 2-4 0-0 4; Chelsea Wirtz 1-5 0-0 3; Shara Guidry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 9-12 55. CARLETON COLLEGE (9-7, 7-4 MIAC) Megan Vig 5-14 5-6 17; Hannah Oken-Berg 6-10 0-0 12; Sarah Kunelius 3-6 0-2 8; Anna Biewen 2-5 1-2 5; Kari Christianson 2-10 0-0 5; Andrea Dahl 2-3 0-0 4; Annie Isler 1-3 2-2 4; Andrea Korb 0-2 1-2 1; Sarah Lincoln 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 21-55 10-16 57. St. Thomas.................... 30 25 - 55 Carleton College.............. 29 28 - 57 3-point goals-St. Thomas 6-15 (Melissa Keiser 3-5; Anna Swanson 2-5; Chelsea Wirtz 1-4; Jessica Katch 0-1), Carleton College 5-13 (Sarah Kunelius 2-4; Megan Vig 2-3; Kari Christianson 1-3; Andrea Korb 0-1; Sarah Lincoln 0-2). Fouled out--St. Thomas-Jessica Katch, Carleton College-None. Rebounds-St. Thomas 40 (Jessica Katch 9), Carleton College 42 (Megan Vig 12). Assists-St. Thomas 10 (Jessica Katch 3; Chelsea Wirtz 3), Carleton College 11 (Sarah Lincoln 3; Annie Isler 3). Total fouls-St. Thomas 19, Carleton College 10.