<zouman (Jr./Irvine, Calif./University) paced the Carleton College women’s basketball team with 16 points, but the Knights were on the short end of a 61-57 thriller that featured five ties and nine lead changes in just the second half.
Carleton scored the first ten points of the contest and held a 23-13 advantage with six minutes remaining in the first half. Augsburg (8-6, 5-6 MIAC) closed that half on a 14-1 run and carried a three-point lead into the break.
The Knights (2-12, 1-10 MIAC) opened the second half with a 13-4 spurt of their own, but the Auggies countered with a 16-6 stretch that gave the visitors a four-point lead at the six-minute mark.
The game of runs continued as Jenny Ramey’s (So./Cottage Grove, Minn./New Life Academy) steal and fast break layup ignited an 8-0 Carleton spurt that pushed the back Knights in front 53-49 with 3:40 left to play.
The Auggies put together the final push of the game, outscoring Carleton 12-4 down the stretch to pull out the four-point victory.
Both teams shot below 40 percent for the game. Carleton committed 17 turnovers leading to 23 points at the other end.
In addition to Arzouman’s 16 points, the Knights got 14 points from Skylar Tsutsui (Fy./Northridge, Calif./Harvard Westlake School) and a 10-rebound game by Megan Meads (So./Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater).
Abbey Luger was one of three Auggies to finish in double figures. She contributed a team-high 16 points off the bench, doubling her previous season high.
Just two days later, Carleton College women’s basketball team absorbed a one-point loss to Saint Mary’s University, their second one-point loss of the year. This time, they suffered a 61-60 setback. This tight contest featured ten ties and 17 lead changes, the last one coming in the closing seconds.
“I felt we put together a strong game plan, and the team executed it with confidence,” said Carleton head coach Cassie Kosiba. “Despite that, we unfortunately let another one slip away tonight.”
Akemi Arzouman (Jr./Irvine, Calif./University) capped a 9-2 Carleton run on a backdoor layup with 1:01 remaining. That basket gave the Knights (2-13, 2-11 MIAC) a four-point lead and put them on the cusp of avenging a 58-57 defeat in the conference opener back in late November.
Instead, things went downhill for Carleton in the final 30 seconds. Emily DeWitt drained a three-pointer to bring Saint Mary’s (8-7, 8-4 MIAC) within a single point.
Arzouman was fouled with 29 ticks on the clock, but missed the front end of a one-and-one, and on the ensuing Cardinal possession, Jamie Stefely knocked down a short jumper with 9.1 seconds remaining on the clock, to push the visitors in front 61-60.
Jenny Ramey (So./Cottage Grove, Minn./New Life Academy) pushed the ball and found Skylar Tsutsui (Fy./Northridge, Calif./Harvard Westlake School) racing up the left wing, but the rookie was unable to get a clean look. Eventually Carleton called a timeout to maintain possession, but Ramey’s bid for a game winner was blocked as time expired.
Ramey finished with 13 points to paced the Knights. Arzouman and Tsutsui each had 11. Post players Rachael Dodd (So./Culver City, Calif./L.A. Center For Enriched Studies) and Jessa Youso (Jr./Virginia, Minn./Virginia) contributed nine and eight points, respectively, and Cassie Mullen (Jr./Seattle, Wash./Bush) chipped in a career-best six points off the bench.
Stefeley finished with a game-high 16 points for Saint mary’s, which has now won five straight games for the first time since the start of the 2004-05 campaign.
Carleton hosts cross-town rival St. Olaf College on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. as the Presidents’ Cup is on the line. Both ends of the women’s men’s doubleheader can be heard on KDHL 920AM with live video available on Knights Online.