<rleton College women’s basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half but was unable to upend cross-town rival St. Olaf, dropping the season finale, 60-57.
The Knights had a chance to go ahead in the final minute, but a costly turnover saw the Knights’ chances slip away. Akemi Arzouman’s ‘14 and Skylar Tsutsui ‘15 led the Knights, tallying 19 and 18 points, respectively.
The first half was characterized by back and forth scoring with the score tied at 26-26. The Knights (3-22, 2-20 MIAC) shot only 27 percent from the floor in the first half, but were able to stay in the game by going 9-9 from the charity stripe.
The second half was a different story, consisting of series of runs. After Megan Meads ‘14 opened the scoring in the second half, the Oles (17-8, 14-8 MIAC) responded with a 14-2 to put the Knights in a ten hole. However, the Knights fought back, going on an 11-0 run with Arzouman’s layup at 10:57 putting the Knights in front 41-40.
The Knights would once again respond after the Oles opened their lead to nine only four minutes later. Carleton was able to whittle the St. Olaf lead to one after 14-3 run with only 40 seconds remaining in the game after Tsutsui connected on her fourth three pointer of the game.
After a missed three point attempt by St. Olaf, the Knights had a chance to take the lead, but an errant pass resulted in a costly turnover. With three seconds left, Mackenzie Wolter extended the St. Olaf lead to three points with a pair of free throws. Carleton’s last chance to equalize came up short on Arzouman’s desperation three point attempt at the buzzer.
The Knights’ shot much better in the second half, making 48 percent of their shots. Jenny Ramey ‘14 joined Arzouman and Tsutui in double figure scoring with 11 points.
Like the first meeting between the two teams, the Knights did not have an answer for Wolter who posted a game-high 20 points. She had 17 points against the Knights in the previous meeting on January 21.
The Knights finished the game a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line, good for the best free throw percentage in a game in school history (minimum 10 attempts). This comes on the heels of Wednesdy’s contest at Augsburg when the Knights made 22-23 free throws (.957), which was then established the school record.
Knights will not lose any of their players to graduation and could return the full roster for the 2012-2013 campaign.