<r Hannah Oken-Berg tallied 17 points to become the 10th member of Carleton College’s 1,000-point club, but it was not enough as the Knights fell to crosstown rival St. Olaf College, 63-51.
Oken-Berg entered the contest needing only one point to reach 1,000 and wasted little time reaching the milestone with a jumper at the 18:31 mark of the first half. She also pulled down nine rebounds.
Anna Biewen ’09 also reached double digits for Carleton, scoring a season-best 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Sarah Lincoln ’09 added eight points and 11 rebounds, while Annie Isler ’08 contributed nine points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Carleton played without starting guard Amber Connor ’10 who sat out as a precaution after sustaining a concussion during Saturday’s win over Macalester.
All five starters reached double digit scoring for the hosts, led by Kelsey Oja’s 15 points. In fact, the St. Olaf bench did not score a point but it didn’t matter as the Oles went on a 29-7 run during the middle of the second half. They knocked down 5-of-6 three-point attempts during that spurt. The Oles also possessed a decided advantage on the glass, 46-32, including 17 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second-chance points.
Neither team took great care with the basketball, committing a combined 41 turnovers, 21 of those by the Knights.
St. Olaf shot only 29 percent in the first half but improved after intermission by knocking down 15-of-34 tries (44 percent).
A Carleton victory would have secured home-court advantage in the first round of the upcoming MIAC Playoffs. The defeat, however, means Carleton and Concordia remain tied for fourth in the conference as the Cobbers lost at St. Thomas. If the teams are tied at season’s end, the Knights will win the tie-breaker after sweeping Concordia this year.
The Knights will wrap up the regular season at Gustavus on Sunday.