<r Day, the Carleton College women’s basketball class of 2014 did everything in its power to will the Knights to victory over Macalester College. Jenny Ramey ‘14 poured in a career-high 29 points, Emma Purfeerst ‘14 tallied her 16th career double-double, and Jessica Huang ‘14 ignited a key second-half run. Unfortunately, this hard-working trio could not go out on top as the Knights lost 74-71 in overtime.
“What a great game to finish out the season,” said Carleton head coach Cassie Kosiba. “With the support and encouragement of our boisterous student-body, both teams battled hard to the final buzzer of overtime. Our seniors showed their true colors today, stepping up when the team needed them. Emma with her rebounding, Jenny with her scoring and Chuck with her hustle plays.
“There were several times when it would have been easy to give in, but as we’ve proven time and time again this season, quitting is not in our DNA. While we’ll miss Jenny, Emma, and ‘Chuck’ next season, our coaching staff is excited about the direction of the program and the core group returning next year.”
This started well for the Knights (5-20, 3-19 MIAC) as the hosts raced out to a 12-2 advantage at the 14-minute mark of the first half. Ramey drained a three pointer to close the first half, giving Carleton a 36-30 lead at intermission.
The Scots (5-20, 4-18 MIAC) opened the second half on a 7-1 spurt, and the score remain tight over the next eight minutes. Macaleter put together an 11-1 burst to build its largest lead of the contest, 61-51 with 5:39 remaining in regulation.
The Carleton seniors saw no reason to let their careers end like that. Huang started the comeback with a three-pointer and followed with an assist on a Purfeerst jumper. Those plays opened a 10-2 run for the Knights that made the score 63-61 with 2:20 still to go.
Macalester possessed a four-point lead with less than a minute to go before Ramey converted a layup in traffic and Gabbi Stienstra ‘16 did likewise, forcing the game into overtime.
Both sides struggled in the extra period, as each team went 1-of-8 from the field. A three pointer by Carmen Whitehead put the Scots in front, 72-69 with 24 seconds remaining.
Ramey again attacked the middle of the Macalester defense, registering a new career-best with her 28th and 29th points on a basket with 14 seconds left. After a pair of Scots’ free throws, the Knights had two chances to tie the game, but both shots were off target as time expired.
Veronika Jakubovie paced Macalester with 18 points and 19 rebounds, both season highs. Taylor Pike, Whitehead, and Emma Leyden contributed 14, 13, and 12 points respectively.
In addition to her career-high scoring output, Ramey matched her career best with nine rebounds. Purfeerst’s final tally included 13 points and 15 rebounds. Steinstra added 12 points and six boards, with Michele Arima ‘16 contributing 10 points off the bench.
Not surprisingly, Ramey and Purfeerst also leave their mark on the Carleton record book.
Ramey appeared in all 100 games of her career, making 98 starts. She joins Anna Bandick ‘90 as the only players in team history with at least 800 career points, 300 assists, and 200 steals. Ramey ranks third all-time at Carleton with 357 assists, fourth with 202 steals, sixth in free throws made (326) and tied for sixth in 3-point field goals (80).
Purfeerst started 79 of her 83 career games. During each of the three seasons in which she was healthy, Purfeerst tallied at least 220 points and 160 rebounds. She ranks third all time in career free-throw percentage (.827), seventh in rebounding average at 7.0 boards, and 10th with a career .468 field-goal percentage.