Carleton (16-9, 14-6 MIAC) finished the MIAC's second half with eight wins against two losses. Kari Christianson matched her season high with 14 points as the Knights shot 51 percent from the floor in posting their highest scoring output of the season.
Bethel (13-12, 8-12 MIAC) was paced by Jen Ahlberg's 21 points. The Royals will be the sixth seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs and will face third seed Gustavus, which lost 70-60 to St. Benedict this afternoon. The Blazers are the outright MIAC regular-season champions and top seed in the conference tournament, while Concordia-Moorhead is the second seed.
Carleton started quickly and never looked back, racing to an early 14-7 lead. They pushed the lead to 10 on a Sarah Kunelius triple and had the lead up to 13 before taking a 48-37 lead at the break.
Bethel pulled within eight early in the second half, but the Knights used a 10-3 spurt to build the lead to 16 points. Bethel never got closer than 12 the rest of the way as the Knights beat the Royals for the 17th consecutive time.
Carleton outrebounded the hosts 46-41, but had 20 offensive rebounds in owning a 25-11 spread in second-chance points. The Knights also owned a 24-12 edge in points off turnovers.
The Knights will open the MIAC Playoffs as the fourth seed and host fifth seed Hamline University on Monday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. [Please note this is the correct time.] The game can be heard live on Knights Online and locally on KQCL 95.9 FM.
Carleton College vs Bethel University 02/18/06 1 p.m. at Robertson Center At Robertson Center CARLETON COLLEGE 88, BETHEL UNIVERSITY 75 CARLETON COLLEGE (16-9, 14-6 MIAC) Megan Vig 10-16 3-4 24; Hannah Oken-Berg 10-18 2-5 22; Kari Christianson 6-11 2-3 14; Annie Isler 1-3 6-6 8; Andrea Korb 2-4 1-2 6; Sarah Kunelius 2-5 0-1 6; Anna Biewen 2-5 0-1 4; Sarah Lincoln 1-2 1-2 3; Joy Esboldt 0-1 0-0 0; Emily Strandmark 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-67 16-26 88. BETHEL UNIVERSITY (13-12, 8-12 MIAC) Jen Ahlberg 6-10 5-7 21; Heather Davis 6-13 1-7 13; Annegret Nautsch 5-13 2-2 12; Emily Uzpen 2-4 4-4 10; Betsy Stevens 2-3 1-3 6; Sarah Cotner 2-3 0-0 4; Bridget Weber 2-5 0-0 4; JoLynn Thielke 1-4 0-0 3; Emily Stavem 1-2 0-0 2; Blaire Baldwin 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 27-61 13-23 75. Carleton College.............. 48 40 - 88 Bethel University............. 37 38 - 75 3-point goals-Carleton College 4-8 (Sarah Kunelius 2-4; Andrea Korb 1-2; Megan Vig 1-1; Sarah Lincoln 0-1), Bethel University 8-22 (Jen Ahlberg 4-8; Emily Uzpen 2-4; Betsy Stevens 1-1; JoLynn Thielke 1-4; Bridget Weber 0-2; Blaire Baldwin 0-3). Fouled out--Carleton College-None, Bethel University-Sarah Cotner. Rebounds-Carleton College 46 (Hannah Oken-Berg 8), Bethel University 41 (Annegret Nautsch 10). Assists-Carleton College 13 (Megan Vig 3), Bethel University 18 (Jen Ahlberg 4). Total fouls-Carleton College 20, Bethel University 21. A-312