11/29 - CARLETON 76, GEORGE FOX 70: Carleton Clicks from Free Throw Line to Bounce Bruins
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Sizzling from the free-throw line, the Carleton College Knights hit 25 of 27 charity tosses and posted a come-from-behind 76-70 win over the George Fox University Bruins in a first-round women's basketball match-up in the Elite West Tournament Saturday afternoon here at the University of St. Thomas's Schoenecker Arena.
The George Fox defense held the Knights, ranked 14th in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches poll, to a .267 shooting percentage (8-30) in the first half, but the Bruins led only 36-30 as Carleton connected on a perfect 13-13 from the line. The Bruins had led by as much as 8 when Kellie Thomas, who had 11 first-half points, hit a 3-pointer for a 32-24 lead with 3:05 left in the period.
The Knights went ahead for good with 11 minutes left in the second half when Beth Freeman sank a pair of free throws for a 50-48 Carleton lead. After falling behind by as much as 6, the Bruins cut it to 58-57 on a another 3-pointer by Thomas with 5:58 left, but the Knight went on an 8-0 run at that point to secure the win.
Thomas led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, including 6 3-pointers, one short of the Bruin single-game record. No other Bruin reached double figures, although Melissa Alexander, Darby Cave, and Kim Leith had 9 apiece. Liz Clark had 9 rebounds, Alexander had 4 assists, and Amy Fitch had 3 steals.
All five starters for Carleton scored in double figures, led by Megan Vig with 19. Freeman added 14 points while tying the Carleton record for the best perfect free-throw game (12-12), Linnea Engel and Katie Freeman had 12 each, and Kristi Colbenson added 11. Beth Freeman and Engel had 11 and 10 rebounds respectively, helping the Knights to a 44-42 edge on the boards. Katie Freeman had 5 assists and Engel had 5 steals.
In the tournament's first game, host St. Thomas defeated Luther College of Iowa 85-65 while setting a new school record with 12 3-point baskets.
The tournament switches to Carleton in Northfield, Minn., Sunday, with Luther (2-1) vs. Carleton at 1:00 p.m. PDT (3: 00 p.m. CDT), and George Fox (2-1) vs. St. Thomas (1-0) at 3:00 p.m. PDT (5:00 p.m. CDT).