Blazers Take It to the Wire

02/27/2008

The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (18-4 MIAC, 20-6 overall) was defeated 64-60 by the Carleton Knights. This game marked the sixth time in eight years that the Knights and Blazers have met in or beyond the MIAC playoff semifinal round. Coming into the game, both teams and all of the fans packed into Claire Lynch Hall knew that it would be a hard-fought semifinal matchup. And that’s exactly how it turned out. As expected, every single possession counted and both teams were in position to win as time wound down in the second half. Unfortunately for CSB, Carleton was able to come up with a few crucial plays down the stretch to hold off the No. 1 Blazers.

The entire first half was a typical CSB-Carleton matchup - the intensity peaked in the opening minutes and stayed there for the duration of the game. Neither the Blazers nor the Knights could gain a significant advantage. CSB’s biggest lead in the first half was only three points. Other than a very short stint up six points, Carleton was never consistently up by more than three points either. The game entered halftime with the Knights leading 27-25. Despite shooting just 25 percent from the field in the first half, the Blazers were down only two points.

Coming back from the break, Carleton grabbed a hold of the game and went on a 13-2 run over the first four minutes of the half. However, CSB did not waste any time as it faced the 42-30 deficit. The Blazers responded immediately and went on a tear of their own. They outscored the Knights 10-0 over the following three minutes to pull the game to 42-40. From 13 minutes left in regulation, the remainder of the game was very similar to the first half as both teams tried to pull ahead. CSB was never able to grab a lead in the second half, in part because the Knights shot 58.3 percent from the field in the second period.  

However, the final three minutes saw the Blazers pull within one point on three different occasions. It never looked better for CSB than with 35 seconds left in the game. With one second remaining on the shot clock it looked as if the Blazers would get the ball back trailing by only two points. Unfortunately, Carleton was able to get up a well-defended shot in the highly congested lane. It did not go in, but it hit the rim and gave Carleton junior Hannah Oken-Berg a chance to get a rebound. Oken-Berg grabbed the board and made a layup for two of her 23 points. The put-back gave the Knights a four-point lead with 32 seconds left in the game. With a pair of free throws to negate CSB’s two free throws on the other end, Carleton secured a four-point victory and a trip to the MIAC playoff championship against St. Thomas. The MIAC final will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 1 at St. Thomas.

The Blazers were led in scoring by junior forward Ariel Tauer (Edina, Minn./Edina High School) and sophomore wing Mindy Schmidt (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park High School). Schmidt and Tauer both finished with 16 points. Schmidt kept the Blazers close with 10 first half points as Tauer brought CSB back with 10 of her own in the second half. Seniors Mackenzie O’Neil (Waseca, Minn./Waseca High School) and Judy Falvey (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville High School) both contributed double-figure efforts in their last game in Claire Lynch Hall. The two seniors added 14 and 13 points respectively.

Stats | Basketball | CSB Sports

Peter Banick, CSB Athletic Media Relations Student Assistant

Athletic Department
College of Saint Benedict
37 South College Avenue
St. Joseph, MN 56374
320-363-5301
Fax 320-363-6098