Northfield, Minn. -- Megan Vig (Sr./Northfield, Minn.) scored 26 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and added four steals as Carleton College ended the game on a 15-6 run in beating St. Olaf College, 70-58.
Hannah Oken-Berg (Fy./Portland, Ore./Lincoln) and Sarah Lincoln (Fy./Rockford, Minn.) added 11 points each for the Knights, who ended their five-game losing streak.
Carleton (6-7, 4-4 MIAC) ended a three-game conference losing skid and beat the Oles for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings.
Holly Grimsrud paced the Oles (3-9, 1-7 MIAC) with 15 points, canning five 3-pointers, and added five assists and Danielle Stoermer added 10 points and five boards.
The Knights broke from a 40-40 tie by scoring seven unanswered, as Vig scored twice and Lincoln drained a three. The Oles battled back within three at the four-minute mark, but Okeb-Verg calmly made two free throws and scored inside, pushing the Carleton advantage back to seven. Kari Christianson (Sr./Twin Valley, Minn.) found Lincoln alone underneath as Carleton's lead grew to nine.
The Knights made 7-of-10 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Carleton was 18-for-23 from the line in the second half and 22-for-31 for the game.
The Knights controlled much of the first half, racing to an early 12-5 advantage and extending it to 26-16 on a Sarah Kunelius (Fy./Eagan, Minn.) triple. The Oles, though, closed the half13-2 run, capped by a Kristina Stoermer three-point play, to leave the Knights ahead 31-29 at the break.
Anna Biewen (Fy./Edina, Minn.) added nine points off the bench for the Knights, as Carleton's reserves owned a 26-18 advantage over their Ole counterparts.
Carleton, which pounded the ball inside and also go to the basket off the dribble, shot 31 free throws to 15 for St. Olaf. Carleton also outrebounded St. Olaf, 43-31, and owned a 21-17 spread on points off turnovers. St. Olaf, which was 4-for-11 from three-point range in the first half, shot 38 percent from the floor in the second half and made only 2-of-10 three-point shots and 3-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Carleton returns to action on Monday, Jan. 16, traveling to St. Mary's University for a 5:45 p.m. The game can be heard live on Knights Online.
