MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Carleton College women's basketball team erased a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter but eventually dropped a 64-61 result at Concordia College-Moorhead. Samantha Cooke (Sr./St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy) scored 10 of her team-high 17 points in the final period.
 
"Great road battle that is characteristic of the MIAC," said Carleton head coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen. "I loved our fight all the way to the last possession."
 
Concordia (4-5, 2-2 MIAC) led 59-47 with 5:53 to go, but Carleton (3-6, 1-4 MIAC) responded with a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the game.
 
Cobber rookie Emily Beseman capped her impressive sharp-shooting performance with a go-ahead 3-pointer on the next Concordia possession. She finished the game an amazing 9-of-11 from beyond the arc, establishing a new Concordia team record.
 
Cooke followed with a turnaround jumper to pull the Knights within 62-61 with just over a minute remaining. However, Carleton turned the ball over twice late, and Concordia added a pair of free throws. Jill Yanai's (So./Glendale, Calif./Glendale) bid for a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
 
After shooting only 22 percent in the first half, Carleton made 58 percent of its shots after intermission—including 64 percent in the fourth quarter—and finished at 40.4 percent overall, including a 5-of-17 showing from long range.
 
Led by Beseman, the Cobbers shot better from beyond the arc (13-of-28, 46 percent) than they did from closer in (9-of-21, 43 percent). She finished with a game-high 27 points in 27 minutes off the bench. Mary Sem (11 points) and Railee Larson (10 points) also finished in double figures for Concordia.
 
Yanai totaled 15 points with three steals, while Aiana Whitfield (Fy./Richfield, Minn./Benilde St.-Margaret's) chipped in 12 points, three assists, and three steals.
 
Carleton was out-rebounded 32-18 but made up for it by committing only six total turnovers, its second-lowest figure over the last 14 seasons.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton returns home and closes out its pre-holiday schedule with a 1 p.m. contest against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.