NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Although its put an early scare in the No. 10-ranked team in the country, the Carleton College women's basketball team came up short in its attempt to hand MIAC-leading Bethel University its first loss of the season. With the Knights' top scorer Katie Chavez (Sr./Westminster, Colo./Holy Family) out for a second consecutive game, Carleton struggled at time on offensive and absorbed a 67-42 setback.
 
"I loved our effort tonight, but against a great team like Bethel, not having Katie was a significant factor," said Carleton head coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen. "Despite the margin, I feel like we got better in this game, which is one of the goals we have for ourselves every time we play."
 
The Knights (5-11, 2-9 MIAC) proved that they could keep pace with the undefeated Royals (16-0, 11-0 MIAC) during the first quarter. The home team jumped out to a 7-2 advantage and took an 11-8 lead into the first intermission.
 
Over the game's next 17 minutes, Bethel demonstrated exactly why it is one of the 10-best teams in the nation. The Royals put together an extended 37-6 run that put the game out of reach.
 
Bethel outscored the Knights 18-2 in the second quarter and carried a 26-13 lead into intermission. After Carleton scored the first two points of the second half, Bethel put together a 19-2 run to open up a 45-17 lead with 3:04 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Carleton played even with Bethel the rest of the way, and the Knights' 19-point scoring effort during the fourth quarter was sparked by a two unexpected sources. Coming off the bench, Margie Clauss (Fy./Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn) went 3-for-3 from the field and scored a career-high seven points. Imani Kindness-Coleman (So./Lodge Grass, Mont./Hardin) hit a contested three-pointer for her first points of the season.
 
Bethel leads the MIAC in scoring, but the Carleton defense limited the visitors to their second-lowest point total of the season. After being held to 28 percent shooting in the first half, the Royals connected on 54 percent of their shots after halftime and finished at 40 percent for the game, below their league-leading average of 48 percent.
 
Carleton was also able to hang with the visitors on the glass, pulling down 36 rebounds to Bethel's 39. Erica Ellefson (Sr./Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) corralled a season-high nine rebounds to pace the Knights.
 
In the scoring column, the Knights were led by Samantha Cooke (Sr./St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy), who finished with a team-high 13 points. Jill Yanai (So./Glendale, Calif./Glendale) racked up a balanced stat line of eight points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
 
Bethel's top scorer Taite Anderson led the way for the visitors with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Makenna Pearson also cracked double-figures with 10 points.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton hosts College of Saint Benedict at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25. That game is the second half of a doubleheader, with the Carleton men facing No. 2-ranked Saint John's at 1 p.m. Live video and stats for both games will be available via athletics.carleton.edu.