NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Katie Chavez (Sr./Westminster, Colo./Holy Family) finished with a game-high 23 points to help lead the Carleton College women's basketball team to a 65-57 victory over visiting Macalester College on Saturday.
 
"A tough battle. Something we know we will have every night out," said Carleton head coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen. "There were big plays made by a number of different players when we needed them."
 
Carleton (5-6, 2-4 MIAC) trailed 41-36 with 3:18 remaining in the third quarter, but the Knights used a 10-0 run spanning nearly five and a half minutes of game time to take the lead for good.
 
Anna Hughes (Jr./Glenview, Ill./New Trier) got the rally started with a three-pointer, and Jill Yanai (So./Glendale, Calif./Glendale) knotted the score at 41-41 before the end of the period.
 
Samantha Cooke (Sr./St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy) pushed Carleton in front with an offensive putback early in the fourth quarter, and Erica Ellefson (Sr./Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) capped the run with a triple from the wing on the Knights' next possession.
 
After Macalester used back-to-back buckets to pull within 46-45, Chavez converted a traditional three-point play, and the Knights maintained at least a four-point edge the rest of the way. The Knights sealed the victory by going 10-for-10 at the free throw line over the final 1:10.
 
Chavez finished the day 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. She also went 8-of-9 at the charity stripe. Cooke contributed 16 points, while Yanai tallied 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds along with three steals.
 
Carleton shot 42 percent overall but was 7-of-14 from 3-point range in addition to outscoring the Scots 18-7 at the charity stripe. Macalester shot only 36 percent overall and went 6-of-26 (23 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Katherine Podoll made her season debut for Macalester and finished with 17 points, including a 3-of-5 showing from 3-point range. Justine Barraza was the other Scot in double figures, totaling 14 points.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton hosts Hamline University for a 7 p.m. affair on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Live video/stats will be available via athletics.carleton.edu