NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Katie Chavez (Sr./Westminster, Colo./Holy Family) poured in 18 points, Jill Yanai (So./Glendale, Calif. / Glendale) nearly notched her second consecutive double-double, and the Carleton College women's basketball team kept their MIAC Playoff hopes alive with a 68-58 win over Saint Mary's University.
 
For the second consecutive game, the Knights (9-13, 6-11 MIAC) did not trail after the first quarter, with their victory giving them just their second win over the Cardinals in their last 19 attempts.
 
"We came out ready and executed well offensively," said Carleton head coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen. A good team win where different folks had to step up when Samantha Cooke got into foul trouble. I am really pleased with our effort in holding off Saint Mary's down the stretch."
 
The game began as tightly as possible, with the lead changing hands eight times in the first five-and-a-half minutes. A traditional three-point play by Chavez sparked Carleton on a 12-2 run to end the first quarter.
 
Trailing 21-12 after the opening period, Saint Mary's (3-19, 3-14 MIAC) opened the second quarter on a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 25-21 with 6:35 remaining before halftime. Back-to-back triples from Chavez and Erica Ellefson (Sr./Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) gave the home team their first double-digit lead of the night. Carleton took a 36-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
At the beginning of the second half, Carleton opened up an 18-point advantage thanks to a 7-0 spurt. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the third, but Carleton steadily managed to increase its lead during the quarter thanks to a 3-for-5 performance from beyond the arc. The difference eventually reached 21 points on a three-point play from Yanai, capping off the Knights' 22-point effort during the quarter and put them up 58-37 as the teams entered the final period.
 
Carleton took its largest lead of the game, at 23, early in the fourth quarter, but while Saint Mary's slowly chipped away at the deficit, the Knights maintained at least a 10-point margin the rest of the way.
           
Chavez hit 6-of-12 shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, to lead her team with 18 points, and she added six rebounds and a game-high five assists. Yanai and Samantha Cooke (Sr./St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy) added 12 points apiece, with Yanai contributing nine rebounds four assists, and two steals. Aiana Whitfield (Fy./Richfield, Minn./Benilde St.-Margaret's) tallied nine points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
 
Saint Mary's top two scorers on the season, Shayley Vesel and Brooklyn Paulson, were limited to 18 total points as the duo combined to go 7-of-33 (21 percent) from the field. Ewelina Scholmann tried to pick up the slack and led all scorers with a career-high 19 points thanks to 8-of-10 shooting.
 
Saint Mary's shot 36 percent overall, but was only 7-of-31 (23 percent) from beyond the arc. Carleton connected on 43 percent of its shots, including an 8-for-20 (40 percent) showing from 3-point range.
 
NOTE: With nine victories on the season, this is Carleton's largest win total since the 2008-09 campaign.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: The Knights will host cross-town rival St. Olaf College for a Senior Day men's-women's doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 15. The men's game will begin at 1 p.m. with a scheduled 3 p.m. tip-off for the women's contest.