NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Coe College held off a big second by Carleton Tuesday night, as the Kohawks escaped West Gym with an 82-74 victory. The Knights shot 51.9 pecent in the second half, nearly doubling their point total from the first half.
Coe jumped out a 7-2 lead in the first 1:50 of the game on a 3-pointer by senior Leslie Ware (Des Moines, Iowa/Johnston). A pair of free throws by Akemi Arzouman cut the Coe lead to three with 17:26 to play in the opening half. A jumper by senior Kayla Waskow (Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton) with 17:10 to play in the half sparked an 11-2 Coe run over the next 6:35. Carleton cut the lead to five with a 9-2 run of its own over the next 3:45. A free throw by Caitlin Kray (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) gave Coe a 31-26 lead at the half.
Back-to-back baskets by senior Kelsey Jipp (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) and freshman Megan Hayes (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) gave Coe a 35-26 lead just :38 into the second half. Coe led 37-28 when the Knights went on a 9-2 run in 1:24, connecting on three 3-point baskets. Carleton took its only lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Jenny Ramey with 13:11 to play. The lead lasted just :14 as Hannah Breitbach (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) hit a 3-pointer to give Coe the lead.
With 12:40 to play, Ramey tied the game on a pair of free throws. Coe answered with a 10-3 run over the next 2:58, extending the lead to seven with 9:24 to play. Seven of Coe's points on the run came from the free throw line, with the other three on a 3-pointer by Ware. The Knights wouldn't be able to get closer than four points the rest of the game.
Sophomore Mackenzie Reed (Iowa City, Iowa/City) led the Kohawks with a career-high 20 points. She also tied a career-high with three assists and pulled down seven rebounds. Waskow and Hayes joined her in double figures with 18 and 15 points respectively. Hayes recorded her second double-double of the season, as she pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. She also had a career-high four assists. Waskow added seven rebounds and three assists.
Jipp had three assists and a career-high two blocked shots for Coe. Breitbach tied a career-high for the third time with three steals.
Neither team shot the ball well from downtown in the first half, as Coe was 1-of-9 and the Knights were 0-for-4. Coe shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field in the second half, while the Knights shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27). For the game, the Kohawks were 28-of-54 (51.9%) after entering the game seventh in the country in field goal percentage at 46 percent. Coe's bench outscored the Knights 29-15, while holding a 44-20 advantage on the boards.
The Kohawks will have the week off for finals before returning to action Dec. 19 against Rockford. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Eby Fieldhouse.