Box Score | Photos	1st	2nd	Final
Bethel	27	30	57
Saint Benedict	36	29	65

St. Joseph, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (7-3 overall, 5-2 MIAC) started 2013 in winning fashion with a 65-57 conference victory over the Bethel Royals (1-8 overall, 0-6 MIAC) tonight (Jan. 2) in Claire Lynch Hall.

| Long Lay-off No Problem |

Saint Benedict took an early 10-0 lead within the first five minutes and never looked back, as they did not trail the Royals once in tonight's match-up.

The Blazers held the lead going into the half, leading Bethel 36-27 after one. Bethel came out ready to go to start the second, bringing the lead within two in just under five minutes, but were unable to take the lead with the strong Blazer defense. Rachel Parupsky led the Royals in scoring with 17 points, but the Blazers made her work for it, going just 6-for-19 from the floor.

Saint Benedict shot strong in the paint tonight (30 points) and capitalized on Bethel's mistakes, scoring 14 points off 13 Royal turnovers. The Blazers had two players earn double digits in tonight's game, led by junior Brianna Barrett. She led Saint Benedict in scoring for the sixth straight game with 18 points, her third highest of the season. Barrett is ranked fourth in the MIAC in scoring averaging nearly 14 points per game.  

Junior Tish Alexander put up 14 points and was 4-for-6 at the three point line, her best three point shooting game of the season, and second best of her career. Senior Morgan Dale led the Blazers on defense, picking up eight defensive rebounds out of her 12 total, the best for a Blazer all season.  

The Blazer offense went 8-of-18 at the three point line, putting up a 44.4 three point percentage. Saint Benedict played strong defense and kept the royals to a 31.3 field goal percentage and a 27.8 three point percentage.

The Blazers return to action at 3 p.m. on Jan. 5 when they host St. Catherine.