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St. Joseph, Minn. – After a successful three game road trip the Saint Benedict basketball team came into tonight's (Jan. 23) game with momentum on their side, and despite a slow start, closed in impressive fashion with for a 55-34 win over Macalester.

| Second Half Carries Blazers |

The Blazers (13-4, 11-3 MIAC) started off strong in the beginning of the second half, scoring a quick nine points as part of a 14-to-3 run in the first six minutes of the half. After trailing 22-20 at the half, the Blazers took their first lead of the game during the run, extending to 34-25 on a Brianna Barrett jumper.

Barrett went on to finish with 10 points on the night, her 13th game in double figures.

After that, the Blazers really started to cruise, jumping out to a 36-27 lead in the next five minutes. A 14-to-5 run soon after, helped the Blazers pull even farther ahead of the Scots (4-13, 3-11 MIAC), with a 43-29 lead off a pair of Barrett free throws.

With a minute left, Morgan Dale stretched the lead to its widest margin at 54-33, scoring her 15th point of the night. Dale was a major reason for the Blazer's second half surge, scoring all 15 of her points in the period.  She also pulled down eight rebounds in the second, totaling 16 for an amazing third time on the season, while hitting double figures in boards for the fourth time.

Whitney Canton joined the leader board yet again, finishing just one rebound away from a double-double. Her nine rebounds were joined by 12 points, finishing in double figures for the fifth straight night.

By the end of the game, the Blazers had allowed a mere 12 second half points to the Scots, and gave up just 34 total, their fewest allowed all season, while the 21-point margin of victory is the Blazers' best this year.

With their win streak now at five in a row, the Blazers got some help from around the conference and find themselves in a tie for second heading into to the weekend. Saint Mary's handed St. Thomas its third conference loss, and now the CSB is tied in second with SMU, UST and Gustavus, all just a game behind league leading Concordia.

In what's shaping up to be a major match-up, the Blazers next travel to St. Peter, Minn. to take on the Gusties, tipping off at 3 p.m., Jan. 26.