St. Joseph, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team played in their second game of the year today (Nov. 16) in the Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-off Tournament hosted by the Blazers. After starting their season with a win over the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets on Friday Nov. 15, the Blazers took to the court against the College of Saint Scholastica and made it 2-0 on the season, winning 76-57.
 
The game followed a matchup between Macalester College and the Yellowjackets where UW-Superior won 61-40.
 
The beginning of the game showcased the defense of both the Blazers (2-0) and the Saints (0-2) as neither team scored for the first two and a half minutes. Shortly thereafter, however, both teams turned on the offensive firepower.
 
St. Scholastica shot 5-of-10 from beyond the arc putting them eight points ahead of the Blazers with five minutes remaining in the first half, but the Blazers came back to tie it up at 35-35 going into the half.
 
Despite the strong shooting from both teams, the Blazers proved to be stronger on the glass, out-rebounding the Saints 21-to-14 in the first half. The dominance in the paint can be credited to senior Morgan Dale (Jamestown, Minn.) who grabbed 12 of those rebounds in the first half for the Blazers.
 
The Blazers came out of the second half with the momentum as they came out on a 13-to-5 run, putting them ahead 48-40. With their newfound lead, the Blazers never looked back.
 
They poured on the offense in the second half as five Blazers put up double digit points, including Brianna Barrett (Annandale, Minn.) who led the team with 16.
 
Dale continued her dominance and followed up last night's double-double with another one as she scored 10 points and had 17 rebounds, a career high and four shy of the single game Blazer record. Sophomore Mattie Lueck (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) also finished with a double-double as she scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
The Blazers ended on top with a score of 76-57, and they were the only team that finished with a record of 2-0, winning the tournament championship. Barrett and Dale claimed All-Tournament honors and Barrett was named Tournament MVP.
 
The Blazers will have the rest of the week to prepare as they will take on University of Wisconsin-River Falls at 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 23 in Claire Lynch Hall.