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St. Joseph, Minn. – The Saint Benedict basketball team capped off its ninth straight win tonight (Feb. 4), doing so with the most lopsided score of the season in an 88-55 win over visiting Augsburg.

The Blazers played tough against a very physical Auggie squad, who finished the night with 23 fouls. With the win tonight, the Blazers' record improves to 17-4 on the year, and 15-3 to sit alone in second in the MIAC, while the struggling Auggies drop the seventh out of their last nine to sit 7-14 overall with a 5-13 MIAC mark.

The Blazers started off strong, gaining a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes, before continuing to widen the gap until the final minutes of the half. Their biggest lead was at 41-25 with 2:40 left, and the Blazers took a 44-32 lead into the halftime locker room.  

The Blazer offense clicked for each of the first 20 minutes, finishing the first half shooting 60% from the field, with a red-hot free throw percentage of 92.9%.  At the end of the game, the Blazers cooled off a bit, with a field goal percentage of 51%, but were a season-high 60% from three-point percentage.

The Blazers also finished with an 85% mark at the free throw line in the game, including a combined 18-of-19 effort at the charity stripe from their starting five.

The momentum carried over, as the Blazers got off to a great start in the second half, extending their lead to 57-38 just five minutes in. The Blazers continued to extend the advantage throughout the half – including a 12-to-3 run late – which pushed the lead all the way out to its final mark at 33 points, the biggest all season.

Whitney Canton led the Blazers in both points and rebounds tonight with 19 and 10 respectively, landing her second double-double of the season, while setting a new season high in scoring. Canton was also 9-of-9 at the free throw line tonight, extending her MIAC-leading free throws made mark.

Morgan Dale also added another nine rebounds for the Blazers, while Brianna Barrett added another 13 points.

In addition to their outstanding offensive night, the Blazers had a great game defensively, holding the Auggies to a 30.8% field goal percentage and a 13.3% three-point percentage. The Blazers also finished the night with nine steals and six blocks, with four swats coming from Hannah Hylla.

On the boards, the Blazers also had 34 defensive rebounds tonight – their third best mark of the season – with both Canton and Dale totaling eight defensive rebounds each.

With a berth in the MIAC Tournament now clinched, the Blazers look to move into first place later this week as the face Concordia at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6 in Claire Lynch Hall.

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