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| St. Thomas | MIAC | TV | Watch | Listen |
Get Your Brooms Out: After moving into a first-place tie with a victory over Concordia on Wednesday, the Saint Benedict basketball team (17-4, 16-3) travels to St. Paul to try to complete the season series sweep against the St. Thomas Tommies (17-5, 15-4 MIAC) for the first time since 2005-06. The Blazers are currently tied atop the conference standings with the Cobbers, who travel to Hamline to take on the Pipers. The Tommies are currently tied for third, just a game behind the Blazers and Cobbers.
About St. Thomas: The Tommies started the season strong, losing only to No. 2 Calvin during the non-conference season. After that loss they won eleven straight games and were nationally ranked as high as third before losing in St. Joseph 66-62 at the hands of the Blazers. Coming into today's game they have won four in a row and are looking to get back into contention for a MIAC championship. The Tommies also have the largest average margin of victory out of teams in the MIAC this season, with an average margin of victory of 14.2. They are currently unranked nationally but were the only MIAC team besides Concordia to receive votes.
Last Time: The Blazers gave the Tommies their first conference loss this season, upsetting them 66-62 at Claire Lynch Hall on Jan. 12. That win was the start of the Blazers current 10-game winning streak. In that game the Blazers played one of the best first halves they have played all season, and went into the locker rooms at half leading 31-24. The Tommies fought back in the second half, eventually pulling the game even at 60-60 with three minutes left to play. On the ensuing two Blazer possessions senior
Morgan Dale sunk two free throws to regain the lead and junior
Brianna Barrett clinched the win with a jumper.
Storyline: Can the Blazers sweep the Tommies for the first time since 2005-06 and maintain their seat atop the MIAC? The Blazers are riding a conference-best 10-game win streak and have already beaten St. Thomas once this year. But this time they have to go into Tommie territory. The stakes are higher for both teams, with a potential MIAC championship and/or first-round bye on the line. The Blazers will be out to prove they got snubbed when the coaches picked them to finish sixth at the beginning of the year while the Tommies still think they are one of the top teams in the country.
Who To Watch: With a career-high 21 points against Concordia
Brianna Barrett moved into fourth overall among the conference's leading scorers. She has scored 20-plus points in three of the past four games. With 17 points on Wednesday
Whitney Canton extended her streak of double-digit scoring to 10 games. Over those games she averaged 15.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and led the team in scoring five times.
Morgan Dale continues to be one the MIAC's most dangerous rebounders. She remains fifth in the conference in rebounding average with 7.0 rebounds per game. First-year
Mattie Lueck has expertly filled in the hole in the lineup that was left by
Jamie Wollin's injury five games ago. Since moving into the starting lineup she has averaged 9.4 points and recorded her first career double-double against St. Catherine.
Last Time Out: On Wednesday the Blazers dethroned the first-place Concordia Cobbers 69-63 in front of a standing-room only crowd at Claire Lynch Hall. The Cobbers got up 31-23 late in the first half but the Blazers battled back and cut the lead to 33-29 at the half. The second half was a dogfight, but the Blazers were able to get a couple of turnovers and take a 47-42 lead with 10 minutes remaining. The Blazers then refused to allow any Cobber attempt to get back in the game, making five-of-six free throws in the final 30 seconds to win the game.
