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Box Score | Preview |
1st |
2nd |
Final |
|
Saint Benedict (18-5, 16-4 MIAC) |
19 |
27 |
46 |
|
St. Thomas (18-5, 16-4 MIAC) |
32 |
33 |
65 |
St. Paul, Minn. - After 10 straight victories the Saint Benedict basketball team's winning streak came to an end today (Feb. 9). They finally ran out of luck on the road against a fired-up St. Thomas, losing the game 66-45. Ironically, the streak began on Jan. 12 with a 66-62 win at home against the same St. Thomas team that ended it today.
The Blazers didn't have an answer for the Tommie offense early, as they rocketed out to a 20-4 lead just 10 minutes into the game. The Blazers slowed the Tommies for the rest of the half, but were never able to muster up a run of their own and went into locker rooms at half trailing by a 32-19 score. They were also held to a rough 27% (8-of-30) shooting percentage from the floor in that half.
After halftime it seemed the Blazers still could not solve the St. Thomas offense or penetrate their stifling defense. The Tommies lead grew to as much as 25 when junior guard Annessa Hick's jumper made it 63-38 with five minutes left to play. In the second the Blazers were able to find the back of the net a little easier, shooting 36% (9-of-25), but were not able to keep pace with the Tommies 54% (14-of-26) shooting from the floor.
One reason the Blazers were not able to fight back into the game was that they were simply outmatched on the boards, which is an area they were able to dominate during their 10-game win streak. St. Thomas finished the game with a 47-to-22 rebounding edge, and those 47 were key as the Tommies outscored the Blazers in second-chance points (8-to-2) and points in the paint (28-to-14).
Tish Alexander led the team with 10 points, all in the second half. Nine of those points came from another impressive night from three-point-land, where she sank 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.
Whitney Canton saw her streak of 10 straight games in double-figures come to an end, as she managed just seven points on 3-of-8 shooting, marking the lowest she has scored since Jan. 9 at Concordia, which was also the last time the Blazers lost.
The loss drops the Blazers to 18-5 overall and 16-4 in the MIAC while the Tommies improve to 18-5 overall and 16-4 in the MIAC. The loss also drops the Blazers out of their brief stay at the top of the conference standings. They are now tied in second with St. Thomas and St. Mary's
On Wednesday, they will travel to Saint Mary's as they try to secure a first-round bye and compete for a MIAC championship. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
