ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team suffered its first MIAC loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling 50-47 to St. Olaf in Claire Lynch Hall.
 
CSB (5-2, 1-1) led 47-44 with just under two minutes play thanks to layups from Niki Fokken and Alison Newton, but Betsey Daly hit a three to tie the game at 47 with 1:33 left to play. The Oles called a quick timeout, and CSB missed a layup on its next trip down the court, forcing the Blazers to foul.
 
Daly hit one of her two free-throw attempts to put the Oles up 48-47 with 37 seconds left. The Blazers missed another layup and fouled Daly again, and she again made one of the two free throws to make it a two-point game with 10 seconds left and she got her own rebound, forcing the Blazers to foul again.
 
Afton Wolter hit a single free throw to make it a three-point game with four seconds left, and CSB missed a 3-pointer in the game's final seconds, giving St. Olaf the win.
 
The rest of the game was just as close as both teams struggled to make shots. CSB, which shot 24 percent from the field in the first half, got down early, but tied the game at six thanks to a three by Annie Dittberner and a free throw from Newton. A layup by Chelsey Guetter made it an 8-6 game, and Dittberner scored to make it 10-8 at the 3:50 mark of the first quarter, and that's where the score would stay heading into the second.
 
Neither team led by more than three points in the second quarter, and that was the Oles' biggest lead, 18-15, with 4:28 remaining in the second. Layups by Kate Banovetz and Guetter made it 19-18 in favor of CSB, but the Oles scored to take a 20-19 lead into halftime.
 
St. Olaf was able to extend its lead in the third quarter, going up by as much as seven, 32-25, with 3:11 left in the quarter. A pair of free throws from Dittberner and one from Banovetz made it a two-point game, but Woo Bandel hit a pair of free throws to keep the Oles up four, 37-33, heading into the final quarter.
 
Niki Fokken and Guetter each hit two free throws to start the fourth and tie the game, and from there it was tied three more times before the Oles took the lead for good.
 
Dittberner finished with 13 points and six rebounds to lead CSB, which finished the game shooting 29.4 percent from the field. The Blazers went 2-for-17 from long range and 15-for-23 from the line. Banovetz finished with eight points and Fokken and Newton each added seven, and Fokken also had seven rebounds. CSB and St. Olaf each had 34 rebounds, and the Blazers had 16 turnovers to the Oles' 17.
 
Daly led the Oles with 17 points – 15 of which came in the second half. She also had 12 rebounds. St. Olaf shot 34.8 percent from the field, hit five 3-pointers and went 13-for-19 from the line.
 
The Blazers are back at home Wednesday, Dec. 9, when they host Hamline at 7 p.m.