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ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team showed some of its old spark in 2015-16.
CSB got off to its best start in five years, won seven of nine games in a key stretch midseason, and earned the No. 6 seed in the MIAC postseason tournament, marking the end of a two-year hiatus from the tournament. Somewhere along the way, Saint Benedict made history by picking up its 500
th MIAC win since joining the league in 1985. CSB is one of three women's basketball programs to reach the elite milestone.
Luckily for head coach
Mike Durbin – who enters his 31
st season with the program in 2016-17 – there wasn't a single senior on last year's roster, so the team looks to take the momentum it gained in 2015-16 and build on it this season.
CSB starts the 2016-17 season Tuesday, Nov. 15, when it heads north to Superior, Wis., to take on UW-Superior. The Yellowjackets won the UMAC and earned a berth in the NCAA Division III national tournament last season where it fell in the first round to UW-Oshkosh. Returning to lead Superior, which went 24-4 overall and 16-0 in the UMAC last season is junior Hailey Kontny, the UMAC Player of the Year who averaged 13.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Back to lead CSB is junior
Niki Fokken, who led the team in scoring (9.8) and rebounds (6.9) as a sophomore last season. She earned All-MIAC honors after finishing eighth in the MIAC in rebounds per game and third with 44 total blocked shots. Also back is senior
Alison Newton, who earned All-MIAC First Team honors and All-MIAC Defensive honors. She was the first CSB athlete to be named to both teams since 2009-10. Newton averaged 8.5 points per game, and led the team with 60 assists and 30 steals.
Also back in 2016-17 are seniors
Annie Dittberner and
Macy Kelly and junior
Chelsey Guetter. Guetter finished second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per game, Kelly led CSB with a .804 free-throw percentage and Dittberner paced the team with 35 3-pointers.
First year
Sidney Schiffler, who was the Granite Ridge MVP and a St. Cloud Times All-Area First Team honoree, and
Alex Johnson – the St. Cloud Times 2016 Girls' Basketball Player of the Year – also join CSB in 2016-17 and look to see playing time right away.
After playing six of its first seven games at home, Saint Benedict is only at home once from Dec. 10 through Jan. 11. CSB is in Washington, D.C., over the holiday break for the Jamie Lynn Roberts DC Holiday Classic.
