ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a tough battle against Saint Mary's, which is tied for first in the MIAC, the College of Saint Benedict basketball team fell 61-53 to the Cardinals Saturday in Claire Lynch.
The Blazers now sit with a record of 14-7 and have gone 9-5 in conference play. With this loss, the Blazers have gone 6-5 at home, while making up most of their wins with an 8-2 road season so far. CSB is tied for fifth in the MIAC with Bethel.
Saint Mary's (18-3, 12-2) led by nine, 51-42, heading into the fourth quarter, but the Blazers started the fourth on a 10-0 run to take a 52-51 lead.
Alison Newton converted a three-point play and
Grace Wolhowe hit a three with 5:02 left to put CSB up for the first time since the first quarter.
Micaela Meredith stopped the run with a pair of jumpers and Bridget Pethke hit a three to put the Cardinals up six, 58-52, with 2:04 left, and after Wolhowe's three the Blazers scored just a single point in the final five minutes of the game.
In the first quarter, both teams battled back and forth, and after five lead changes and four ties, the Cardinals held a close 17-14 lead. In the next quarter, both teams continued in a close match until the Cardinals jumped ahead with a 5-0 run to end the first half.
With a 31-26 lead going into the second half, the Cardinals continued to extend their lead throughout the third quarter and sat with a 51-42 lead going into the final quarter.
Newton led the Blazers with 13 points and hit all five of her free throws.
Niki Fokken led the defense with 16 rebounds, 10 points and four blocks.
Macy Kelly also finished the night with eight points and five rebounds. The Blazers shot 33 percent from the field, hit three 3-pointers and went 14-for-22 from the line. They had 44 rebounds and 20 turnovers.
Pethke led all scorers with 18 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Cardinals. Meredith added 16 points and Emma Schaefer finished with 11. Meredith also had seven rebounds for Saint Mary's, which shot 35 percent from the field, hit eight threes and went 15-for-18 from the line. The Cardinals had 35 rebounds and 10 turnovers.
The Blazers will move on to face off against St. Kate's on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Blazers have four games remaining in the season and will be playing their final two road games of the regular season next week before coming home for their final two games.
