ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team's stat line looked nearly identical to UW-Superior's Tuesday night, except for one line: free throws.
CSB went 12-for-18 from the line against the Yellowjackets, and those 12 points proved to be the difference in a grind-it-out, fight for every point, 61-58 win over Superior. Saint Benedict is now 3-0 overall as it heads to Iowa over Thanksgiving.
The first two quarters were defensive battles as neither team could get its offense going. CSB led 12-9 after one quarter, and managed to hold onto a 23-19 lead at halftime.
The offense picked up in the third quarter and the lead changed eight times as both teams fought for the lead. Superior (2-2) took a four-point lead on a layup and a 3-pointers with four minutes left in the quarter, but
Chelsey Guetter answered with a three and
Niki Fokken scored to give CSB a 37-36 lead with 2:29 left.
Maddie Schmitz and Guetter scored to put CSB up five with a minute left, but the Yellowjackets cut the gap to three, 41-38, at the end of the quarter.
Superior cut the lead to two several times early in the fourth, but Fokken scored,
Haylee Fingalsen hit a three and then scored in the paint to put CSB up nine, 54-45, with 5:40 left. The Yellowjackets whittled away at the lead, but CSB used timely baskets to stay ahead by at least a few points.
Superior scored with 38 seconds left to make it a three-point game, then got a steal and scored on a layup with five seconds left to make it a one-point game, but the Yellowjackets were called for an intentional foul and Fingalsen sank both free throws to help seal the win.
Fokken finished with 18 points and Schmitz had a career-high 13 points to lead CSB, which shot 41.5 percent from the field. Guetter and Fingalsen each added nine points, and Guetter and
Courtney Nelson both finished with six rebounds. CSB hit five threes, went 12-for-18 from the line and had 32 rebounds and 16 turnovers.
Hannah Norlin led Superior with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Hailey Kontny had 13 points. The Yellowjackets shot 43.9 percent from the field, hit five threes and went 3-for-5 from the line. They had 32 rebounds and 16 turnovers.
CSB is on the road for a pair of games at the Simpson Classic in Indianola, Iowa. Saint Benedict takes on Buena Vista at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24, and Simpson at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25.
