ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After scoring more than 60 points in four of its first five games of the season, the College of Saint Benedict basketball team's offense went cold Wednesday night.
CSB (5-1) managed just five first-quarter points and finished the game shooting just under 21 percent from the field in a 48-40 loss to UW-Eau Claire – the team's first loss of the season. The Blugolds – who scored 100 points against Dubuque earlier this season – didn't fare much better as they had just eight fourth-quarter points, but UWEC shot 40 percent from the field to hold on for the win.
Saint Benedict's shooting woes started early in the game.
Chelsey Guetter scored the team's first basket at the 5:52 mark of the first quarter, and from there CSB didn't score again until
Maddie Schmitz hit a three with 1:37 left in the first. The first quarter ended with a 12-5 Blugold lead.
Schmitz scored and
Sidney Schiffler hit a three early in the second, but Eau Claire answered with a 7-0 run to go up 22-10 with just under five minutes left in the half. Schiffler added another three, and Banovetz and Gates combined for five free throws to make it a four-point game late in the quarter, but the Blugolds still held a 26-20 lead at halftime.
Eau Claire pushed its lead back to double digits early in the third, and led by as many as 16 at 40-24 with two minutes left in the third, but
Haylee Fingalsen scored and made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer to cut the gap to 10, 40-30, at the end of the third.
The Blugolds maintained a double-digit lead until
Courtney Nelson scored on a layup with 4:03 left in the game to make it a nine-point game, 46-37. The two teams combined to score five points in the final four minutes of play, and Eau Claire held on for the eight-point win.
Schiffler scored eight points to lead Saint Benedict, which went 12-f04-58 from the field, and shot just 15 percent from long range. Fingalsen added seven points and Guetter had 12 rebounds.
Kate Banovetz finished with eight rebounds and
Breanna Gates had seven. CSB went 13-for-21 from the line and had 45 rebounds and 17 turnovers.
UWEC – which is now 6-0 – shot 40 percent from the field and went 3-for-12 from the line. Anna Graaskamp led all scorers with 13 points and she also had seven rebounds. The Blugolds went 5-for-8 from the line and had 35 rebounds and 15 turnovers.
CSB is back at home and opens MIAC play Saturday, Dec. 2, when it hosts Bethel at 3 p.m. The Royals are 3-1, including a win over No. 12 George Fox.
