ST. PAUL, Minn. – For two quarters, the College of Saint Benedict basketball team hung with St. Thomas Friday night in a MIAC semifinal matchup in St. Paul.
In the second half, however, the Tommies showed how they got to be the No. 2 team in Division III and went on to defeat CSB 75-52 to end Saint Benedict's season.
CSB ends the year 16-11 overall. It went 11-7 and finished fourth in the conference, earning the right to host a conference tournament game for the first time since 2012-13. A three-point win over St. Kate's Wednesday in the quarterfinals pushed Saint Benedict to Friday's semifinal, which also marked the first time since 2012-13 the team advanced to the semifinals.
Top-seeded St. Thomas moves on to play No. 2 Gustavus Sunday in the MIAC women's basketball championship game.
UST (26-0) jumped to a 10-2 lead early, but
Sidney Schiffler hit a pair of free throws and
Kate Banovetz scored to make it a four-point game with six minutes left in the first. The Tommies led 16-8 after one quarter, but a free throw by
Chelsey Guetter and a layup by
Alex Johnson made it a four-point game, 17-13, early in the second. UST's lead hovered around five much of the quarter, and after nearly a two-minute scoreless stretch, UST pulled away for a 37-26 halftime lead.
CSB scored several baskets early in the third, including a layup by
Niki Fokken to make it 41-32 with 6:24 left in the quarter, but from there the Tommies went on an 18-2 run to grab a 25-point lead, 59-34, with just under two minutes left in the quarter. UST led 61-37 heading into the final quarter, and from there controlled the game.
Annie Dittberner finished with 14 points to lead CSB, which shot 37.5 percent from the field. Fokken added 11 points and eight rebounds and Banovetz finished with 10 points. Saint Benedict went 8-for-18 from the line and had 34 rebounds and 19 turnovers.
Kaitlin Langer led all scorers with 19 points for UST, which shot 56 percent from the field. The Tommies went 12-for-16 from the line and had 31 rebounds and 16 turnovers.
