Women's Basketball | 11/13/2018
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team is looking to continue the success it found last season when it opens the 2018-19 campaign this week at the University of Minnesota Morris. The season opener will take place Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in Morris, Minn. CSB is looking to beat its strong record from last season, when it went 22-5 and 16-2 in the MIAC. After Morris, CSB will return home to host the Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament this weekend.
The 2018-19 season marks the 33rd for head coach Mike Durban. In 32 seasons, Durbin has coached 67 All-MIAC First Team selections, 48 honorable mention athletes, 14 players named to the All-MIAC Defensive Team and 14 all-first year team picks. Durbin enters his 33rd season at CSB with a 671-223 overall coaching record and a 667-201 mark with Saint Benedict. Last season was Durbin's 25th 20-win campaign, making him one of just five Division III women's basketball coaches to have 25 or more 20-win seasons.
About Minnesota Morris
The Cougars' 2018-19 season is full of promise as they return strong inside-outside threats in guard Elli Stevenson and posts Kendra Raths and Abby Van Kempen. Morris finished 2017-18 with an overall record of 20-7 and was picked third in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll. CSB last played the Cougars early last season, and it defeated Morris by a 68-46 margin.
Alex Johnson had 12 points and
Maddie Schmitz pulled in five rebounds in last year's contest.
Who to Watch
After graduating three starters in
Chelsey Guetter, Niki Foken, and
Kate Banovetz, all eyes will be on lone senior
Breanna Gates to lead the CSB charge this season. Last year, Gates started in seven games at wing, junior guard
Sidney Schiffler started in 24 games, and sophomore guard
Megan Thompson started in 15 games. Thompson averaged 8.1 points per game, shooting 80 percent from the line. Gates averaged 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Schiffler led the team with a .422 three-point percentage, averaged 7.2 points per game, and had 34 steals.
Johnson, a junior post, is also expected to get more play time this year after shooting .486 from the field goals, grabbing 3.2 rebounds per game, and 19 blocks in 12.8 minutes per contest. Schmitz returns after leading all first years with 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last season. The team also welcome eight first years to the roster.
Saint Benedict picked up 89 points in the balloting to come in fourth in the 2018-19 MIAC Coaches' Poll. The Bennies also received six votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll after registering the program's best season in a decade, finishing with a 22-5 overall record and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2009.
After Tuesday's road game, CSB hosts Nebraska Wesleyan at 8 p.m. Friday as part of its annual tournnament. The team opens MIAC play Tuesday, Nov. 27, at home against Concordia.
