NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team's offense had its best day shooting-wise since Dec. 1, but the team's defense also came through in a win over St. Norbert Sunday afternoon.
 
CSB gave up just two points on a pair of free throws Sunday in the first quarter, and used that early 16-2 advantage to hold on for a 62-48 win to wrap up its trip to Nashville. After winning three games to start the season, Saint Benedict is now 5-6 overall after a pair of wins at the Music City Classic.
 
Neither team had much luck offensively to start, as a three from Shae Olsen made it 5-0 with 6:21 left in the first. The next points didn't come until three minutes later when Brenna Redman hit a single free throw, but then CSB seemed to settle into a rhythm. Maddie Schmitz and Alex Johnson both scored, and Megan Thompson scored on a layup and then hit a three with two seconds left to make it 16-2 after one quarter.
 
Dacoda Speidel hit a three and Redman scored to made it 21-2, and a layup from Schmitz pushed the lead to 21 points, 25-4, midway through the second. Thompson knocked down another three late in the quarter to put CSB's lead back to 19, 35-16, at halftime.
 
Schmitz hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to start the second half and Saint Benedict was up and running. CSB maintained a 51-29 lead after three, and held on for the 14-points win even after being outscored 19-11 in the fourth quarter.
 
Schmitz finished with a game-high 16 points to pace CSB and Thompson added 15, including a trio of 3-pointers. Schmitz and Johnson both led the team with seven rebounds, and Breanna Gates had five assists. CSB shot 45.3 percent from the field, including better than 55 percent in the fourth quarter. The team went 5-for-8 from the line and had 38 rebounds and 19 turnovers.
 
Olivia DeCleene led St. Norbert (2-9) with 13 points, and Sarah Ratajczyk added 11 points and 11 rebounds. SNC shot 28 percent from the field, went 8-for-9 from the line and had 35 rebounds and 12 turnovers.
 
CSB returns home and gets back to MIAC action Wednesday, Jan. 2, when it hosts Augsburg at 7 p.m.