ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – On Wednesday, Augsburg took No. 10 St. Thomas to overtime before eventually losing. Saturday, the College of Saint Benedict basketball team – which is ranked 24
th in Division III – made sure the same thing didn't happen to them.
After a close first half, CSB used big games from
Niki Fokken and
Megan Thompson to pull away for a 74-58 win over the Auggies in Claire Lynch Hall. The win – the 21
st of the season for Saint Benedict, the most wins in a season since 2009-10 – wrapped up Senior Day, Parent's Day and the National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration. Former CSB athletic director Carol Agnes was honored at halftime for her Breaking Barriers award.
Saint Benedict (21-2, 15-1) jumped to an 11-0 lead to start the game, but the Auggies (11-11, 7-9) outscored CSB 14-7 to make it a four-point game, 18-14, after one quarter. Augsburg got within two several times to start the second quarter, but Fokken scored a pair of baskets and
Kate Banovetz hit a free throw to push the lead to seven, 28-21, with 4:42 left in the half. A pair of free throws by
Alex Johnson and a layup by
Courtney Nelson made it a nine-point game, but the Auggies hit a three at the buzzer to cut the gap to six, 35-29, at halftime.
A three by Thompson made it a nine-point game to start the third, and she added a trio of free throws after being fouled on a long-range shot and then hit another three to make it a 12-point game, 48-36, with 4:13 left in the third. CSB led 56-45 after three quarters, and Thompson got a steal and a layup to make it a 13-point game to start the final quarter. Fokken scored two straight baskets to push the lead to 17, and two more buckets by Fokken pushed the game to 20 or more for the first time, 72-51, with 2:30 left to play.
Fokken finished with 22 points to pace Saint Benedict, which shot just under 52 percent from the field. Thompson added 18 points and Banovetz finished with 10. Fokken also had seven rebounds and Thompson and Banovetz had five assists. CSB went 14-for-18 from the line and had 37 rebounds and 11 turnovers.
Arianna Jones paced the Auggies with 15 points and Tamira McLemore had 12. Augsburg shot 42 percent from the field, went 12-for-18 from the line and had 22 rebounds and 13 turnovers.
With just two games left in the regular season, CSB is in second in the MIAC behind UST. CSB – which is off to its best MIAC start since 2003-04 and its best overall start since 2002-03 – takes on third-place Gustavus Wednesday in Claire Lynch and wraps up the regular season Saturday, Feb. 17, at St. Thomas.
