ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a bumpy start to the 2018-19 season, the College of Saint Benedict basketball team appears to be finding its groove.
Four of CSB's five starters scored in double digits Wednesday as the team beat St. Kate's 64-49 in Claire Lynch Hall. The 15-point win marked a 23-point swing from the first meeting of the two teams this season, as the Wildcats beat Saint Benedict by 13 points in December in St. Paul.
Following Wednesday's win, CSB moved into a tie for fourth in the MIAC with a 5-4 conference mark. CSB -which is tied with Bethel and behind St. Thomas, Augsburg and Saint Mary's – is 9-7 overall and on a four-game winning streak heading into a three-game road trip.
Junior
Sidney Schiffler set the tone for CSB early, hitting a pair of 3-pointers early in the first quarter to put her team up 8-4 – a lead it would never give up.
Alex Johnson hit a pair of free throws,
Maddie Schmitz converted a three-point play and
Breanna Gates scored on a jumper and a three to put CSB up 18-9 after one quarter.
Schiffler hit a three and a layup to start the second quarter, and a layup from Schmitz pushed CSB's lead to 16, 25-9, with less than two minutes gone. The Wildcats cut the lead to nine midway through the quarter, but
Megan Thompson joined the three-point parade to push the team's lead back to 12. Johnson converted a three-point play with just over a minute left in the half to give CSB a 35-21 lead at halftime.
A pair of baskets by Thompson put CSB up 18 early in the third before the Wildcats (7-9, 4-5) cut the lead to 13. Schmitz hit a three to stop their run, and later in the quarter, threes from
McKenzie Holgate and Schiffler put CSB up 19. A free throw from Thompson gave CSB its first 20-point lead of the game, 56-36, to end the third quarter. The Wildcats went on a short run to start the fourth and make it a 14-point game, 56-42, but Schmitz hit a pair of free throws and Gates hit a three to extend CSB's lead, and the team held on from there.
Schiffler led CSB with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from long range. Thompson and Johnson both had 12 points and Schmitz had 10. Gates just missed double digits as she finished with eight points. Johnson and Schmitz both had nine rebounds for CSB and Thompson and Johnson had four assists. CSB shot 40 percent from the field and hit nine 3-pointers. The team out rebounded St. Kate's 42-31, went 9-for-13 from the line and had 18 turnovers.
Sam Orth was the only St. Kate's player in double digits with 12 points, and she also had eight rebounds. The Wildcats shot 35 percent from the field, went 5-of-11 from the line and had 17 turnovers.
Wednesday marked Saint Benedict's last home game for the next two weeks. CSB is on the road Saturday as it heads to Northfield to take on Carleton, then plays on the road Wednesday, Jan. 23 at Saint Mary's and Saturday, Jan. 26 at Hamline.
