RIVER FALLS, Wis. –
Alex Johnson got her senior season off to a fast start Monday night.
Johnson scored a career-high 22 points to help the College of Saint Benedict basketball team start the 2019-20 season with a big nonconference win over UW-River Falls. After outscoring the Falcons 22-5 in the first quarter, CSB cruised to an 85-51 win in River Falls, Wis.
Saint Benedict (1-0) went on a 12-2 run to start Monday's game, highlighted by four points each from Johnson and
Sidney Schiffler. The Falcons (1-1) cut the gap to seven at 12-5, but that's the closest they would get the rest of the game. Johnson scored again, and
Paris Rasheed-Moore knocked down to threes in the final 2:43 of the first quarter to help CSB to the 17-point lead.
A three from
Maddie Schmitz kicked off the second quarter, and Johnson scored twice to give CSB a 24-point lead early, 29-5. The Falcons' offense kicked in a short time later, and they scored 17 second-quarter points, but the Bennies led 42-22 at halftime.
Hannah Johnson and
Alex Johnson both scored on layups to start the second half, and a three from
Tori Szathmary sparked an 11-2 run that ended with a layup from
Madison Doran and CSB's first 30-point lead of the game, 63-33. A jumper from
Shae Olsen put Saint Benedict up 65-37 with 10 minutes left to play.
A 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by
McKenzie Holgate started the fourth quarter, which saw CSB add 20 more points to its total. Rasheed-Moore hit her third three of the game at the 6:11 mark to put CSB up 75-38 – its biggest lead of the game.
Johnson's 22 points came on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, and she also tallied 10 rebounds. CSB shot nearly 57 percent from the field, including 7-for-10 from long range, and went 4-for-4 from the line. Schiffler added 11 points and Rasheed-Moore finished with nine in her collegiate debut. Szathmary had six rebounds and Schiffler led the team with three assists.
Jenna Zeman paced the Falcons with 15 points and Brianna Koop had five rebounds. River Falls shot 29 percent from the field and went 8-for-13 from the line.
CSB plays at home for the first time this season Friday, Nov. 15, when it hosts Minnesota-Morris at 8 p.m. as part of the Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Classic.
