ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team turned Concordia's first-half turnovers into points Wednesday night to build an early lead, then held on for an 82-67 win to start MIAC play in Claire Lynch Hall.
CSB (5-0, 1-0) forced 17 first-half turnovers and turned that into 22 points Wednesday. Saint Benedict had 13 steals in the first half, including five from
Megan Thompson and four from
Maddie Schmitz to help put the Bennies up early.
Of those 17 first-half turnovers, 12 came in the second quarter alone for the Cobbers (2-5, 0-2). The first quarter was close throughout as CSB led by four twice, including 14-10 after a pair of free throws and a layup from Thompson, but Concordia responded by taking a 15-14 lead before
Alex Johnson hit two free throws to end the quarter and give CSB a 16-15 lead.
Johnson scored and
Sidney Schiffler hit a three early in the second to put Saint Benedict up six, 21-15, and a short time later a 3-pointer from Schmitz made it a nine-point game, 26-17, with just over five minutes left in the half.
Shae Olsen added to the three-point parade, and after Concordia cut the gap to seven, 31-24,
McKenzie Holgate scored to spark an 8-3 run to put CSB up 39-27 at halftime.
Holgate hit a there early in the third and Schmitz scored to give CSB a 15-point lead at 44-29, and a three from Schmitz later put the Bennies up 17. Thompson hit a 3-pointer to give CSB its first 20-point lead of the game, 56-46, with 4:25 left in the third. The Cobbers made a short run, but the Bennies still held a 60-44 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
Concordia started the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run to make it a nine-point game, 62-53, and again at 64-55, but Holgate scored and Schmitz got a steal and a layup to push CSB's lead back to 13 with 5:52 left to play. That was part of an 8-1 run for Saint Benedict to make it a 16-point game with just under five minutes to play, and a three from
Paris Rasheed-Moore made it a 17-point game, 77-60, with two minutes left to help CSB hold on for the win.
Thompson finished with a season-high 23 points to go along with her five steals to lead CSB, which shot nearly 45 percent from the field and hit seven 3-pointers. Schmitz added 16 points and six rebounds and Rasheed-Moore had 12 points. Johnson had seven rebounds for CSB, which won the battle on the boards 36-33, and Holgate had five assists. CSB had 14 turnovers to the Cobbers' 23.
Mary Sem led all scorers with 25 points for Concordia, which shot 48 percent from the field and hit eight 3-pointers. Bailee Larson added 12 points and six rebounds and Emily Beseman had eight rebounds. The Cobbers went 11-for-20 from the line while CSB finished 15-for-19.
Wednesday's game marked the first of four in an eight-day span for CSB. The team is on the road Saturday at Hamline, then returns home Monday against Carleton and Wednesday against Gustavus to wrap up the semester.
