ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team used a big fourth quarter Monday to pick up a come-from-behind win over Carleton, but that late-game magic wasn't there Wednesday night for the Bennies.
 
CSB fell behind early and struggled to find an offensive rhythm in a 68-46 loss to Bethel Wednesday in Claire Lynch. The Bennies (7-3, 4-3) shot just 28 percent from the field and made a single 3-pointer all game. The Royals, on the other hand, shot better than 60 percent in the first and fourth quarter and finished the game shooting 54 percent from the field.
 
Bethel (5-5, 4-3) jumped to an early lead in the first quarter and never looked back Wednesday. A pair of free throws from Tori Szathmary tied the game at 6-6 with less than three minutes gone, but the Royals outscored CSB 13-4 from there to take a 19-10 lead into the second quarter. Szathmary scored and Carla Meyer hit a three to make it a four-point game early in the second, but the Royals took a double-digit lead for the first time at 26-15 with 7:16 left in the half, and led by 10, 32-22 at halftime.
 
CSB was able to keep Bethel's lead at 10 early in the third quarter, but the Royals pushed that gap to 16 points to end the third and maintained a 20-point lead throughout most of the final quarter.
 
Szathmary and Gabby Martin both scored 10 points to pace the Bennies, who went 15-for-19 from the line. Olivia Boily had seven rebounds and she and Martin both had four steals. Saint Benedict had 30 rebounds and committed 19 turnovers.
 
Anna Garfield led all scorers with 16 points for Bethel, which went 2-for-4 from the line and had 38 rebounds. Bella Williams had nine rebounds, nine assists and five steals.
 
Saint Benedict returns to action Saturday, Jan. 8, when it heads to St. Paul to take on St. Kate's. Stay tuned to gobennies.com and follow CSB athletics on Twitter (@csb_athletics) for schedule updates throughout the season.