ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – In winning its second straight game and fourth in five outings, the College of Saint Benedict Basketball Team (4-1, 3-1 MIAC) featured clutch shooting, dominating rebounding and major contributions off the bench in defeating Augsburg (5-2, 2-2 MIAC), 82-68, on Saturday afternoon at Claire Lynch Hall.

CSB Head Coach Mike Durbin, who earned his 720^th career win was pleased with his team's performance, which included career-best performances off the bench from sophomore forward Olivia Boily (13 points), first-year guard Megan Morgan (seven points) as well as a near career-high from sophomore sharpshooter Sophia Jonas (22 points).

"We made some really big shots and those came from a lot of different players tonight and always when they were needed," said Durbin, whose team jumped to a 21-18 lead after one quarter and led, 43-30, at the halftime break. Then, with a 39-38 edge in the second half, the Bennies came away with a season-high in points in its best game of the young season. "It was great to see outstanding shooting matched with hard work on defense and on the boards," added Durbin, whose team is tied for second in the MIAC at 3-1 and is 4-1 overall.

In the 77^th meeting, CSB earned its 62^nd win and now have a 28-10 home mark against Augsburg.

Jonas just missed a career-high with 22 points (23 points, St. Olaf, 1/10/22) as she has now reached double-digits in points for the fourth time in five games. Jonas, who has 13 double-digit scoring games in her career, tied a career-high with five three-pointers (10 attempts) for the second straight game and fourth time in her career. She was 8-of-15 from the floor while adding three rebounds, and an assist and steal.

In total, CSB had three players in double digits as junior point guard Carla Meyer had 17 points to go with eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. Meyer, who had her 32^nd career double-digit points game, was just one assist away from her career high of nine, also against Augsburg on March 3, 2021. For the seventh time in her career, she hit four three-pointers in a game as she did it efficiently on seven shots.

Boily helped CSB to a 28-11 edge in bench points as she hit 6-of-10 field goals and scored a career-high 13 points to go with five rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes of work. Guard Gabby Martin led the Bennies in rebounds with eight, adding seven points and two assists. Morgan added seven points, including her first career three-point field goal.  Additionally, senior Hannah Johnson had a solid floor game in 22:55 on the floor as she scored five points, dished four assists and had four rebounds while making her first three-pointer of the season and 31^st of her career.

"I was really happy to see so many of players step up at crucial moments in the game," said Durbin, whose team will host Macalester on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Claire Lynch Hall.

In earning its second straight win by a double-digit margin, the Bennies controlled the game from nearly every standpoint. In a game with just one lead chance and two tie scores, St. Ben's had a 32-28 edge in points in the paint and had a season-best shooting effort by making 30-of-60 shots from the floor for 50 percent. They outscored the Auggies, 13-to-8 on three-pointers by making 44.8 percent of its 29 shots. In addition, the Bennies had a 41-to-32 edge on the boards, pulling down nine offensive boards which resulted in nine second chance points.

Game Breakdown –

First Quarter – CSB uses four triples to gain 21-18 lead
After Augsburg opened the game with a three from Katie Manecke, the Bennies, which shot 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the floor in the first quarter, gained control. Three-point shots from Jonas and Martin keyed an 11-4 run. After the Auggies tied the game at 11 (5:17), Jonas knocked down another triple (5:01), which was followed by a three from Meyer in a 6-0 run across 24 seconds of game action. At the break, CSB, which was 4-of-7 on threes in the quarter, led, 21-18.

2^nd Quarter – Bench play pays dividends as CSB takes 43-30 lead
The bench play by the Bennies began to pay dividends in the second quarter as sophomore wing Abigail Kuboushek hit a three-pointer at the 8:49 mark for a 24-18 advantage. Later, Jonas hit her third three of the half for a 29-20 advantage with 6:57 to play. Then, Boily started to make plays inside with two baskets which gave CSB a 33-20 lead with 5:10 left. Meyer followed with five straight points as CSB's lead drew to 38-22 and the Bennies took the 43-30 halftime lead. In the quarter, St. Ben's added hit 50 percent from the floor on 9-of-18 shooting and was 4-of-10 from distance as they had eight triples on 17 attempts in the opening half.

Third Quarter – Bennies hit four three threes to push lead to 17
In the third quarter, CSB continued to make shots, knocking in 8-of-16 shots for 50 percent and again hit four triples in seven attempts. With 4:51 to play, CSB took an 18-point lead, its largest of the game, at 59-41 following a three from Meyer. While CSB was knocking down shots in the second and third quarters, Augsburg made nine just 9-of-30 shots and only four triples.

Fourth Quarter – Clutch shots by CSB halts run by Auggies
Down 68-51 at the break, the Auggies made a run in the fourth quarter. In the opening 3:10 of the quarter, they had a 12-2 run to cut CSB's lead to 70-63. But the Bennies, which was 5-of-11 shooting in the final quarter, righted the ship with a clutch three-pointer from Johnson, who hit her first three of the season at a crucial moment to give the Bennies a 73-63 advantage with 5:56 to play. Then, Boily scored seven points off the next five minutes to enable the Bennies to push the lead to 16 with under a minute to play.