ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – For the first five minutes of Saturday afternoon's first round MIAC Tournament game, it looked like the College of Saint Benedict basketball team might be in trouble.
 
The Bennies missed nine shots to start the game and were down 7-0 early to St. Scholastica. But after giving up those early points, Saint Benedict went on a run to end the quarter – and never stopped. CSB cruised to a 61-33 win over the Saints to advance to Tuesday's MIAC Quarterfinals.
 
CSB is now 15-10 overall and heads to St. Paul Tuesday, Feb. 22, for a 7 p.m. game at fourth-seeded Hamline. The two teams played twice in the regular season, and the Pipers won both games by 10 points or more.
 
The Bennies made up for any scoring troubles later in the game. Gabby Martin scored the team's first basket, then Carla Meyer hit a layup and a three followed close behind by a 3-pointer and a bucket from Sophia Jonas. The Bennies led 14-9 after one quarter, and Martin hit a three to start the second.
 
The Saints (3-22) went on a short run to start the second quarter, but Martin hit another three and Meyer scored to give CSB its first 10-point lead of the game, 24-14, with 6:18 left in the half. A late three from the Saints made it a seven-point game at halftime, but the Bennies outscored CSS 26-5 in the third to open up the game.
 
Tori Szathmary hit a three to start the third and spark a 17-2 lead that ended with a 43-21 lead with 3:41 left in the quarter. Madison Doran scored six straight points to push the team's lead to 27, and a three from Lydia Hay gave CSB a 52-24 lead heading into the fourth. The two teams were even in the final quarter with nine points each and the Bennies cruised to the win.
 
Martin finished with 13 points for the Bennies and Doran added 10. Szathmary finished with nine rebounds and Meyer had four assists for CSB, which shot 37.5 percent from the field, made seven threes and went 6-for-10 from the line. The team outrebounded the Saints 44-37 and had 14 turnovers.
 
Miranda Broberg led the Saints with 11 points and Eve Turner had 10 rebounds. St. Scholastica shot 22 percent from the field and went 8-for-14 from the line. The Saints committed 22 turnovers.
 
There are four quarterfinal games Tuesday with the No. 1-4 seeds hosting, and the semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 24, with the high seeds hosting.