ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – One word – defense - summed up the 58-38 win by the College of Saint Benedict Basketball Team (11-4, 8-4 MIAC) over St. Catherine (8-6, 7-5 MIAC) on Wednesday night (Jan. 18) at Claire Lynch Hall.

"I thought we executed our defensive game plan to fullest," said CSB Head Basketball Coach Mike Durbin, who now has 727 career wins. "We were physical were the box outs and I thought Lydia Hay gave us some great minutes. I felt that Tori Szathmary set the tone with her rebounding and defense. After being gone for four games, she has really stepped it up in the past two games for us," noted Durbin, whose team now travels to Augsburg for a 3 p.m., MIAC contest in Minneapolis.

With the victory, Bennies retain a tie for fourth place with Hamline in the MIAC at 8-4. With its second straight conference win and third in five games, Saint Ben's is now 11-4 overall on the season. And they earned a season-split with St. Kate's, which defeated CSB, 52-50, on Jan. 5 in St. Paul.

By the Numbers
The offense was again led by sophomore guard Sophia Jonas, who had 16 points, including 5-of-11 from three-point range, while grabbing two rebounds and handing out two assists. In the past two games, she is 11-of-20 from three-point range and leads the MIAC with 53 made triples on 126 attempts for 42.1 percent. She now has 22 career double-digit scoring games with 13 in 15 games this season. In addition, she now has made five or more threes seven times in her career and on six occasions in 2022-23. 

Senior guard Gabby Martin also reached double digits for the 21^st time in her career with 10 points while grabbing six rebounds and handing out two assists. Hay had seven points and four rebounds while Szathmary totaled seven points with six rebounds.

When Durbin looked back at this game, he is impressed with the defense, which held the Wildcats to 38 points, a season low for an opponent. It was the seventh time that the Bennies held a team to 52 points or fewer.

"When we play defense like that we have a chance every night. It was a really sound effort across the roster," said Durbin, who was able to play 12 players in the game with 10 of them scoring.

CSB held St. Kate's, which was led by Sam Orth with 19 points (3-of-5 from three-point range), to 24.4 percent from the field on 11-of-45 shooting. They also held the Wildcats to 5-of-21 from three-point range for 23.8 percent. Additionally, the Bennies forced 13 turnovers, including five steals and a block. The effort also included winning the rebound battle, 37-30, as they had a 22-6 margin in points in the paint with a 6-0 margin in second chance points.

Saint Ben's, which led by as many as 24 points (3:15, 4^th quarter), never trailed in the game. They had a 9-6 lead after the first quarter and built a 23-15 halftime lead. With a 13-to-9 edge in the third quarter, the Bennies took a 36-24 lead to the fourth quarter. Then, CSB had a 22-to-14 margin for the 20-point win.

1st Quarter – Jonas scores seven of nine CSB points
In the opening quarter, the defense on both teams held the advantage. CSB, which took a 9-to-6 lead the break, hit just 3-of-14 field goals for 21.4 percent and made just 2-of-10 from three-point range. St. Kate's was 2-of-10 for 20 percent and missed all six of its three-pointers. With 2:36 to play, Jonas, who scored seven points in the quarter, knocked in a three-pointer which was followed by a basket from Carla Meyer (six points, five rebounds) as CSB led, 9-4 (2:08).

2^nd Quarter – Hay tallies five points to lead CSB to 23-15 lead
In the second quarter, both Hay and Szathmary provided key points and rebounds as the Bennies held a 14-to-9 advantage in route to the 23-15 halftime lead. CSB was 6-of-17 for 35.3 percent in the quarter. St. Kate's was just 2-of-8 for 25 percent as Orth scored five. In the quarter, CSB took a 16-8 lead at the 6:13 mark when Hay converted a two-point basket inside. At the 3:44 mark, Jonas hit a three for a 21-11 lead. By halftime, CSB was 9-of-31 for 29 percent but held the Wildcats to 4-of-18 for 22 percent shooting. By the half, CSB had a 4-to-1 edge in made threes, a 20-16 rebound edge and a 10-to-2 margin of points in the paint.

3^rd Quarter – Balanced scoring and defense propels CSB to 36-24 lead
In the third quarter, CSB used balanced scoring, including points from six different players, to create a double-digit advantage. Overall, the Bennies hit 5-of-10 field goals for 50 percent. The Wildcats continued to struggle with CSB's defensive pressure as they made just 3-of-15 shots for 20 percent, although Orth hit a pair of three-pointers to keep the margin at 12 (36-24).  After Martin converted a lay-up in the lane for a 25-17 lead, the Wildcats rallied as Orth knocked in back-to-back three pointers (5:47) to draw within 25-23. But that momentum was short-lived as CSB answered with a closing run of 11-3 to take the double-digit lead.

4^th Quarter – Martin tallies eight to lead CSB to 22-14 edge and 11^th win
In the final quarter, the Bennies built the lead to as much as 24 points (3:15) as Martin scored eight points, hitting all three of her field goal attempts. CSB also had six points from Jonas, who knocked in a pair of threes on three attempts. The Bennies had a game-best shooting mark with 6-of-10 field goals, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. In addition, CSB connected on 7-of-10 free throws. As for St. Kates, they were 4-of-12 from the field for 33.3 percent. The Bennies opened the quarter on a 9-0 run as Jonas hit a three while Hay, Szathmary and Martin added points. From there, CSB pushed the lead past 20 points on several occasions and finished off their 52^nd all-time win in 60 match ups with the Wildcats since the series began in 1982.