ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Lydia Hay set a simple yet important goal for herself heading into her team's game against Hamline Saturday afternoon at Claire Lynch Hall.
 
"I just wanted to help my team out as much as I could," the College of Saint Benedict senior forward said. "I feel like I'm getting a lot of confidence from my teammates and my coaches. They keep pushing me to be better. I'm just glad I could have a breakout game today."
 
Indeed, she did. The Wayzata High School graduate, who transferred to CSB from Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead prior to the 2021-22 season, finished with a career-best 17 points as the Bennies cruised past Hamline 77-64 in MIAC action at Claire Lynch Hall. Hay was one of four Bennies to reach double-digits in points for a second straight game.
 
"Lydia looked so comfortable and confident out there today," said CSB coach Mike Durbin, whose team improved to 2-0 in MIAC play (tie for first place with Gustavus Adolphus) and 4-1 overall. "We've always had a lot of confidence in her. Now it's nice to see her starting to believe in herself."
 
Hay had nine points in a first half in which the Bennies were 12-for-16 at the free throw line en route to taking a 36-29 halftime lead. Hamline - which was called for 15 fouls to CSB's six - was just 5-for-9. Sophomore post Kira Young had seven of her 12 points before halftime. She finished the game tied with senior point guard/wing Carla Meyer for the team lead with nine rebounds as CSB had a season-high 40 rebounds as they had 19 more boards than the Pipers.
 
"We came out of the gates with a lot of intensity," said junior wing/point guard Sophia Jonas, who finished with 15 points - including three 3-pointers - to score in double figures for the fifth game in a row. "Kira and (sophomore wing) Megan Morgan (who finished with 10 points and six rebounds) had some big rebounds right off the bat and that gave us all a lot of energy.
 
"This was one of our best games yet when it came to getting to the free throw line," continued Jonas, whose team finished 20-for-26 from the line. "We haven't gotten there this much yet and, honestly, that kind of swung the momentum in our favor."
 
Meyer finished with 11 points as she now has 920 career points as she recorded her 54th career double-digit scoring game. Junior forward Morgan Chmielewski added eight points and five rebounds. CSB finished 25-for-52 (48.1 percent) from the field as a team. The Pipers (2-1, 3-1) were 25-for-66 (37.9 percent). Hamline went 8-for-15 from the free throw line.
 
"We played together really well as a team today," said Hay, whose team returns to action when it travels to Minneapolis to face Augsburg at 7 p.m. Monday. "We did a great job sharing the ball. But it all started with our defense. We kept communicating and our intensity was really high. It was just a great team victory."