ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- College of Saint Benedict sophomore Sophia Jonas felt pretty good about the energy she felt from her team going into Saturday afternoon's MIAC matchup against Hamline at Claire Lynch Hall. 
 
But that didn't necesarrily carry over into the game's first half. The result was a hole the Bennies were never really able to crawl out of, falling 77-58.
 
"That definitely wasn't the way we wanted to start," said Jonas, who finished with 10 points to join three of her teammates in double figures. "We had really good energy in warmups. So I thought it would go the other way. But that happens in basketball sometimes," noted Jonas who had her 26th career double-digit scoring game.
 
CSB (11-7 MIAC, 14-7 overall) hung with the Pipers (12-6, 15-6) early on, trailing only 16-12 after the first quarter. But Hamline hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter and outscored the Bennies by 13 points to jump on top 42-25 at the half.
 
"I thought we fought through the first quarter," CSB coach Mike Durbin said. "We didn't play particularly well, but we were only down four. But then the game got away from us in the second quarter and we were playing uphill the rest of the way," noted Durbin, whose team is fourth in the MIAC with an 11-7 conference mark.
 
The Bennies cut the lead to as little as nine on a 3-pointer by junior Lydia Hay with 7:06 to go in the third quarter. But, after calling timeout, the Pipers scored the next six points.  CSB then closed to within 10 twice down the stretch in the third, but that was as close as the Bennies got.
 
Hamline finished 10-for-24 from behind the 3-point line. CSB was just 5-for-24. Overall, the Pipers finished 28-for-61 (45.9 percent) from the field. The Bennies shot 22-for-56 (39.3 percent). Hamline junior Lydia Lecher finished with 18 points and seven rebounds to lead her team.
 
"They have some really great players," said Durbin, whose team hosts Carleton College on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Claire Lynch Hall. "They're very deep and that showed."
 
CSB junior Carla Meyer finished with 19 points to lead all scorers with her 45th career double-digit scoring game. She added a game-best eight rebounds. Senior Gabby Martin finished with 12 points as she now 23 career double-digit scoring games. Hay ended the afternoon with 10 points and her ninth double-digit scoring game of her career.
 
"In the second half, I thought we picked it up a lot," Jonas said. "We were able to trust each other on defense and offense. But, in the end, it was just a hole too big to dig out off."
 
But the day wasn't all frowns for Jonas, who recently broke the program's single-season record for 3-pointers. The old mark of 61, set by Joyce Spanier during the 1990-91 season, had stood for 32 years.
 
After hitting two more Saturday, Jonas now has 66 this season, which ranks in the top seven nationally. Spanier was on hand Saturday to present Jonas with a basketball in a short ceremony following the game.
 
"That meant a lot, especially having her here to hand the ball down to me," Jonas said. "It would have been a little cooler if we'd have won the game. But she is so awesome. I was able to meet her for the first time today. She was super-congratulatory. It's a record that stood for a long time. I'm really honored to be able to break it."