LA CROSSE, Wis. – Junior guard Megan Morgan scored 16 points and first-year guard Lauren Arnold matched her career-high of 13 points to lead the College of Saint Benedict basketball team (4-1) to a 57-54 win over host UW-La Crosse (5-3) and with it captured the Gunderson Hotel & Suites Thanksgiving Classic on Sunday (Dec. 1).

St. Benedict, which defeated Simpson College, 76-69, on Nov. 30 in the opening game of the tourney, recorded its third consecutive win to move to 4-1 on the season. The Bennies take the momentum of the tournament wins into its MIAC home opener with St. Olaf at 7 p.m., on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at Claire Lynch Hall.

CSB head coach Mike Durbin, who now has 753 career wins, including 749 at St. Benedict, credited his team's weekend performance to production on both ends from both a group of newcomers and the team's veterans leaders.

"Our young players really grew up this weekend behind the exceptional leadership of our upper-class," said Durbin, noting first-year players had 20 points while his veteran group added 37, led by Morgan, who hit 5-of-10 field goals, including 2-of-6 from three-point range while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.

"Megan was nothing short of outstanding all weekend," added Durbin. In two games this weekend, Morgan made 9-of-16 shots for 56.3 percent and hit 2-of-7 from three-point range in 74:33 minutes on the court for 26 total points. She also made 6-of-8 free throws, grabbed 10 total rebounds (5.0 per game), and dished six assists.

Today, Morgan had 16 points, including the final eight points of the first quarter when her three-point shot with a second left gave CSB a 17-16 lead. The home-standing Eagles responded with a 17-11 advantage in the second quarter for a 33-28 lead at halftime. However, CSB had the answer by outscoring UW-LaCrosse, 19-12, in the third quarter for a 47-45 lead. With a 10-9 margin in the fourth quarter, CSB captured its third straight win.

Arnold registered her best two-game stretch with St. Ben's as she had 13 points today to match her career-high which she set in the win over Simpson on Saturday. Arnold's total included the first eight points of the game for CSB. In the two games, she averaged 13.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists, making a sizzling 8-of-10 field goals, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. She was also 8-of-10 from the foul line. Of note, the first-year guard made her first eight shots of the tournament across two games.

Aside from Arnold and Morgan, senior Olivia Boily added 10 points and six rebounds in the win over UW-La Crosse. Boily hit 5-of-8 field goals, including the game-tying basket with 1:06 to play, and then came up with a steal that led to CSB taking a two-point lead on two foul shots by Sophia Jonas with 36 seconds to play. It was Boily's second straight double-digit game of the weekend as she averaged 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 48:38 minutes on the floor. The senior hit 11-of-15 field goals for 73.3 percent during the two games.

Also, for the Bennies, Jonas had six points, including her 201^st career three-pointer, and six rebounds with two assists and a steal. First-year forward Sofia Baldessari added six points, five rebounds, and two assists.

In a game with 14 lead changes and 13 tie scores, the Bennies out-shot the Eagles, 36.7 percent (18-of-49) to 33.3 percent (20-of-60). CSB also had a 4-to-2 edge in three-pointers and a 17-to-12 advantage in made free throws. St. Ben's, which lost the paint battle, 34-to-16, and points off turnovers, 14-to-9, had a 15-to-6 margin in fast-break points.

In the opening quarter, Arnold scored CSB's first eight points and Morgan had the final eight, including a three pointer with one second to play, as CSB took a 17-16 lead over the Eagles. CSB was 5-of-15 from field for 33.3 percent and hit 2-of-7 from three-point range with 5-of-6 at the foul line. UW-La Crosse hit 7-of-18 from the field and had a 12-11 rebound edge.

In the second quarter, UW-La Crosse had a 17-11 scoring edge to grab a 33-28 half-time lead. The Bennies led 22-19 after a three from Arnold, who had 10 first-half points. After a tie game at 25, Ella Beeler's free throw provided a one-point lead for CSB. However, the Eagles closed on an 8-2 run for the halftime lead.

In the third quarter, CSB took a 47-45 lead to the fourth quarter after Boily converted a jumper late for a 47-45 lead as CSB outscored the Eagles, 19-12. With Baldessari scoring a pair of baskets and Morgan's go-ahead basket at the 4:19 mark, CSB opened the quarter on a 12-6 run for a 40-39 lead.

CSB had control of action early in the fourth quarter as the Bennies opened with a 4-1 run as Morgan's two foul shots provided CSB with its largest lead of the game at 51-46. The Eagles responded with two lay-ups from Sydney Torgerson to cut the lead to 51-50 at the 6:02 mark. The Eagles, which tied the game at 52 at 3:08 on a jumper by Grace Knupp as part of a 7-1 run, took a short-lived lead at 54-52 on foul shots by Lauryn Milne with 1:29 left on the clock. Then Boily stepped up with a crucial basket to tie the game (1:06) and her steal led to two foul shots from Jonas for a 56-54 lead. With 20 seconds to go, Morgan hit 1-of-2 foul shots as the Bennies held off the Eagles for the win.