BAYAMON, Puerto Rico – Sophia Jonas and Olivia Boily each scored 11 points to lead the College of Saint Benedict basketball team (8-1) to a seventh straight win in a 54-41 nonconference decision over Caltech (5-4) on Monday (Dec. 16) as part of the Puerto Rico Clasico.

St. Benedict, which will face John Carroll on Tuesday morning (8 a.m.) at the Puerto Rico Clasico, improved to 8-1 on the season. CSB has a seven-game winning streak for first time since Jan. 24-Feb. 14, 2018.

Jonas had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, while securing five rebounds, recording two steals and an assist. With her three triples, the senior from Hudson, Wis., is now second all-time in made three-pointers in MIAC history at 214. Jonas, CSB's career three-point leader, moved past Missy Pederson of St. Thomas (211, 1998-02) for second all-time in the MIAC with all-time leader Brooklyn Paulson of Saint Mary's at 255. In addition, Jonas, who has 922 career points, registered her 49^th double-digit scoring game.

Boily, also a senior from Hudson, Wis., scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting with 1-of-2 conversions from the foul line. She also had four rebounds and an assist in 26 minutes on the floor. Boily now has three double-digit scoring games this year and nine in her career. Junior guard Megan Morgan added nine points, six rebounds and two assists while first-year forward Sofia Baldessari supplied seven points and six rebounds as the Bennies held a 34-to-19 rebound edge.

While CSB was outscored, 32-to-16 in the paint and 8-0 in second chance points, the Bennies used a 7-to-2 edge on made three-pointers and a 9-to-3 margin in made free throws to earn its eighth win. The Bennies and Beavers were tied just once as CSB held the lead 36:48 of game time.  

St. Ben's, led by Morgan's seven points, opened up a 16-10 lead after one quarter of play by hitting 4-of-8 field goals, including 3-of-7 from three-point range and 5-of-6 at the foul line. Caltech was 4-of-16 from the floor and missed all nine of its three-point attempts. However, the Beavers responded with a 16-10 edge in the second quarter to tie the game at 26-26 at halftime. Caltech, which closed the half on an 8-2 run, hit 7-of-12 field goals for 58.3 percent in the second quarter to forge the tie at the break. CSB was just 3-of-14 from the field for 21.4 percent and 2-of-10 from three-point range.  

The Bennies answered with a dominating third quarter as they outscored the Beavers, 19-to-6. CSB hit a blistering 8-of-13 form the field for 61.5 percent, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. St. Ben's opened the quarter on a 10-2 run, including three-point field goals by Lauren Arnold (7:29) and Jonas (6:22) for a 36-28 advantage. After Caltech closed to within 36-30, the Bennies responded with a 9-0 run for a 45-30 edge (2:06) and led by 13 points (45-32) at the break.

In the fourth quarter, the Beavers were unable to make a sustained run at the Bennies, which led by at least 10 points throughout the stanza. In the quarter, CSB hit 4-of-9 field goals for 44.4 percent while Caltech hit just 4-of-12 for 33 percent.