ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (4-1, 0-0 MIAC), which has won three straight games, will open the MIAC schedule by hosting St. Olaf (5-1, 0-0 MIAC) on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at Claire Lynch Hall with tipoff set for 7 p.m.

St. Benedict, which will host Carleton College in MIAC play at 1 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 7, is coming off victories against Simpson, 76-69, and UW-La Crosse, 57-54 to win the Gunderson Hotel & Suites Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 in La Crosse, Wis. With the two wins, the Bennies improved to 4-1 as they prepare to open the MIAC schedule.

Quick Preview for St. Ben's

Bennies win Gunderson Hotel & Suites Thanksgiving Classic
Junior guard Megan Morgan scored 16 points and first-year guard Lauren Arnold matched her career-high of 13 points to lead CSB 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). 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. Lauren Arnold also had 13 points, matching her career high. Arnold's total included the first eight points of the game for CSB. 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.

Arnold leads CSB past Simpson
First-year point guard Lauren Arnold scored a career-high 13 points, including a critical three-pointer in the final minute of play, to lift CSB to a 76-69 win over Simpson College (3-3) on Nov. 30. Arnold led four CSB players in double-digits with her best performance as a Bennie. She hit 5-of-5 from the field, including the three-pointer that provided CSB with a 73-69 lead with 33 seconds to play, and was 2-of-4 at the foul line. Arnold added four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block to help CSB to the win. Also reaching double-digits for St. Ben's were seniors Olivia Boily, and Sophia Jonas while junior guard Megan Morgan had 10 points.  Jonas reached a milestone in the game by hitting four three-pointers in 10 attempts which pushed her program-best three-point career total to 200. She also grabbed five rebounds and had an assist and a steal. Boily reached double digits for the first time this season with 12 points to go with five rebounds and three steals. Morgan added 10 points, six assists and three rebounds to CSB's offensive attack.

Morgan, Young lead Bennies past UW-Eau Claire
With a 48-25 run in the second half, the CSB basketball team overcame a 21-point deficit to earn a 69-63 road win over UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20. Leading the way was junior guard Megan Morgan with 15 points and junior Kira Young, who added 10. Both senior Sophia Jonas and first-year Tatum Findley each scored nine points and tied for a team-high with eight rebounds. After missing its first 17 shots, the Bennies hit 23 of its final 47 shots to finish at 35.9 percent shooting for the game. For the second time in three games, CSB hit double-digit three-pointers, knocking in 10-of-30 for 33.3 percent. CSB, which was outrebounded, 49-to-35, used another strong defensive effort to force 17 turnovers and gain a 17-to-6 margin in points off turnovers. After trailing 21-6 after a quarter of play, CSB outscored the Blugolds, 63-to-42, to gain the win. 

CSB defeats UMM, falls to UW-River Falls in Tip-Off Tourney
Saint Benedict split two games at its own CSB Tip-Off Tournament to open the season on Nov. 9-10. St. Ben's recorded a 78-49 win over Minnesota-Morris as Morgan scored 16 points and Jonas had 14. The Bennies hit 14 3s in the game which was the first of two games at CSB's Tip-off Tournament. In the second game, CSB took a 64-53 setback to UW-River Falls, despite 15 points from Findley while Morgan had 13 points. Morgan was  named to the CSB Tip-off All-Tourney Team.

About the Oles
Directed by first-year head coach Megan Lueck, who is a former assistant at South Dakota State,St. Olaf has opened with a 5-1 record, including four straight wins. In its most recent game, they took a 79-67 victory over Bethany Lutheran College. The Oles are averaging 71.2 points while allowing 59.7. St. Olaf hits 44.8 percent from the field while hitting 40.3 percent from three-point range. Chloe Smith is leading the team with 15.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while Paige Yagodinski is scoring 15.2 points and Joy Brandenstein, 11.8 points per game.  

Series Notes
In the all-time series between St. Olaf and Saint Benedict, the Bennies have a 65-10 series edge. The Bennies, which has won 12 straight, have a 34-5 home record and sit 65-7 in MIAC play. In the first match-up between the schools, CSB dropped a 66-51 decision on Dec. 1, 1981. In the most recent match up on Jan. 3, CSB took an 87-63 win at Claire Lynch Hall. 

Bennies – By the Numbers
A year ago, CSB was 15-11 with a 12-8 MIAC record, earning a berth in the MIAC playoff semifinals for a second straight year. The Bennies are led by veteran head coach Mike Durbin, who has a 753-285 overall record (.726) and has 749 wins at St. Ben's. He ranks 15^th for coaching wins among all active coaches regardless of NCAA division and has the most victories by an active DIII coach.

Through five games, St. Benedict has a 66.6-to-59.8  points per game advantage over its opponents. The Bennies are hitting 39.4 percent from the field and 32.0 percent from three-point range. On the glass, opponents have a 41.2-to-32.6 rebound edge. CSB is averaging 12.6 turnovers but forcing 16.2 per game.

Player Notes
Megan Morgan, a junior exercise and health services major from Winona, Minn., is leading the way for CSB by averaging 14.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Last weekend, she averaged 13.0 points and hit 56.3 percent from the field on 9-of-16 shooting, while grabbing 5.0 rebounds, dishing six assists and hitting a pair of three-point shots in wins over Simpson, 76-69 on Nov. 30 and UW-La Crosse, 57-54. Against UW-La Crosse, Morgan led CSB with16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, including 2-of-6 from three-point range. She added a team-high seven rebounds and was 4-of-6 from the foul line. In her career, she has scored 430 points in 55 games, including 34 starts. She has hit 146-of-326 field goals for 44.8 percent while connecting on 49-of-137 three-pointers for 35.8 percent. Morgan, who is hitting 82.4 percent on 89-of-108 shooting at the foul line, has 206 career rebounds, 86 assists, 16 blocks and 34 steals. She has scored in double digits in all five games this year and has 18 in her career with two 20-point games. Morgan recorded a career-high 26 points against St. Catherine on Feb. 17, 2024.

Senior Sophia Jonas is averaging 9.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this year. With 45 points this season, she now has 872 career points. Jonas has recorded 4    5 games in double-digit points including six of 20 points or more. Her career high is 26 at UW-River Falls on Nov. 16, 2023.  She is the career leader at CSB with 202 triples on 577 attempts for a 35.0 percent mark. In MIAC play, she is tied for seventh with Erin Collins of St. Olaf, 1995-99. She is 53 away from the all-time lead in the conference and just nine away from second place.

MIAC 3-point leaders all-time
255 - Brooklyn Paulson Saint Mary's, 2018-23
211 - Missy Pederson, St. Thomas 1998-02
210 - Jess Vadnais, Gustavus, 2004-08
207 - Ashley Luehmann, Saint Mary's, 2002-06
207 - Lucia Renikoff, St. Thomas, 2015-19
204 - Mikayla Miller, Gustavus, 2014-18
202 - Erin Collins, St. Olaf, 1995-99  
202  - Sophia Jonas, CSB, 2021-

Jonas is also the CSB's and the MIAC's all-time leader for threes in a season with 84 in 2022-23.  Jonas, who also set a MIAC record with 66 made threes in league play in 2022-23, has started 70 games (81 played) and has made 299-of-839 field goals for 35.6 percent, including the 202 threes. She is 72-of-94 from the foul line for 76.6 percent with 202 rebounds, 139 assists and 68 steals.

Senior forward Olivia Boily is averaging 8.0 points with 4.8 rebounds in 2024-25. She has eight career double digit scoring games, including two this year. Her career-best in points is 13 vs Augsburg on Dec. 3, 2022 with her 11 rebounds at Carleton on Jan. 26, 2023.

First-year guard Tatum Findley is averaging 7.6 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor. She has a career-high of 15 points against UW-River Falls.

First-year guard Lauren Arnold is coming off her best two-game performance at CSB. In each of the games against Simpson and UW-La Crosse, she scored 13 points for her career-high. In fact she had a run of eight straight made field goals over the two games and finished 8-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-2 from three-point range during the tournament. She is averaging 7.2 points and 1.4 rebounds while making 57.1 percent from the field on 12-of-21 shooting. Additionally, Arnold has hit 3-of-5 three-points and 9-of-12 foul shots while dishing seven assists with four steals.

First year forward Sofia Baldessari is averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. She has six made triples and is 8-of-12 for 66.7 percent from the foul line. She has a high of nine points against Minnesota Morris on Nov. 9 and nine rebounds against Simpson on Nov. 30.

In her first game this season, Kira Young scored 10 points and hit 3 of-5 field goals, including 2-of-3 from three-point range in a road win over UW-Eau Claire. For the season Young is averaging 7.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. She has made 42.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. Young has 289 career points and 151 rebounds. She has a career-best point total of 20 points against St. Catherine on Jan. 13, 2024 and eight rebounds twice against St. Olaf on Feb. 7, 2024 and St. Catherine on Jan. 13, 2024. Young has 14 career double-digit scoring games.