ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- When Megan Morgan needed extra inspiration Saturday afternoon, she simply looked around her team's huddle.
 
There the College of Saint Benedict sophomore wing saw her three senior teammates - Carla Meyer, Morgan Ebel and Lydia Hay, each of whom were playing their final game at Claire Lynch Hall.
 
"This whole season has been for them," said Morgan, a 5-foot-8 graduate of Winona Cotter High School. "We wanted to come up with a big win today, especially since it was their last home game. Everybody was pretty fired up."
 
That passion showed as Morgan finished with a career-best 26 points - including a career-best 6-for-6 performance from behind the 3-point line - as the Bennies jumped on top of St. Catherine early and never let up, rolling to a 76-50 victory over the Wildcats in the regular-season finale for both teams.
 
Morgan also finished with 10 rebounds, notching the first double-double of her career and her team's first this season.
 
"She's a big-game performer," said CSB head coach Mike Durbin, whose team (12-8 MIAC, 14-10 overall) will be the No. 5 seed in next week's conference playoffs and will travel to Bethel (13-7, 15-10) for a first-round matchup at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 20) in Arden Hills. After the win today, the Bennies have now won 12 wins or more 29 times in school history.

"And she'll have a lot more big games in the years to come. I thought everybody played really well today. Everyone did something that made the afternoon fun," said Durbin.
 
It was especially gratifying for Meyer, Ebel and Hay, who were honored in a Senior Day ceremony after the game. Meyer finished the afternoon with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds. Ebel added 11 points, including three 3-pointers. And Hay, who finished with five points, six rebounds and two blocked shots, got her team on the board first with a pair of early free throws - the start of a run that saw the Bennies take a 24-3 lead.
 
"Our motto today was 'Have fun and ball out,'" Ebel said. "We wrote it on the board yesterday at practice. Our teammates all responded to get a win, not only for the team but for us as seniors."
 
That victory provided CSB with a measure of revenge. The Bennies fell, 86-75, to the Wildcats (14-6, 18-7) in double overtime on Jan. 13 in St. Paul. CSB led that game by three before St. Catherine first-year Hattie Fox (who led her team with 14 points Saturday) drained a 3-pointer to tie things up in the final second of play.
 
"We were hungry to win," said Meyer, who now has 1,191 career points - good enough for 10th place in program history. "We knew we were going to come out with a bang. We really wanted to beat these guys."
 
The Bennies finished 27-for-64 (42.2 percent) from the field, including an 8-for-17 (47.1 percent) performance in the first quarter. CSB also hit 13 3-pointers, tying a season-high and marking the 11th time the team has reached double figures from beyond the arc this season.
 
The Wildcats finished just 15-for-66 (22.7 percent) from the field and only 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range.
 
"I think we do Senior Day pretty well," Durbin said. "We've had good success here over the years. It's been a week-long celebration of our seniors and recognizing this was our last home game. All of those things kind of bring your radar up when it comes to how you want to perform. I thought we did a great job of locking them up defensively and offensively we just shared the ball so well," said Durbin.
 
So now it's on to another matchup with Bethel - the team that defeated CSB, 76-68, last Wednesday (Feb. 14) in Arden Hills. The Royals also won, 73-56, when the two teams met on Jan. 10 at Claire Lynch Hall.
 
"I think our confidence level is high," Durbin said. "I think we're playing good basketball. Bethel is a tough matchup, but we're a tough matchup for them also."
 
"A win like (Saturday's) gives us great momentum going into the playoffs," Morgan added. "Knowing that everyone played well today and we came away with a great team win is big. I think we all have confidence in our own games and as a team going into Tuesday."
 
MIAC Playoff Pairings
 
Games Tuesday - Feb. 20
 
No. 6 Hamline (10-10, 12-12) at No. 3 St. Catherine (14-6, 18-7), 7 p.m.
No. 5 Saint Benedict (12-8, 14-10) at No. 4 Bethel (13-7, 15-10), 7 p.m.
 
Semifinals Thursday - Feb. 22
Low seed remaining at No. 1 Gustavus (19-1, 23-2), 7 p.m.
High seed remaining at No. 2 Concordia (17-2, 18-4), 7 p.m.
 
Championship Saturday - Feb. 24
 
Semifinal winners, at high seed remaining, 3 p.m. (winner gets MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament).