ST. PETER, Minn. – Seniors
Lydia Hay (15 points) and
Carla Meyer (13 points) scored in double-digits, but the fifth-seeded College of Saint Benedict basketball team (15-11) had their season end in a 68-45 loss to top seeded Gustavus Adolphus (24-2) on Thursday night in the MIAC semifinals.
Gustavus, which also captured the regular season title, advance to the MIAC Playoff Championship against Concordia (20-4) for the second straight season. GAC and Concordia will meet at 3 p.m., on Saturday in St. Peter, Minn. As for Saint Benedict, the Bennies had advanced into the MIAC semifinals for the second straight year and finished the 2023-24 season with a 15-11 record.
The Bennies were led by Hay, who had 15 points and seven rebounds with two blocks and a steal. Hay, who was 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range, finished with her 24th double-digit scoring game, including 12 in the past 17. She finished her career with 619 points and 325 rebounds while accumulating 70 blocked shots.
Meyer added 13 points with six rebounds, an assist, and a steal. In her final career game, she recorded her 73
rd double-digit game. Meyer finished with 1,226 career points, which ranks ninth all-time in program history. With 3-of-7 from three-point range, Meyer pushed her career total to 160 triples for fifth all-time with her 302 career assists fifth in CSB history.
Junior
Sophia Jonas added nine points, two assists and a rebound. She had her 193
rd career three-pointer, which is the program's career mark.
Gustavus jumped to a 21-to-11 lead after the first quarter after hitting 10-of-20 field goals. With a 25-to-9 margin in the second quarter, GAC took a 46-to-20 lead to halftime. In that second quarter, GAC hit 10-of-20 field goals again for 50 percent in the half. CSB was 8-of-23 for 34 percent in the opening half and made 3-of-10 from three-point range.
In the third quarter, CSB connected on 3-of-10 field goals while Gustavus was 8-of-20 for 40 percent as they outscored CSB, 17-to-11. In the fourth quarter, the Bennies had a 14-to-5 advantage and held the Gusties to just 1-of-9 for 11.1 percent in the final quarter.
For the game, the Bennies made 16-of-49 shots for 32.7 percent and made 8-of-23 for 34.8 percent from three-point range. Gustavus, which had 19 points from Emma Kniefel and 15 from Syd Hauger, had a 44-to-10 advantage with points in the paint and a 16-to-8 margin in second change points.
