ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – In College of Saint Benedict head coach Mike Durbin's 1000^th game, senior forward Lydia Hay and a focused team helped the veteran coach celebrate a win on a special day.

For Durbin, it was his 742^nd win in the 1,000 games as a leader for the Bennies. And, Hay, who had a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds, played a key role as the Bennies moved to 12-7 overall and 10-5 in the MIAC with a third straight win. With the 62-45 MIAC home victory, CSB is now tied with St. Catherine for third in the conference.

"It was certainly an outstanding effort on the defensive end for us," said Durbin, who ranks 30^th all-time with 746 career wins in the NCAA. "Lydia (Hay) certainly played a starring role with an outstanding game. She was playing so well, we just kept getting her the basketball. I was pleased with everyone's effort," Durbin added.

In recording her 20^th career double-digit scoring game and her first 20-point game, Hay was 9-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. One of Hays' three pointers came in the fourth quarter when the shot clock was winding to zero and gave CSB a 57-45 lead.

"It was a big shot and timely," said Durbin. "It was a joy to see how we responded after halftime. The defense was the difference - that and Lydia."

Hay also had nine rebounds, including two on the offensive glass while grabbing seven off the defensive glass. She bettered her previous high of 17 points against Hamline on Dec. 2, 2023. In her best performance at CSB, Hay also recorded her 23^rd blocked shot of the season.

In the 62-45-win, defense was critical to the success of CSB, who had a season-high 14 steals while recording two blocks and owning a 43-to-36 rebound advantage. CSB forced 28 turnovers on St. Scholastica and with it had a 20-to-16 edge in points off turnovers. Down 33-to-28 at halftime, CSB held the Saints to just 12 second-half points, including three in the fourth quarter. It was a season-best defensive effort from the Bennies, which outscored CSS, 34-to-12 after halftime.

Senior guard Carla Meyer also had double-digits with 11 points while adding five assists, five rebounds and a career-high six steals. Meyer, who had her 66^th career double-digit scoring game sits at 1,119 career points for 13^th all-time in program history. With five assists she now has 278 in her career for eighth all-time.

Sophomore guard Megan Morgan added 10 points, three assists, three rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal. It was her 10^th career double-digit scoring game.

CSB junior guard Sophia Jonas hit a trio of three-pointers for nine points while grabbing four rebounds with two steals. She has moved into second on CSB's career three-point list with 182 as she passed Michelle Barlau who had 180 from 1999-03. Jonas, who set the single-season school and MIAC record a year ago with 84, now trails all-time CSB three-point leader Ashley Brown, who had 186 career threes in 107 games from 2000-04. Jonas has recorded the 182 threes in just 69 games.

Overall, CSB hit 22-of-66 field goals for 33.3 percent, including 9-of-29 from three-point range for 31 percent. The Bennies converted 9-of-9 foul shots. CSS, which had a team-high 14 points from Lexi Imdieke, hit 17-of-49 field goals for 34.7 percent and that included 6-of-16 from three-point range.

Game Summary
In the opening quarter, CSB made 37.5 percent from the field 6-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. As a result the Bennies took an 18-to-16 lead as Hay had nine points by making 3-of-5 shots from the field. St. Scholastica rebounded for a 17-to-10 advantage in the second quarter to take a 33-to-28 lead to halftime.

After the game was tied at 21 in the second quarter, the Saints had a 10-2 run for a 31-23 advantage, which was its largest of the game. Kloey Lind, who had nine points and eight rebounds, hit a field goal in the paint for CSS's eight-point margin. CSS was 7-of-12 shooting for 58.3 percent and made a pair of triples in four attempts in the quarter.

After trailing by eight points, CSB closed to five at half-time and then upped the defensive pressure to take control in the second half. In the third quarter, CSB was 7-of-15 from the field for 46.7 percent as they outscored CSS, 19-to-9, in the third stanza. CSS hit just 3-of-12 field goals for 25 percent.

In the fourth quarter, CSB converted just 29.4 percent of its field goals of 5-of-17 shooting but limited the Saints to 9.1 percent as they hit just 1-of-11 shots. As a result, the Bennies, which took a game-best 17-point lead with 1:26 to play in the fourth quarter, had a 15-to-3 scoring advantage in the final quarter and earned the 10^th league win of the season as well as the 22^nd in 24 meetings with St. Scholastica.