NORTHFIELD, Minn.. -- The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (12-8, 10-6 MIAC), which has three wins in four games, faces a road test against St. Olaf (4-16, 3-13 MIAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m., at the Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn.
 
CSB, which sits in fourth place in the MIAC with a 10-6 record,  has an overall record of 12-8. St. Olaf, which is 3-13 overall, owns a 4-16 record for 10th in the MIAC. After a 62-47 win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 3 when Lydia Hay had a career-high 26 points, the Bennies fell to Concordia-Moorhead, 81-66, on Feb. 5 at Claire Lynch Hall. Following the game at St. Olaf, the Bennies travel to face No. 5 Gustavus (19-1, 15-0 MIAC) at 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10.
 
Inside CSB Basketball
As a team, Saint Benedict is ranked third in scoring in the MIAC with 69.0 points per game. The Bennies, which sits fourth in the MIAC and 76th in NCAA DIII with a 41.3 field goal percentage, have a 4.8 margin of victory for fourth in the MIAC. The Bennies rank second in the MIAC and 22nd in NCAA DIII in three-point field goal percentage at 34.2 percent (175-of-512) and, with 8.8 threes per game, is first in the MIAC and 39th in DIII.  Saint Benedict is third in the MIAC in assists per game at 13.75. In assist-turnover ratio, CSB is third in the MIAC and 78th in NCAA DIII at 0.97.
 
Junior guard Sophia Jonas leads the MIAC and is eighth in NCAA DIII with 2.90 three-pointers per game with her league-best 56 total three-pointers. Jonas who averages 12.4 points per game for 10th in the MIAC,  Jonas is second in career threes at CSB with 183. With 1,130 career points in 80 career games, senior guard Carla Meyer is 12th all-time in points in CSB history. In an 87-63 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 3, 2024 at Claire Lynch Hall, Meyer became the 21st player to join CSB's 1,000-point club. Meyer and Jennifer Nash (1982-85) are the only players in school history to reach 1,000 points in 73 or fewer games as Nash accomplished the feat with 1,071 in 73 games and Meyer reached 1K in her 70th game. Meyer also is tied for sixth in assists all-time at CSB with 283 (Michelle Barlau, 1999-03). She is sixth in three-pointers all-time at CSB with 148. As a starting guard tandem, Meyer and Jonas have a combined 324 made three-pointers, which represents the most by a pair of teammates in school history.
 
About The Oles
Directed by second-year head coach Jasmine Borgmann, St. Olaf is 4-16 in league play with a 3-13 overall record. Chloee Smith leads the team with 11.3 points with 7.9 rebounds per game. Paige Yagodinski is providing 10.1 points and  5.5 rebounds per game. Concordia averages 54.4 points and allows 66.6 per game. 
 
Hay earns MIAC Basketball Offensive Player of Week and St. Cloud Orthopedics Honors
Senior forward Lydia Hay averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals in wins over St. Scholastica (62-47) and Augsburg (74-68) in winning the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Hay was also selected as the St. Cloud Orthopedics / CSB Athlete of the week.
 
Series Notes
In the all-time series, CSB has a 65-10 advantage over St. Olaf. The Bennies have won the last five meetings, including a 87-63 win on Jan. 3, 2023. CSB leads Concordia, 34-5, at home and is 31-5 on the road with a 65-7 edge in conference play.  
 
Player Notes – Jonas ranks 3rd on CSB's 3-point career chart
Sophia Jonas, who was named the CSB Invite Tournament MVP, is averaging 12.4 points per game for second on CSB and tenth in the MIAC. She has earned MIAC Offensive Basketball Player of the Week twice Nov. 13, and Nov. 20. Jonas is one of two players in CSB history (Laura Wendorff) to earn the MIAC weekly honor four times. Jonas has 183 career threes and ranks second all-time in made three-pointers at CSB. Jonas broke the MIAC and school record with 84 made threes a year ago. Through 17 games, she has 55 triples and is on pace of matching that performance of a year ago. On CSB's career list, she is four from taking over the all-time lead from Ashley Brown, who had 186 in 107 games from 2000-04. Thirty-five times, including nine of 15 games this year, she has made three or more triples in a game. Jonas now has six 20-point games in her career. Jonas, who has 41 career double-digit scoring games, has 782 career points, 161 rebounds with 110 assists in her career. She has made six triples in a game three times in her career, including twice in 2023-24 (UW-River Falls, Minnesota Morris). Jonas leads the MIAC and is eighth in NCAA DIII with 2.90 three-pointers per game with her league-best 55 total three-pointers (31st in DIII).
 
Senior guard Carla Meyer, who is averaging 13.8 points for sixth in the MIAC and 5.3 rebounds per game, has 67 double digit scoring games, including 17 in 2023-24. In her career Meyer has three career double-doubles. She earned her first-ever MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honor on Dec. 4 after averaging 14.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in wins over Saint Mary's on Nov. 29 and Hamline on Dec. 2. Meyer recorded ninth career 20-point game in the 84-59 win over St. Mary's on Jan. 17 and has three games of 20 points or more this season. Meyer ranks second all-time in program history in career assists per game at 3.5, sitting just behind Patty Meyer, 4.7, 1985-89.  
 
Kira Young, who is averaging 10.0 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game, set a career-high in points with 20 and rebounds with eight in a 86-75 double-overtime loss to St. Catherine on Jan. 13. Eleven times this season and in her career, Young has recorded double-digit points. She has double-digit scoring games of 13 vs Northwestern, 10 against UW-River Falls, 17 against St. Mary's, 12 against Hamline; career-high 19 against Augsburg (12-4-23); and 11 against Macalester St. Scholastica, Hamline and Gustavus-Adolphus, 14 against Macalester with her first 20-point game against St. Catherine. Ten times she has six or more rebounds. She has a career-high four assists against Northwestern (11/11/23) and St. Olaf (1/3/23). 
 
Sophomore guard Megan Morgan is averaging 8.8 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, while also dishing 39 assists (2.0 avg) on the season. Morgan has 11 career double-digit point games with a high of 20 vs. St. Scholastica on Jan. 6, 2023. Morgan has double-digit points in nine  games this year. She has scored eight or more points 17 times. Morgan, who had a career-high five threes and 17 points against Concordia on Feb. 5, has 290 career points, 63 assists, 159 rebounds, and 28 made threes in her career.
 
Senior forward, Lydia Hay is averaging 11.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Hay has 21 double-digit career scoring games, including nine in the past 13 games and 11 total this year, with a career-high of 26 points against St. Scholastica on Feb. 3, 2023. She has one double-digit rebound game of 11 against UW-Superior on Nov. 23, 2021. Hay, who was named MIAC Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 5, has totaled 527 points and 289 rebounds in her career at CSB and 542 points and 292 rebounds overall (seven games at MSU-Moorhead, 2020-21).  In addition, she has 59 career blocked shots, including 24 this year. She has at least one block 12 times and a career-high four vs Grinnell on Dec. 10, 2023. She has two or more blocks in seven of the past 12 games. 
 
Megan Driste, a sophomore wing, who is averaging 4.0 points per game, set a career-high with eight points against Northwestern (St. Paul) on 11/11/23 and against Macalester on 12/9/23. Against Northwestern, she established career-bests with six rebounds, three assists and two steals as well as two made three-pointers (tied against Macalester).  She has 79 total points, 19 assists and 38 rebounds.
 
Morgan Ebel, a senior wing, has two double-digit scoring games with both this season. She had her career-high of 15 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 3 at Claire Lynch Hall. Ebel, who recorded 11 points in a win over Saint Mary's on Jan. 17, is averaging 2.7 points and totaled 11 assists, and 20 rebounds this season.
 
Morgan Chmielewski, a junior forward, is averaging 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds a game and has recorded a career-high nine points five times this year against UW-River Falls on 11/16/23, Saint Mary's on 11/23/23, St. Olaf 1/3/24 and Macalester on 12/9/23. Chmielewski also grabbed a career-high in rebounds with seven against Grinnell on Dec. 10, 2023. She leads the Bennies by hitting 35-of-72 field goals for 48.6 percent while making 42-of-53 free throws for 79.2 percent.
 
 
CSB Head Coach Mike Durbin has 746 career wins
Veteran head coach Mike Durbin is in his 38th season with the CSB program in 2023-24. Durbin became the 17th active coach at all levels of the NCAA to reach the 700-win milestone on Feb. 24, 2021. In 37 seasons, Durbin, who will coach his 1,000th career game against St. Scholastica on Saturday, Feb. 3, has coached 72 All-MIAC first team selections, 54 honorable mention athletes, 15 players named to the All-MIAC Defensive Team and 15 all-first year team picks. Durbin has a 746-281 (.727) overall coaching record and a 742-259 mark (.741) with Saint Benedict. He ranks 15th among all active coaches regardless of NCAA division and has the most wins by any active DIII coach. Durbin ranks 36th all-time for most wins in a career, regardless of division. He is third all-time in wins in NCAA DIII. In addition to his outstanding overall coaching record at CSB, Durbin holds a 581-187 mark in conference play.
 
2023-24- Game Results (for game recap, click on link below)
Game 1: Saint Benedict 70 Minnesota Morris 54
Game 2: Saint Benedict 79 Northwestern 70
Game 3: UW-River Falls 82 Saint Benedict 75
Game 4: Saint Benedict 74 Saint Mary's 55
Game 5: Saint Benedict 77 Hamline 64
Game 6: Saint Benedict 67 Augsburg 38
Game 7: Concordia 77 Saint Benedict 61
Game 8: Saint Benedict 66 Macalester 58
Game 10: Grinnell 70 Saint Benedict 63 OT
Game 11: Saint Benedict 87 St. Olaf 63
Game 12: Saint Benedict 66 St. Scholastica 61
Game 13: Bethel 73 Saint Benedict 56
Game 14: No. 6 Gustavus 77 Saint Benedict 62
Game 15: Saint Benedict 84 Saint Mary's 59
Game 16: Hamline 54 Saint Benedict 51 OT
Game 17: Saint Benedict 64 Macalester 49
Game 18: Saint Benedict 74 Augsburg 68
Game 19: Saint Benedict 62 St. Scholastica 45
Game 20: Concordia-Moorhead 81, Saint Benedict 66