ST. JOSEPH, Minn. –  The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (9-5, 4-4 MIAC), which has won eight of the past 12 games, is set to host St. Scholastica (8-6, 5-2 MIAC) in MIAC play at 1 p.m., on Youth Day on Saturday, Jan. 18 in Claire Lynch Hall.

St. Benedict stands 9-5 overall with a 4-3 mark in the MIAC which places them in a tie for fifth place with two other teams. CSB dropped an 80-68 decision to Concordia (9-5, 4-3 MIAC) in Moorhead this past Wednesday. Since the holiday break, CSB is 1-3 which includes a home 47-44 win over Hamline on Jan. 4.

This season in the MIAC, CSB also has home MIAC wins over St. Olaf, 60-42, on Dec. 4; and Carleton College, 72-52, on Dec. 7 and a road win at Saint Mary's, 68-62, on Dec. 10. At the Puerto Rico Clasico on Dec. 16-17, CSB recorded a 54-41 win over Caltech and took a 63-59 overtime defeat to John Carroll. 

Notes on St. Scholastica
Directed by head coach Jason Schmitz, who is in his 4th season, the Saints have opened with an 8-6 record overall and 5-2 in MIAC play. Most recently St. Scholastica defeated Augsburg in a 67-48 decision in Duluth, Minn. St. Scholastica is averaging 59.7 points while allowing 55.8 per game. The Saints hit 38.4 percent from the field while making 28.6 percent from three-point range. Freshman guard Ava Haus is averaging 15.3 points per game while shooting 40.7 percent from the three. Haus has 37 three-pointers on the season, which is tied for the MIAC-lead with Sophia Jonas. Kloey Lind follows by averaging 9.3 points per game while also providing 7.5 rebounds per game. Lexi Imdieke contributes with 6.5 points per game.
 
Series Notes – CSB leads CSS, 22-2
In the all-time series between St. Scholastica and Saint Benedict, the Bennies hold a 22-2 series edge. St. Ben's, which has won 17 straight games in the series, have a 12-1 home record and sit 6-0 in MIAC play against St. Scholastica. In the first match-up between the schools, CSB won, 85-70, on Feb. 19, 1982. In the most recent match up on Feb. 3, 2024, CSB took a 62-45 win over the Saints.
 
St. Benedict – By the Numbers
St. Benedict has a 63.9-to-59.4 points per game advantage over their opponents. The Bennies are hitting 40.0 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from three-point range as well as 65.7 percent at the foul line.

On the glass, opponents have a 37.1-to-33.8 rebound edge. CSB has forced 15.2 turnovers which has resulted in an 11.1 points per game in points off turnovers. St. Benedict averages 6.9 steals per game and dish 10.8 assists.

Player Notes
St. Ben's is led individually by Megan Morgan, a junior guard, who is averaging 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Morgan has scored in double-digits nine times this season and 22 times in her career. This year Morgan has made 60-of-131 field goals for 45.8 percent, which included 23-of-68 from three-point range for 33.8 percent. A junior guard from Winona, Minn., she has made 34-of-40 free throws for 85 percent. In her career, Morgan, who has started 43 and played in 64 games, has hit 182-of-409 field goals for 44.5 percent, which includes 62-of-179 for 34.6 percent from three-point range. She is 111-of-134 for 82.8 percent at the foul line for 35.1 percent. She has career marks of 537 points, 252 career rebounds, 113 assists, 18 blocks and 39 steals. Morgan, who has three career 20-point games, recorded a season-high 22 points against Bethel on Jan. 8 at home. She also has career-high 26 points against St. Catherine on Feb. 17, 2024. Her career-high in rebounds is 10 twice, including against Hamline on Dec. 10, 2022, and on Feb. 17, 2024, against St. Catherine when she had her only double double of her career. With seven assists against Carleton on Dec. 7, 2024, Morgan had her career-best.
 
Senior Sophia Jonas is averaging 11.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this year. Jonas, who has 54 double-digit scoring games and 987 career points, has 230 career made three-pointers, which includes a MIAC-best 37 (tied for 1st). In the loss to St. Catherine on Jan. 11, Jonas had her career-first double double with 16 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. She has a career-high 26 points vs UW-River Falls on Nov. 16, 2023. Against Saint Mary's on Dec. 10, 2024, she had a career-best five steals. She has made six triples in a game three times in her career, including twice in 2023-24 (UW-River Falls, Minnesota Morris). Six times, she has had five assists in a game, including three times in the 2024-25 season. Jonas has made at least one three in 12 straight games this year and has three or more triples eight times this year and 47 times in her career. Ten times, the Hudson, Wis., standout has made five or more threes in a game during her standout career. In five of the last seven games, she has at least three triples in each game.

MIAC 3-point leaders all-time
255 - Brooklyn Paulson Saint Mary's, 2018-23
230 – 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 79 games (90 played) and has made 339-of-942 field goals for 36 percent, including the 230 threes on 652 attempts for 35.3 percent. She is 79-of-104 from the foul line for 76.0 percent with 987 points, 238 rebounds, 157 assists and 86 steals. 

Senior Olivia Boily is averaging 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds this season and has four double-digit games this year and 10 in her career She is shooting 50-of-109 from the field for 45.9 percent. Her career-best in points is 13 vs Augsburg on Dec. 3, 2022, with her career-best in rebounds being 11 against Carleton on Jan. 26, 2023. Boily has 417 points, 44 steals, 282 rebounds, 54 assists and 24 blocks. 

First-year guard Tatum Findley is averaging 8.7 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor by hitting 34-of-72. She is 5-of-17 from three-point range and 31-of-42 for 73.8 percent at the foul line. Findley, who has five double digit scoring games has a career-high of 15 points against UW-River Falls and Saint Mary's this year. 

First-year guard Lauren Arnold was named St. Cloud Orthopedics/CSB Athlete of the Week after hitting the game-winning shot with 2:30 left in the game in a 47-44 win over Hamline on Jan. 4. Arnold set her career-high in points with 15 against St. Catherine on Jan. 11. Arnold, who has five games of double digit points this year, is averaging 7.4 points and 2.4 rebounds while making 50 percent from the field on 36-of-72 shooting. Additionally, Arnold has hit 10-of-21 three-pointers for 37.6 percent and 21-of-25 foul shots for 84 percent while dishing 25 assists with 16 steals.  She had a career high six rebounds against John Carroll on Dec. 17 and a career-best six assists against Concordia-Moorhead. She has made a three in four straight games.

First year forward Sofia Baldessari is averaging 8.5 points and 6.4 rebounds. She has seven made triples and is 17-of-29 for 58.6 percent from the foul line. Baldessari scored a career-high 14 points in the win over Carleton when she was 7-of-9 from the field, also a career-best. She also has a high of nine rebounds against Simpson on Nov. 30. Baldessari has four games of double-digit points, which have occurred over the past six games. 

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 4.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Young has 312 career points and 185 rebounds. She has a career-best single game 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. 

Megan Driste, a junior guard, is averaging 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds. She had a career-high of 12 points against Concordia on Wednesday, Jan. 15. She had a career-best three triples against St. Olaf on Dec. 4 and matched the three triples against Concordia. She ranks third on CSB with 17 threes in 52 attempts for 32.7 percent.
 
CSB led by Head Coach Mike Durbin
In his 39^th season, Durbin has coached 74 All-MIAC First Team selections, 55 honorable mention athletes, 15 players named to the All-MIAC Defensive Team and 15 all-first year team picks. Durbin has a 758-289 (.729) overall coaching record and a 754-267 mark with Saint Benedict. He ranks 15th among all active coaches regardless of NCAA division and has the most wins by an active DIII coach. He 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 587-192 mark in conference play. The 587 wins is the most by an active coach in the MIAC. Durbin became the 17^th active coach at all levels of the NCAA to reach the 700-win milestone on Feb. 24, 2021, when he earned his 700^th win at the College of Saint Benedict with an 88-83 decision over St. Thomas at home at Claire Lynch Hall.