ST. JOSEPH, Minn. –  The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (10-6, 5-4 MIAC) will host Saint Mary's (8-7, 6-3 MIAC) in MIAC play at 1:00 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Claire Lynch Hall.

After a 63-44 win at Augsburg, St. Benedict improved to 10-6 overall and 5-4 in the MIAC, which places them seventh in the conference. Saint Mary's is a game in front of CSB at 6-3 in the conference and 8-7 overall.  Since the holiday break, CSB is 2-4 which includes a home 47-44 win over Hamline on Jan. 4.

Earlier this season, CSB earned a 68-62 win over SMU on Dec. 10 on the road. CSB outscored the Cardinals, 44-34, in the second half to earn the road win.
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 Saint Mary's
Directed by head coach Courtney Shelton, who is in her first season, the Cardinals have an 8-7 mark overall. Most recently SMU has won two straight games, including a 71-54 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 22 and a 67-54 decision over Macalester.  SMU is averaging 62.7 points while allowing 63.3 per game. The Cardinals are making 41 percent from the field and 29.7 from three-point range. At the foul line, SMU is at 63 percent while holding a 38.0-to-34.0 rebound edge.  Individually, Brianna Nusbaum is averaging 14.7 points per game and 4.4 rebounds. Rylie Sternquist is adding 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds while Kali Olson is supplying 8.9 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds.

Series Notes – CSB leads Saint Mary's, 61-18
In the all-time series between Saint Mary's and Saint Benedict, the Bennies holds a 61-18 series edge. St. Ben's, which has won nine straight games in the series, have a 30-8 home record, 30-10 on the road with a 60-15 MIAC mark. In the first match-up between the schools, CSB lost, 66-49, on Feb. 5, 1982.

St. Benedict – By the Numbers
St. Benedict has a 63.1-to-59.3 points per game advantage over their opponents. The Bennies are hitting 39.2 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from three-point range as well as 66.1 percent at the foul line.

On the glass, opponents have a 34.3-to-37.7 rebound edge. CSB has forced 15.3 turnovers which has resulted in an 11.5 points per game in points off turnovers. St. Benedict averages 7.1 steals per game and dish 10.6 assists.

Player Notes
St. Ben's is led individually by Megan Morgan, a junior guard, who is averaging 12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Morgan has scored in double-digits 10 times this season and 23 times in her career. This year Morgan has made 66-of-153 field goals for 43.91, which 25-of-71 from three point range for 33.3 percent. A junior guard from Winona, Minn., she has made 40-of-49 free throws for 81.6 percent. In her career, Morgan, who has started 45 and played in 66 games, has hit 189-of-434 field goals for 43.5 percent, which includes 64-of-188 for 34.0 percent from three-point range. She is 119-of-145 for 82.1 percent at the foul line. She has career marks of 561 points, 268 career rebounds, 121 assists, 19 blocks and 43 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 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this year. Jonas, who has 56 double-digit scoring games and 1,005 career points, has 233 career made three-pointers, which includes 40 this year. At the nine minute mark of a 63-44 win over Augsburg on Jan. 22, Jonas became the 22^nd player in school history to reach 1,000 points. Against St. Catherine this year, 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, Jonas recorded 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 14 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 eight games, she has at least three triples in each game.
 
MIAC 3-point leaders all-time
255 - Brooklyn Paulson Saint Mary's, 2018-23
233 – 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 81 games (92 played) and has made 345-of-961 field goals for 35.9 percent, including the 233 threes on 663 attempts for 35.1 percent. She is 82-of-107 from the foul line for 76.6 percent with 1,005 points, 242 rebounds, 160 assists and 90 steals.
 
Senior Olivia Boily is averaging 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds this season and has five double-digit games this year and 10 in her career She is shooting 56-of-123 from the field for 45.5 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 432 points, 47 steals, 290 rebounds, 54 assists and 24 blocks.
 
First-year guard Tatum Findley is averaging 9.1 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 48.3 percent from the floor by hitting 42-of-87. She is 7-of-21 from three-point range and 37-of-49 for 75.5 percent at the foul line. Findley, who has seven 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 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds while making 45.9 percent from the field on 39-of-85 shooting. Additionally, Arnold has hit 10-of-24 three-pointers for 41.7 percent and 27-of-33 foul shots for 81.8 percent while dishing 28 assists with 18 steals.  She had a career-high six rebounds against John Carroll on Dec. 17 and a career-best six assists against Concordia-Moorhead.

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 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Young has 323 career points and 205 rebounds. She has a career-best single game point total of 20 points against St. Catherine on Jan. 13, 2024, and set a career-high with 14 rebounds, the most since the 2021-22 season (Carla Meyer, 14). Young has 14 career double-digit scoring games.

Megan Driste, a junior guard, is averaging 3.9 points and 2.7 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

CSB led by Head Coach Mike Durbin
In his 39th 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 759-290 (.730) overall coaching record and a 755-268 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 588-193 mark in conference play. The 588 wins is the most by an active coach in the MIAC. Durbin became the 17th active coach at all levels of the NCAA to reach the 700-win milestone on Feb. 24, 2021, when he earned his 700th win at the College of Saint Benedict with an 88-83 decision over St. Thomas at home at Claire Lynch Hall.