ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – First-year guard Lauren Arnold hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 2:30 to play in the fourth quarter to lead the College of Saint Benedict basketball team (9-2, 4-0 MIAC) to a 47-44 come-from-behind win over Hamline (7-4, 2-2 MIAC) on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 4) at Claire Lynch Hall.

With the victory, the Bennies moved into half-game lead over Bethel, 3-0; and Gustavus Adolphus, 3-0 at the top of the MIAC with a 4-0 record. Both Bethel and Gustavus have games scheduled today. CSB, which hosts Bethel on Wednesday (Jan. 8) at 7 p.m., improved to 9-2 overall with its eighth win in the past nine games.

St. Ben's Head Coach Mike Durbin was pleased with his team's resiliency and defensive focus.

"No matter the score or if we are down, this team continues to battle and stay focused on the goal at hand," said Durbin. "We played outstanding defense today. Anytime you hold an opponent to under 50 points that is a great effort on defense."

Arnold, a first-year guard from Chanhassen, Minn., registered her fourth double-digit scoring game with 10 points, including the critical three-pointer late in the game. She also had four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Joining Arnold in double-digits was senior guard Sophia Jonas with a team-high 12 points and first-year forward Sofia Baldessari with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Jonas, a senior from Hudson, Wis., had her 51^st career double-digit scoring game. She hit 4-of-11 three-pointers and now has 221 threes in her career, a mark that is a program-best and ranks second all-time in MIAC play. Jonas, who has three-straight double-digit scoring games and seven this year, also had two steals and a rebound.

Baldessari of Englewood, Colo., had her third double-digit scoring game of the season to go with a team-high eight boards, while adding a steal and an assist. Her three-point play with 4:17 to play in the fourth quarter gave the Bennies its first lead since a 16-15 advantage with 4:22 to play in the second quarter.

"We had some big plays from Lauren (Arnold), Sofia (Baldessari) and Sophia (Jonas) late in the game which really provided a spark," said Durbin.

CSB, which had not played since Dec. 17, showed a little rust offensively by hitting 27.4 percent from the field on 17-of-62 shooting. The Bennies made 6-of-32 for 18.8 percent from three-point range. However, the defense was a key for CSB as they held Hamline to 28.8 percent shooting (17-of-59), including just 4-of-19 for 21.1 percent from three-point range. The Bennies, also created 17 turnovers, including nine steals.

Game Summary –
CSB opened up a 13-4 lead after the first quarter despite hitting just 21.1 percent from the field on 4-of-19 shooting. In the second quarter, CSB was just 2-of-14 from the field and was outscored, 18-6, as the Pipers took a 22-19 lead to the break.

Overall CSB was 6-of-33 for 18.2 percent in the opening half and 3-of-18 from three-point range. Hamlin, which hit just 2-of-17 field goals in the opening quarter, made 42.9 percent from the field (6-of-14) in the second quarter, including 2-of-4 on threes, to improve to 25.8 percent for the game. Jonas led CSB nine points.

By hitting 7-of-14 field goals for 50 percent, St. Ben's, which closed on an 8-2 run, cut the Hamline advantage to 37-36 at the third quarter break. CSB had a 17-15 scoring edge in the quarter.  

In the fourth quarter, the Bennies and the Pipers battled to the wire. With 4:45 to play, Jonas hit her fourth three of the game as the Bennies cut Hamline's lead to 42-41. On the ensuing possession, Baldesarri converted an inside basket and with the "and one" gave CSB a 44-42 lead (4:15). Then, Arnold's go-ahead and game-winning three-pointer came with 2:30 on the clock and provided CSB a 47-44 margin. From then on, the Bennies defense did not allow a basket as CSB earned its ninth win of the season.