ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (9-2, 4-0 MIAC), which has won eight of the past nine games, will host Bethel (8-3, 4-0 MIAC) in MIAC play at 7 p.m., on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at Claire Lynch Hall.

St. Benedict, which defeated Hamline, 47-44, at home on Jan. 4, have opened the MIAC campaign at 4-0 and is tied with Bethel and No. 6 ranked Gustavus Adolphus (11-0) at the top of the MIAC standings. 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 Bethel

Directed by head coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer (296-217, 21st season), the Royals have opened with an 8-3 record overall and 4-0 in MIAC play. Most recently, Bethel recorded a 77-48 win over St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn. They also have MIAC wins over St. Catherine, 58-44; Concordia-Moorhead, 63-50; and Hamline, 65-53.  Bethel is averaging 65.5 points while allowing 55.3 points per game. The Royals hit 40.7 percent from the field while making 32.2 percent from three-point range and 67.8 percent at the foul line with a 39.7-to-32.8 rebound edge.  Elly Schmitz leads the team in scoring at 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Emily Erickson has added 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds while Anna Garfield at 10.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. 

Series Notes - CSB leads, 54-30

In the all-time series between Bethel and Saint Benedict, the Bennies own a 54-30 series edge. St. Ben's, which defeated the Royals, 72-69, on Feb. 20, 2024, have a 29-12 home record against the Royals with a 25-18 in road games and a 50-25 mark in MIAC play. In the first match-up between the schools, CSB dropped a 64-46 decision to Bethel on Dec. 12, 1981. St. Ben's won 30 straight games from Jan. 15, 1997 to Dec. 8, 2010.   

St. Benedict - By the numbers

Through 11 games, St. Benedict has a 63.0-to-54.8 points per game advantage over its opponents. The Bennies are hitting 39.4 percent from the field, 31.0 percent from three-point range and 65.4 percent at the foul line. 

On the glass, opponents hold a 36.8-to-35.2 rebound advantage while CSB has forced 16.0 turnovers while committing 14.7. The Bennies also averaged 10.9 assists and 7.1 steals per game.

Player Notes 

St. Ben's is led by junior guard Megan Morgan, who is averaging 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Morgan has scored in double-digits eight times this season and 21 times in her career. This year Morgan is shooting 46-of-99 from the field for 46.5 percent, including 19-of-54 from three-point range for 35.2 percent. She has hit 167-of-368 field goals for 45.4 percent while connecting on 57-of-159 three-pointers for 35.8 percent in her career. Morgan, who is hitting 82.3 percent on 102-of-124 shooting at the foul line, has 501 points, 243 career rebounds, 106 assists, 16 blocks and 37 steals. Morgan, who has two career 20 point games, recorded a career-high 26 points against St. Catherine on Feb. 17, 2024. She recorded a season-high of 18 points against John Carroll in 2024-25. 

Senior Sophia Jonas is averaging 10.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this year. Jonas, who has 51 double-digit scoring games (six 20 point games) and 942 career points, had four triples in the win over Hamline and is first all-time at CSB and sits second all-time in MIAC history for made three-pointers with 221.  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. 

MIAC 3-point leaders all-time

255 - Brooklyn Paulson Saint Mary's, 2018-23

221 – Sophia Jonas, CSB, 2021 -

211 - Missy Pederson, St. Thomas 1998-02 

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 76 games (87 played) and has made 323-of-899 field goals for 35.9 percent, including the 221 threes on 624 attempts for 35.4 percent. She is 75-of-98 from the foul line for 76.5 percent with 219 rebounds, 150 assists and 80 steals. 

Senior Olivia Boily is averaging 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds this season and has a trio of double-digit games this year. She is shooting 39-of-82 from the field for 47.6 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 392 points, 41 steals, 273 rebounds, 51 assists and 24 blocks. 

First-year guard Tatum Findley is averaging 8.1 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 49.1 percent from the floor. She 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 had her fourth double digit scoring game with 10 points. She is averaging 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds while making 47.9 percent from the field on 23-of-48 shooting. Additionally, Arnold has hit 7-of-15 three-points and 17-of-21 foul shots while dishing 17 assists with 11 steals.  

First year forward Sofia Baldessari is averaging 8.2 points and 6.5 rebounds. She has seven made triples and is 17-of-26 for 65.4 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 three games of double-digit points. 

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 4.9  points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Young has 311 career points and 170 rebounds. She has a career-best 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 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds. She had a career-high of nine points when she hit 3-of-3 from three-point range (career-best) in the win over St. Olaf on Dec. 4. She ranks third on CSB with 11 threes in 35 attempts for 31.4 percent.