ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Junior guard Megan Morgan had a season-high 22 points, but the College of Saint Benedict (9-3, 4-1 MIAC) dropped a 78-69 decision to Bethel (9-3, 5-0 MIAC) in a battle for first place in the MIAC at Claire Lynch Hall on Wednesday (Jan. 8).
 
With the setback, St. Benedict falls to 4-1 in league play and in third place in the MIAC. CSB, which has won eight of its last 10 games, is now 9-3 overall. With their win, Bethel (9-3 overall) improved to 5-0 in the MIAC and ahead of No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus (11-0, 4-0 MIAC) by a half-game in the league standings.
 
The Bennies will now hit the road for a pair of games at St. Catherine at 3 p.m., on Jan. 11 and at Concordia-Moorhead at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
 
Against Bethel, Morgan had her best game of the season as she hit 7-of-13 field goals, including 2-of-5 from three-point range, and knocked down 6-of-7 free throws for her 22 points. For Morgan, it was her third career 20-point game and she now has 22 double-digit games, including nine in 2024-25. Morgan also had three assists, two steals and two rebounds.
 
Aside from Morgan, CSB had two other players reach double digits, including first-year forward Sofia Baldessari, who had 12 points and six rebounds, and senior guard Sophia Jonas, who supplied 12 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and four steals. Jonas hit a pair of three-point field goals and now has 223 in her career and also has 52 double-digit scoring games in her career.  The Bennies also had nine points and two steals from first-year guard Lauren Arnold and a team-high seven rebounds from Kira Young.
 
Overall, the Bennies knocked in 40.6 percent from the field, hitting on 26-of-64 field goals, including 6-of-21 from three-point range for 28.6 percent. CSB, which lost the rebound battle, 34-to-28, made 11-of-15 free throws.
 
Key to their win was Bethel's 18-to-8 advantage in points from turnovers and a 40-to-36 margin of points in the paint. They also had a 26-to-7 edge in bench points.
 
After CSB had a 21-15 advantage in the first quarter, the Royals used a 17-10 margin to take a 32-31 lead to halftime. Then, Bethel outscored CSB, 22-20, in the third quarter and 24-18 in the fourth quarter to grab the conference win in a game that included eight lead changes and six ties. The Royals were led by Anna Garfield with 18 points while Emily Erickson had 15.
 
Game Summary -
In the opening quarter, CSB was able to jump to a 21-15 lead after hitting 50 percent from the floor on 9-of-18 shooting. The Bennies led by as many as 10 points (21-11, 2:15) after Olivia Boily, who had six points and three rebounds on the night, scored an inside basket.
 
In the second stanza, Bethel rallied to take a 32-31 halftime advantage with an 11-0 closing run. St. Ben's hit just 20 percent on 3-of-15 shooting, including 2-of-9 from three-point range. Bethel, which hit 41.7 percent in the opening quarter, hit 38.9 percent in the second quarter but had seven field goals to just three for CSB as they held a 17-to-10 overall quarter edge. In the first half, Morgan led CSB with 10 points while Baldessari had six points and four rebounds. The Bennies had a 20-to-18 edge on the boards.
 
In the third quarter, the Royals took a 54-51 lead after they outscored CSB, 22-20. Bethel hit 53.3 percent from the floor on 8-of-15 shooting as they retained the lead. Meanwhile, CSB hit 6-of-14 from the field on 42.9 percent and added 8-of-8 from the foul line.
 
In the fourth quarter, CSB was outscored, 24-18 but had a lead at 58-56 on a basket by Baldessari at the 7:44 mark. Bethel responded with a 6-0 run to grab a four-point lead and CSB was unable to get closer that two points the rest of the way. In the final stanza, CSB hit 47.1 percent on 8-of-17 shooting, which included 2-of-5 from three-point range. Bethel, which finished with 47.3 percent from the field, made 6-of-10 from the field and 11-of-12 at the foul line in the final quarter.