ST. JOSEPH, Minn. –  The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (14-7, 9-5 MIAC), which has won five of six games, will host Macalester (10-11, 5-9 MIAC) at 7:00 p.m., on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

CSB is 5-1 over the past six games following a 83-73 setback to Concordia on Feb. 8. Prior to the game, CSB had won five straight games including a 84-53 road win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 5. CSB guard Megan Morgan had 22 points in both the Concordia and St. Scholastica contests to lead CSB, which is 6-5 since the holiday break. Prior to defeating the Saints, CSB had a 65-60 win over Carleton College on Feb. 1, as Jonas made six threes and scored a season-high 20 points.  St. Ben's also had a 63-52 road win over St. Olaf, a 63-44 home win at Augsburg and a 73-64 home win over Saint Mary.

With four games to play in the regular season, St. Benedict sits 14-7 overall and 9-5 in the MIAC or tied for fourth place with Concordia.  CSB, which is battling for one of the six MIAC playoff spots in the postseason playoffs, 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. 

Notes on Macalester
Directed by head coach Katie Kollar, who joined the program in 2019-20, Macalester is 10-11 overall with a 5-9 conference mark. The Scots dropped a 63-44 decision to Hamline on Feb. 8 after a 64-57 win over St. Catherine on Feb. 5. That win followed two straight losses in MIAC play. Macalester is being outscored, 60.4-to-58.0, while hitting 37.2 percent from the field, including 24.8 percent from three point range. The Scots have been outrebounded, 36.1-to-35.9, by opponents.  Peyton Starks leads the Scots and the MIAC in scoring at 18.0 points per game and adds 6.4 rebounds per contest. Katherine Norquist is averaging 10.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

Series Notes
In the all-time series between Macalester and Saint Benedict, the Bennies own a 65-8 series edge. St. Ben's defeated Macalester, 64-49 on Jan. 27, 2024. St. Ben's, which has won two straight in the series, have a 35-1 record at home against the Scots and sit 30-7 in away games with 63-7 conference record. In the first matchup ever on Feb. 1, 1988, CSB defeated Macalester, 77-46. Over the last 10 games, CSB is 8-2 against the Scots.
 
St. Benedict – By the Numbers
Through 21 games, St. Benedict has a 65.1-to-60.0 points per game advantage over their opponents. The Bennies are making 40.8 percent from the field with an average of 23.5 shots per game. From three-point range, St. Ben's converts 31.3 percent of its shots with an average of 7.4 triples per outing. Four times, the Bennies have double-digit threes in a game, including a high of 14 against Minnesota Morris on Nov. 9, 2024. St. Ben's hit nine or more threes in a game three straight contests. At the foul line, CSB has made 69.3 percent. On the glass, opponents have a 33.4-to-37.0 rebound edge. CSB has forced 15.5 turnovers which has resulted in 12.0 points per game in points off turnovers. St. Benedict averages 7.3 steals per game and dishes 10.8 assists per game.

Player Notes
St. Ben's is led individually by guards Megan Morgan, who is averaging 12.8 points per game and Sophia Jonas, who is adding 12.5 per game.

Morgan, an exercise, and health sciences major has scored in double-digits 13 times this season in 21 games and 26 times in her career.  She is also averages 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

This year Morgan has made 87-of-200 field goals for 43.5 percent, which includes 35-of-97 from three-point range for 36.1 percent. She has made 59-of-69 free throws for 85.5 percent, a mark that ranks second in the MIAC and 12^th in NCAA DIII. In her career, Morgan, who has started 50 and played in 71 games, has hit 209-of-478 field goals for 43.7 percent, which includes 74-of-208 for 35.6 percent from three-point range. She is 136-of-163 for 83.4 percent at the foul line.

Morgan has career marks of 628 points, 291 career rebounds, 135 assists, 20 blocks and 48 steals. Morgan, who has five career 20-point games, has scored 22 points three times this year including against Bethel on Jan. 8, St. Scholastica on Feb. 5 and Concordia-Moorhead on Feb. 8.  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 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this year. Jonas, who has 61 double-digit scoring games (five straight games) and 1,089 career points (11.2 points per game/career), has 251 career made three-pointers, which includes 58 (43 in league games – ranked No. 1) this year – the top mark in the MIAC and 25^th in NCAA DIII. She also ranks 25^th in DIII with 2.8 threes per game. 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 and now ranks 14^th on the CSB all-time list. 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 four 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 19 straight games this year and has three or more triples 11 times this year and 50 times in her career. Twelve times, the Hudson, Wis., standout has made five or more threes in a game during her standout career.
 
MIAC 3-point leaders all-time
255 - Brooklyn Paulson Saint Mary's, 2018-23
251 – 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 86 games (97 played) and has made 377-of-1,037 field goals for 36.4 percent, including the 251 threes on 716 attempts for 35.1 percent. She is 84-of-110 from the foul line for 76.4 percent with 1,089 points, 260 rebounds, 168 assists and 95 steals. With 251 threes, Jonas is CSB's career three-point leader and ranks second all-time in the MIAC (Brooklyn Paulson, Saint Mary's, 255, 2018-23).

Senior Olivia Boily is averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds this season and has eight double-digit games this year and 13 in her career She is shooting 76-of-169 from the field for 45.0 percent. Her career-best in points is 15 points vs St. Olaf on Jan. 29, 2024. Her career-best in rebounds is 11 against Carleton on Jan. 26, 2023. Boily has 475 points, 51 steals, 304 rebounds, 57 assists and 26 blocks.

First-year guard Tatum Findley is averaging 7.6 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor by hitting 49-of-105 shots. She is 8-of-26 from three-point range and 39-of-52 for 75.0 percent at the foul line. Findley, who has eight 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 eight games of double digit points this year, including in five straight games, is averaging 8.2 points and 2.5 rebounds while making 49.2 percent from the field on 63-of-128 shooting. Additionally, Arnold has hit 12-of-36 three-pointers for 33.3 percent and 34-of-40 foul shots for 85.0 percent while dishing 43 assists with 27 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 5.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Young has 376 career points and 243 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 17 career double-digit scoring games, including three of the past four games, with one career double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) which came against St. Olaf on Jan. 29. She has two double-digit rebound games.

Megan Driste, a junior guard, is averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 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 and Carleton on Feb. 1.

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 763-291 (.732) overall coaching record and a 759-269 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 592-194 mark in conference play. The 592 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.