ST. JOSEPH, Minn. –  With one game to play in the regular season, the College of Saint Benedict basketball team (16-8, 11-6 MIAC), which has won seven of nine games, will travel to face No. 25 Bethel (20-4, 16-1 MIAC) in the regular season finale at 1 p.m. in Arden Hills, Minn.
 
CSB is 7-2 over the past eight games after a 75-58 win over Augsburg on Senior Night on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Prior to that CSB took a 73-62 loss to No. 8 Gustavus on Saturday. The Bennies also recently recorded a 69-58 decision over Macalester at home on Feb. 12 when Jonas had a season-high 23 points with five three-pointers while setting the MIAC career three-point record. Prior to an 83-73 setback to Concordia on Feb. 8, CSB had won five straight games including an 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 8-5 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 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's.

With a game to play in the regular season, St. Benedict sits 16-8 overall and 11-6 in the MIAC and sits in fourth place. With a win over Bethel, CSB, which has clinched at least the No. 5 seed in the MIAC postseason playoffs, will host a first-round game on Feb. 25. CSB also could host with a loss to the Royals if Concordia falls to Carleton on Saturday. 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.

Notes on Bethel
Directed by head coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer (329-221, 22nd season), the Royals have rolled to a 20-4 overall mark with a 16-1 record and are tied with No. 6 Gustavus for first in the MIAC. The Royals are ranked No. 25 in the most recent national ranking by D3hoops.com. Since a 73-61 loss at home to Gustavus on Feb. 8, the Royals have won three straight games including a 74-34 win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 19 on the road. Bethel is averaging 67.3 points while allowing 53.3 points per-game. The Royals hit 41.9 percent from the field while making 32.9 percent from three-point range and 73.4 percent at the foul line with a 38.6-to-31.4 rebound edge. Elly Schmitz leads the team in scoring at 14.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per-game. Anna Garfield has added 12.2 points and 5.3 rebounds while Emily Erickson is providing 11.2 points per-game.

Series Notes - CSB leads, 54-30.
In the all-time series between Bethel and Saint Benedict, the Bennies own a 54-31 series edge. St. Ben's, which lost to the Royals, 78-69 on Jan. 8 at Claire Lynch Hall, has a 29-13 home record against the Royals and 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 23 games, St. Benedict has a 65.5-to-60.4 points per game advantage over their opponents. The Bennies are making 41.2 percent from the field with an average of 23.5 shots per game. From three-point range, St. Ben's converts 31.5 percent of its shots with an average of 7.3 triples per outing. Four times, St. Ben's has recorded 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 four of the past six contests. At the foul line, CSB has made 71.1 percent. On the glass, opponents have a 36.5-to-32.8 rebound edge. CSB has forced 15.2 turnovers which has resulted in 11.8 points per game in points off turnovers. St. Benedict averages 7.1 steals per game and dishes 10.7 assists per game.

Player Notes
St. Ben's is led individually by senior guard Sophia Jonas with 12.5 points per game while junior guard Megan Morgan is supplying 12.1 points per game.

Jonas hit five threes in the win over Macalester to become the MIAC's all-time career leader in made three-pointers. With another three against nationally ranked Gustavus, the senior guard now has 257 career threes. She surpassed the MIAC mark of 255 by Brooklyn Paulson of Saint Mary's during 2018-2023. Jonas also holds the MIAC season mark of 84 made threes in 2022-23. She has 64 made threes in 2024-25, a mark that leads the league and ranks in the top 25 in DIII.

Jonas is also averaging 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. With 62 double-digit scoring games, the senior has 1,128career points (14th, all-time at CSB), and has put together eight 20-point games in her career with the 23 points against Macalester on Feb. 12 her high total 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 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 three or more triples 12 times this year and 51 times in her career. Thirteen times, the Hudson, Wis., standout has made five or more threes in a game during her standout career. She has started 89 games (100 played) and has made 388-of-1,069 field goals for 36.3 percent, including the 257 threes on 738 attempts for 34.8 percent. She is 95-of-125 from the foul line for 76.0 percent with 1,128 points, 266 rebounds, 174 assists and 99 steals.  

Morgan, an exercise, and health sciences major from Winona, Minn., has scored in double-digits 15 times this season in 24 games and 28 times in her career.  She is also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. This year Morgan has made 93-of-219 field goals for 43.3 percent, which includes 37-of-107 from three-point range for 34.6 percent. She has knocked down 68-of-80 free throws for 85.0 percent, a mark that ranks second in the MIAC and 12^th in NCAA DIII. In her career, Morgan, who has started 53 and played in 74 games, is 215-of-497 on field goals for 43.3 percent, which includes 76-of-218 for 34.9 percent from three-point range. She is 145-of-174 for 83.3 percent at the foul line.

Morgan has career marks of 651 points, 300 career rebounds, 143 assists, 20 blocks and 49 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 Olivia Boily is averaging 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds this season and has 10 double-digit games this year and 15 in her career She is shooting 92-of-198 from the field for 46.5 percent. Her career-best in points is 15 points vs St. Olaf on Jan. 29, 2024, and Macalester on Feb. 12, 2025. Her career-best in rebounds is 11 against Carleton on Jan. 26, 2023. Boily has 511 points, 55 steals, 314 rebounds, 60 assists and 28 blocks.

First-year guard Tatum Findley is averaging 7.4 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor by hitting 52-of-112 shots. She is 9-of-29 from three-point range and 49-of-64 for 76.6 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 16 against Augsburg on Feb. 19. Arnold, who has 11 games of double digit points this year, including in eight straight games, is averaging 8.9 points and 2.7 rebounds while making 50.3 percent from the field on 78-of-155 shooting. Additionally, Arnold has hit 16-of-43 three-pointers for 37.2 percent and 41-of-47 foul shots for 87.2 percent while dishing 48 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 6.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Young has 404 career points and 269 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 18 career double-digit scoring games, including four of the past seven games, with one career double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) which came against St. Olaf on Jan. 29. She has three double-digit rebound games.

Megan Driste, a junior guard, is averaging 3.4 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 765-292 (.732) overall coaching record and a 761-270 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 594-195 mark in conference play. The 594 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.