ST. JOSEPH, Minn. –  The College of Saint Benedict basketball team (13-6, 8-4 MIAC), which has won four straight games in MIAC play, will travel to face the College of Saint Scholastica (11-8, 8-4 MIAC) at 5:30 p.m., on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in Duluth, Minn.

Following a 65-60 win over Carleton College on Feb. 1, CSB earned its fourth straight MIAC win as senior Sophia Jonas made six threes and scored a season-high 20 points.  St. Ben's winning streak also includes a 63-52 road win over St. Olaf, a 63-44 home win at Augsburg and a 73-64 home win over Saint Mary. As a result, St. Benedict improved to 13-6 overall and 8-4 in the MIAC, which places them in a tie for fourth in the MIAC with St. Scholastica (11-8, 8-4 MIAC).

This season in the MIAC, CSB, which is 5-4 since the holiday break, 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. 

Honors

On note, Jonas was named the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week after averaging 17.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in two wins this past week. In the victories she had a combined 11 three pointers. It was the fifth time in her career that Jonas has been named the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week. She was also named the St. Cloud Orthopedics/CSB Athlete of the Week for a second time.

Notes on St. Scholastica
Directed by head coach Jason Schmitz, who is in his 4th season, the Saints have opened with an 11-8 record overall and 8-4 in MIAC play. St. Scholastica is averaging 61.3 points while allowing 56.2 per game. The Saints hit 40.2 percent from the field while making 29.4 percent from three-point range. Freshman guard Ava Haus is averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 38.1 percent from the three. Haus has 45 three-pointers on the season. Kloey Lind follows by averaging 10,7 points per game while also providing 7.1 rebounds per game.

Series Notes
In the all-time series between St. Scholastica and Saint Benedict, the Bennies hold a 22-3 series edge. St. Ben's has a 12-2 home record and 10-1 road mark while sitting 6-1 in MIAC play against St. Scholastica. In the first match-up between the schools, CSB won, 85-70, on Feb. 19, 1982. In the most recent match up on Jan. 18 at Claire Lynch Hall, the Saints recorded a 74-51 on Jan. 18.
 
St. Benedict – By the Numbers
Through 18 games, St. Benedict has a 63.7-to-59.2 points per game advantage over their opponents. The Bennies are making 40.2 percent from the field with an average of 22.9 shots per game. From three-point range, St. Ben's converts 30.1 percent with an average of 7.1 triples per outing. At the foul line, CSB has made 68.1 percent. On the glass, opponents have a 33.9-to-37.2 rebound edge. CSB has forced 15.2 turnovers which has resulted in 13.1 points per game in points off turnovers. St. Benedict averages 7.1 steals per game and dishes 10.9 assists per game.

Player Notes
St. Ben's is led individually by Megan Morgan, a junior guard, who is averaging 11.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Morgan has scored in double-digits 11 times this season in 17 games and 24 times in her career. This year Morgan has made 73-of-172 field goals for 42.4 percent, which include 28-of-82 from three-point range for 34.1 percent. A junior guard from Winona, Minn., she has made 50-of-59 free throws for 84.7 percent. In her career, Morgan, who has started 48 and played in 69 games, has hit 195-of-450 field goals for 43.3 percent, which includes 67-of-190 for 34.7 percent from three-point range. She is 127-of-153 for 83 percent at the foul line. She has career marks of 584 points, 281 career rebounds, 130 assists, 19 blocks and 47 steals. Morgan, who has three career 20-point games, recorded a season-high 22 points against Bethel on Jan. 8 at home. 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 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this year. Jonas, who has 59 double-digit scoring games and 1,058 career points (11.1 points per game/career), has 246 career made three-pointers, which includes 53 this year. The 53 triples in 2024-25 by Jonas ranks first in the MIAC and 24th in NCAA DIII.  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 at least one three in 17 straight games this year and has three or more triples 10 times this year and 49 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
246 – 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 84 games (95 played) and has made 358-of-991 field goals for 36.1 percent, including the 246 threes on 702 attempts for 35.0 percent. She is 84-of-110 from the foul line for 76.4 percent with 1,058 points, 253 rebounds, 164 assists and 93 steals. She ranks 16th all-time in points and is just 14 points from moving into the CSB top 15 (Jennifer Nash, 1,071 points, 1982-85). With 246 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 8.3 points and 4.1 rebounds this season and has eight double-digit games this year and 13 in her career She is shooting 71-of-147 from the field for 48.3 percent. Her career-best in points is 15 vs St. Olaf on Jan. 29, 2024. Her career-best in rebounds is 11 against Carleton on Jan. 26, 2023. Boily has 464 points, 48 steals, 298 rebounds, 55 assists and 25 blocks.

First-year guard Tatum Findley is averaging 7.8 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 46.8 percent from the floor by hitting 44-of-94. She is 7-of-23 from three-point range and 37-of-49 for 75.5 percent at the foul line. Findley, who has seven 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 six games of double digit points this year, is averaging 7.7 points and 2.6 rebounds while making 47.0 percent from the field on 54-of-115 shooting. Additionally, Arnold has hit 10-of-32 three-pointers for 31.3 percent and 29-of-35 foul shots for 82.9 percent while dishing 38 assists with 23 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 5.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Young has 353 career points and 232 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 15 career double-digit scoring 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 3.8 points and 2.4 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 762-290 (.731) overall coaching record and a 758-268 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 591-193 mark in conference play. The 590 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.