ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Senior Rachel Kelly led all scorers with 18 points to continue her rise up the program's all-time scoring list in the St. Olaf College women's basketball team's 79-50 road loss to the College of Saint Benedict on Saturday afternoon at Claire Lynch Hall.

Kelly shot 8-for-18 from the field on the way to the 18-point performance for St. Olaf (8-10, 5-10 MIAC) and moved up one spot to eighth in program history with 926 career points. After leading by three at the end of the first quarter, Saint Ben's (14-4, 11-4 MIAC) outscored the Oles by a 40-22 margin over the middle two quarters to pull away and finish off the regular-season sweep.

Kelly's eight made field goals saw her pass Elise Raney '14 for sixth in program history with 378 for her career, while her six rebounds bumped her up one spot to 13th with 484 during her time at St. Olaf.

Sophomore Paige Yagodinski was the only other Ole in double figures in scoring in the loss, recording 13 points and eight rebounds while shooting 5-for-11 from the field. Senior Cassie Fix chipped in with eight points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one blocked shot. St. Olaf was limited to 33.8 percent (22-for-65) shooting from the field, including 15.0 percent (3-for-20) from behind the arc.

The Oles hit seven of their first nine shots to take a 16-10 lead over the first 5:51 of the game, as Yagodinski was 3-for-3 from the field – including a pair of three-pointers – to score eight points during the hot-shooting start. The Bennies responded with an 11-2 close to the first quarter to take a 21-18 lead after one.

Saint Ben's continued its run early in the second quarter, stretching its lead to double figures for the first time in the game at 32-22 after scoring 11 of the first 15 points of the quarter. The hosts held the Oles to eight points in the second quarter to extend their lead to 38-26 at the halftime break and led by at least a dozen the rest of the way.

Carla Meyer paced the Bennies with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds despite shooting just 5-for-19 from the field, including going 0-for-8 from three-point range. Lydia Hay and Tori Szathmary added 12 points apiece, while Sophia Jonas contributed 10 points and a team-high four assists.

St. Olaf heads across town to face Carleton College on Monday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at West Gym.