ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team could not overcome its worst shooting game of the season in a 60-42 loss to the College of Saint Benedict in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener on Wednesday night at Claire Lynch Hall.
Saint Ben's (5-1, 1-0 MIAC) held St. Olaf (5-2, 0-1 MIAC) to a season-low 32.1 percent (18-for-56) shooting from the field and broke open a six-point game at the half with a big third quarter. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Oles, who had not scored fewer than 62 points in a game during their 5-1 start entering the night.
Sophomore
Chloee Smith and senior
Paige Yagodinski combined for 21 of St. Olaf's 42 points in the loss, with Smith leading the team with 11 points and Yagodinski adding 10 on 5-for-8 shooting. Sophomore
Bree Wilkerson had eight points off the bench for the Oles, who were just 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) from three-point range after starting the night ranked sixth in the country in three-point shooting (40.3 percent). St. Olaf had made at least eight three-pointers in five of its six games, including three games with at least 10 makes.
After entering the game shooting 23.1 percent (9-for-39) from behind the arc, Sophia Jonas was 4-for-8 from three-point range on her way to a game-high 18 points to pace Saint Ben's. Jonas was the lone Bennie in double figures, as the hosts had six student-athletes score between five and nine points in the win. Saint Ben's shot 45.7 percent (21-for-46) overall in the game, including 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from long distance.
Neither team shot above 33.3 percent in a low-scoring opening quarter that ended with Saint Ben's up 13-12. St. Olaf started the game with back-to-back baskets in the paint from senior
Sophia Kormann and Yagodinski and led for over half the quarter. Three-point shooting was the difference in the second quarter, as Saint Ben's was 3-for-3, compared to 0-for-4 for St. Olaf, to push its lead to 28-22 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Bennies outscored the Oles by a 20-7 margin to extend their lead to 48-29 heading into the final 10 minutes. Saint Ben's turned six St. Olaf turnovers in the quarter into nine points and held a 12-6 advantage in points in the paint in the quarter. The hosts led by at least 15 for the duration of the fourth quarter.
St. Olaf will visit St. Catherine University on Saturday, Dec. 7 for a 3 p.m. tip-off at the Butler Center.
