Macalester vs. St. Benedict stats & play-by-play

First-place St. Benedict, going for its third straight conference championship, held off a scare from the Scots and went on to gain a 66-57 win over Macalester at the College of St. Catherine Butler Center. The upset-minded Scots were within five points at 55-50 with 4:08 to play, but could get no closer.

St. Benedict improves to 18-4 overall and 16-3 in the MIAC with its eighth straight triumph and holds its one-game lead over St. Thomas for the top spot in the league standings. Macalester is now 8-14 on the season, 7-12 in MIAC play.

A pair of Scots registered double-doubles to lead Macalester. Ann Baltzer (So., Bismarck, N.D.) had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Trina PaStarr (So., Minneapolis, Minn. / Southwest) added 17 points and 10 boards. Both Baltzer and PaStarr are both ranked in the top ten in the MIAC in both scoring and rebounding.

Alyssa Lunde (So., Rochester, Minn. / Mayo) and Majra Mucic (Fy., St. Louis Park, Minn.) added seven points apiece. Jessica Ramirez (Fy., Ocala, Fla. / Trinity Catholic) distributed five assists and Eartha Bell (So., Minneapolis, Minn. / Breck) collected four steals.

Mindy Schmidt scored 16 points, Mackenzie O'Neil had 15 with seven rebounds, and Ariel Tauer added 14 points to pace St. Ben's. The Blazers blocked 14 shots, including seven by Danielle Frank.

The Scots return to the court Saturday (Feb. 16) when they take on Carleton in Northfield.