ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team gave Saint Benedict all it could handle for three quarters before falling, 72-57 in a MIAC game Wednesday evening in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 1-10 overall and 0-5 in the conference, while the Bennies improve to 9-3, 4-1 MIAC.

Five different players scored Macalester's first five baskets in building a 10-3 lead. After Saint Benedict responded with five straight points, a three-pointer by junior guard Sydnee Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) started a 6-0 run that put the Scots on top, 16-8 with 3:31 left in the first quarter. A Bennies' basket in the final seconds of the quarter made the score 16-10 heading into the second quarter. Macalester shot 58.3 percent from the field in the quarter while holding Saint Benedict to 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) shooting.

After Saint Benedict reduced Macalester's lead to one early in the quarter, a layup by sophomore guard Emma Karlin (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery), a free throw from first year guard Faith Accardo (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Oaks Christian) and a conventional three-point play by junior guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) put the Scots on top, 22-15 with 4:50 remaining in the half. But a 12-2 run gave the Bennies their first lead of the game, 27-24 before taking a 32-29 edge at the half.

In the third quarter Saint Benedict pushed the lead up to eight, 44-36 with 3:32 on the clock before Macalester responded with four points from Daley and a three by junior guard Kendall Bernbaum (Dallad, Texas/Shelton School) to make it a one-point game, 44-43. Four points by Kira Young to close out the quarter gave the Bennies a 48-43 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Saint Ben's broke open the close game by scoring eight points in the first 50 seconds of the fourth quarter to lead, 56-43. Again the Scots answered with one last push, getting seven straight points from Smith to bring Macalester to within six, 56-50 with 6:40 remaining. But the Bennies tallied the next nine points, and the Scots never came closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Saint Benedict shot 60 percent in the fourth quarter to finish the game with a 30.7 shooting percentage compared to 46.0 percent for Macalester.

Ten Scots scored at least two points in the game. Smith and Daley each tallied 12 points to lead Macalester, with Daley grabbing 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Daley also dished out four assists, while Smith recorded three blocks. Karlin had seven rebounds to go with four points, and senior forward Ellie Corbett (Austin, Texas/James Bowie) blocked two shots. Megan Morgan led the Bennies with 19 points.

Macalester plays another conference game on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Augsburg University. The game begins at 1:00 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn.