ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team fought hard and came back multiple times before ultimately losing to the College of Saint Benedict, 72-68 in a MIAC game Wednesday evening at Claire Lynch Hall. The Scots are now 2-19 overall and 1-14 in conference play, while the Bennies improve to 14-8, 9-6 MIAC.

Saint Benedict took control of the game early with a 12-4 run over the first five minutes. A basket by junior guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) and a conventional three-point play from sophomore guard Emma Karlin (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) brought Macalester to within three, 12-9. From that point the Bennies closed out the first quarter with a 9-2 run to lead 21-11. The lead grew to as many as 11, 29-18 when the Scots made their push. First year guard Megan Matthews (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) made the first of four consecutive baskets by Macalester that made the score 29-26 Saint Benedict. Kira Young ended the run with a basket to make the halftime score 31-26. The Scots held the Bennies to 20.0 percent shooting in the second quarter while holding a 16-7 rebounding advantage.

Baskets by sophomore forward Cady Davis (Minneapolis, Minn./Roosevelt) sandwiched around a pair of Bennies free throws made the score 33-30 early in the third quarter. Seven straight points by the hosts pushed their lead to seven, 40-33 with 6:44 on the clock. Again Macalester responded, as Davis, first year guard Faith Accardo (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Oaks Christian) and junior guard Sydnee Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) scored to make it a one-point game, 40-39. After the Bennies extended their advantage to 50-46, junior guard Kendall Bernbaum (Dallas, Texas/Shelton School) hit a three-pointer to bring it back to a one-point game, 50-49 with under a minute left in the third. Matthews scored on a layup in between four free throws by Saint Benedict, then Bernbaum hit a long jumper that was ruled a two-point basket to make the score 54-53 at the end of three quarters.

After Smith tied the score at 54-54 with a free throw, Saint Benedict tallied the next eight points to take a commanding 62-54 advantage with under eight minutes to play. But Macalester did not give in, as Daley made a three-pointer and Smith scored on a layup off a turnover to cut the deficit to three, 62-59 with 4:20 left. Matthews answered two free throws by Lauren Arnold with a three-pointer to make it a two-point game, 64-62 with 3:40 remaining. The Bennies eventually edged their lead up to 67-64, then Daley made back-to-back layups to put Macalester on top, 68-67 with 48 seconds left.

On the next possession, Megan Driste hit a big three-pointer for Saint Benedict with 28 seconds on the clock. This time the Scots did not have an answer, as Macalester missed a pair of threes and committed a turnover. Arnold was fouled and made both free throws, and one final three-point shot was off the mark, ending the Scots' upset bid.

Macalester shot a season-best 47.5 percent from the field for the game while holding the Bennies to 39.3 percent. The Scots also dominated the glass, out-rebounding their opponents 45-23, including 17 offensive rebounds. Smith led the way with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Daley finished with 11 points and seven boards while making all five of her field goal attempts. Matthews and Davis each scored 10 points, with Matthews dishing out three assists. Arnold led Saint Ben's with 17 points.

Macalester plays another MIAC game on the road on Saturday, Feb. 14 at Concordia College. The game starts at 1:00 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn.