Blazers Earn Automatic Bid to NCAA Tournament

Feb. 26, 2005 - The No. 3 seed Blazers (22-4, 17-4) knocked off the No. 1 seed Carleton Knights 77-73 in the MIAC Playoff Championship game this afternoon in Northfield. CSB avenged its two regular season losses to the Knights and ended their four-year run as MIAC Playoff Champions. The Blazers will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament which kicks off on Wednesday.

Carleton got off to a 11-7 lead when they went cold. Saint Ben's went on a 15-0 win in the middle of the first half as they grabbed a double digit lead. The Knights came back within three points with just under three minutes to go in the half, but the Blazers held on to take a 35-30 lead into halftime.

The Blazers came out of the locker room on fire and extended their lead to nine points in the first minutes of the second half. CSB then saw their lead diminish as the Knights evened the score at 49-49. The Knights were trailing by nine with less than a minute left but made a good run at the Blazers, scoring 10 points in a span of 39 seconds. Saint Ben's converted on 3-4 free throws in the final 30 seconds to hang on for the victory.

Senior Kim Johnson (Arden Hills/Mounds View) scored 19 points for the Blazers. Sophomore Darby Noreen (Avon/Albany) knocked in 16, while junior Anna Heikenen (Edina/Edina) added 11. The Blazers shot 47 percent from the field, while holding the Knights to 44 percent shooting. Saint Ben's will find out its opponent and game site tomorrow at 9 p.m.

Athletic Department
College of Saint Benedict
37 South College Avenue
St. Joseph, MN 56374
320-363-5301
Fax 320-363-6098