Blazers Blast Bethel 77-51

St. Cloud Times Feb. 1, 2005

Frank Rajkowski

Another Monday, another milestone for College of St. Benedict senior Kim Johnson.

Exactly one week after becoming the 15th player in school history to score over 1,000 points in her collegiate career, the 6-foot-4 post became just the second Blazers player to pull down 800 rebounds in her team's 77-51 MIAC victory over Bethel Monday night at Claire Lynch Hall.

Johnson finished with eight rebounds, giving her a career total of 803. That moves her past Kim Krize (1985-88) and into second place in school history. Krize finished her career with 799.

"The rebounds actually mean a little more to me than scoring 1,000 points did," said Johnson, who scored 13 points Monday and recorded her second double-double of the season. "Points usually come in twos and threes, but rebounds come one by one. That makes them a bigger deal."

Laura Wendorff (1996-2000) holds the school record for rebounds with 1,053. She also holds the school's scoring record with 1,775. She and Johnson are the only two players in school history to cross the 1,000-point and 800-rebound marks.

"She deserves to be ranked among the best players we've had here," Blazers coach Mike Durbin said. "She will live on in St. Benedict lore as a top-shelf basketball player."

Monday's win got the Blazers (11-3 MIAC, 13-3 overall) back on track after a 84-57 loss at Carleton last Saturday. St. Benedict is tied with Concordia for second place in the MIAC standings.

"This was very important," said Johnson, whose team was playing at home for the first time since Jan. 17, a stretch of four road games. "We've been on the road for two weeks. It was just nice to be back on our home floor. Our shots started falling and we moved the ball a lot better than we did against Carleton."

The Blazers' shots did start falling eventually, but not in the first half. St. Benedict was just 9-for-33 (27.3 percent) from the field prior to halftime. Nevertheless, thanks in part to a 27-13 edge in rebounding (including 13 offensive rebounds compared to Bethel's one), the Blazers took a 29-20 halftime lead.

One of those 27 rebounds — specifically a defensive rebound with 3:11 to play in the half — was Johnson's 800th.

"Our rebounding gave us our first-half margin," Durbin said. "We shot very poorly, but we played really good defense and we were able to control the glass."

St. Benedict turned things around in the second half, finishing 17-for-30 (56.7 percent) from the field and steadily building its lead. Junior post Anna Heikenen led the Blazers with 15 points and eight rebounds. St. Benedict also got 38 points from its bench. Sophomore Laura Zwach and freshman Angela Merkling led the way with 11 points each.

"Our bench is really confident right now," Zwach said. "We have a lot of players who can shoot. Players like (freshman) Judy (Falvey, who finished with five points) and Angela aren't afraid to take shots when they get them."

But for the second Monday in a row, it was Johnson's whose accomplishments stood out.

"My Dad keeps me on up to speed on all that stuff," said Johnson, who was presented a game ball before the game to commemorate her 1,000th point. "He's Mr. Stats. I just try to work hard and keep playing the game the best I can."

BETHEL (51)

Emily Uzpen 4-7 1-2 9 (6 rebounds, 2 assists), Jen Ahlberg 8-17 1-1 18 (7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals), Emily Stavem 2-5 1-2 5 (3 rebounds), Bridget Weber 0-3 0-0 0, Heather Davis 5-10 1-2 11 (3 rebounds, 2 assists), JoLynn Thielke 1-4 0-0 2 (2 rebounds), Molly Daniels 0-0 0-0 0, Angela Seim 1-1 0-0 2, Kayla Shumpski 1-3 0-0 2 (3 assists, 2 rebounds), Charity Reitmeier 1-7 0-0 2 (4 assists). FG 23-57, FT 4-7, REB 26, TO 18, PF 20.

ST. BENEDICT (77)

Darby Noreen 0-6 3-4 3 (5 rebounds), Jen Dalhed 2-4 2-2 6 (3 steals, 2 assists), Katie Kempe 1-6 0-0 2 (7 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds), Anna Heikenen 5-9 5-8 15 (8 rebounds, 2 assists), Kim Johnson 6-11 0-0 13 (8 rebounds, 3 assists), Judy Falvey 2-6 0-0 5 (3 rebounds, 2 assists), Mackenzie O'Neil 0-1 0-0 0, Laura Zwach 3-5 4-4 11 (2 rebounds), Brittni Nickel 0-0 0-1 0, Angela Merkling 3-5 3-4 11 (2 rebounds), Tara Schloe 1-3 1-2 3 (3 rebounds), Justine Richels 1-3 0-0 3, Rachel Davich 1-2 0-0 2 (4 rebounds), Ellie Boone 1-2 0-0 2 (5 rebounds), Jenna Tody 0-0 1-2 1. FG 26-63, FT 19-27, REB 49, TO 18, PF 12.

3-point goals: B — 1-9 (Uzpen 0-3, Ahlberg 1-3, Thielke 0-2, Shumpski 0-1); SB — 6-18 (Kempe 0-2, Dalhed 0-2, Noreen 0-2, Johnson 1-1, Falvey 1-1, Zwach 1-3, Merkling 2-3, Richels 1-3, Davich 0-1); Fouled out: none; Technical fouls: none; Dead-ball rebounds: B 2, SB 5; Points in the paint: B 32, SB 26; Points off turnovers: B 14, SB 16; Second chance points: B 4, SB 14; Bench points: B 8, SB 38; Attendance: 313; Halftime score: SB 29, B 20.

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