Sophomore point guard Brynne Rolland scored 18 points, leading the St. Thomas women’s basketball team to its third straight win against St. Benedict 64-56 Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.
Sophomore guards Shayla Wallin and Amber Darge were team leaders, scoring 10 and eight points each, respectively.
“I don’t think it was the prettiest game, and I don’t think we executed as well or defended as well as we could,” coach Ruth Sinn said. “(But) we found a way to win, and that’s the most important thing.”
The game started slow, with the Tommies (10-3, 6-2 MIAC) scoring just 12 points each quarter.
“I thought mentally in the first half we weren’t in it, but coach (Sinn) had a talk, we all had a talk with each other and we got our act together and finally pulled through.” Rolland said.
The Tommies picked up the scoring in the second half, with 14 points in the third quarter and 26 points in the fourth quarter.
“We really picked up our communication and our energy, and just our toughness in general,” Wallin said.
The game remained close throughout, with neither the Bennie’s (6-6, 2-5 MIAC) nor the Tommies leading by more than 8.
“I was hoping that we’d build a little bit more on our energy and our purpose and in our focus,” Sinn said. “For a while, we just couldn’t get things together with the energy.”
The Tommies host Carleton at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.