Ellie Boone had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Ariel Tauer also had 12 points as first-place St. Benedict survived 34% shooting and edged the host Tommies 47-44 in MIAC women's basketball play Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena.
The Blazers (11-3 overall, 10-1 MIAC), who led 27-20 at halftime, scored only 12 points in the last 14:00 but held on to win. They outrebounded UST 41-29 but survived 3-for-22 shooting from the 3-point arc and 8-for-15 shooting at the foul line. It was the first time since Jan. 2003 the Blazers were held under 50 points in MIAC play.
Melissa Gotchnik had 14 points and seven rebounds and Jessica Katch had nine points, seven rebounds and three steals for UST (7-7, 6-5). The Toms lost their 10th in a row to the Blazers as they made just 1-of-11 from 3-point range and shot 40% on the game.
UST went scoreless on three possessions in the final minute trailing by two or three points.
The Blazers' biggest lead was 32-22 with 17:49 left on Tauer's two free throws.
Gotchnik, the Toms’ leading scorer, on the season fouled out for the Toms with 2:55 to go. Seconds later, UST pulled within 42-40 on one free throw by Chelsea Wirtz.
Boone spinned inside for two for a 44-40 lead with 2:36 to play, but Katch answered with an inside basket for UST with 2:15 left.
Tauer drove for a basket and a 46-42 lead with 1:49 left. After a Tommie miss, the Blazers turned it over with 1:11 remaining. Freshman Katy Sanders made two free throws with 1:03 left to pull the Toms within 46-44.
After a Blazer turnover, the Toms had a chance to tie but were called for a three-second lane violation. The Blazers missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 23 seconds to go and UST got the team rebound out of bounds. But UST missed a tying shot with 13 seconds left.
Tauer was fouled and missed one and made one free throw for a 47-44 lead with 10 seconds to play. The Blazers forced a jump ball with :00.2 on the clock. UST had the arrow and gained possession but couldn't get off a shot after the inbound pass.
The Toms travel to St. Mary's on Saturday.
see" class="red" rel=nofollow>http://www.stthomas.edu/tommies/WBB/stats/1-17-wbb.htm">see box score here