St. Benedict led the last seven and a half minutes of the game, but Buena Vista never let the Blazers get up by more than seven. Leading 73-71 with 12 seconds remaining, St. Benedict's Anna Heikenen nailed two free throws to put the Blazers up four. She later nailed two more free throws to seal the game.
"We did a good job of hanging in through the second half," commented St. Benedict coach Mike Durbin. "We did a great job of spacing on offense and getting more movement. We hit some big three-pointers throughout the game."
Darby Noreen scored a game-high 17 points for St. Benedict, who improved to 24-4 on the season. Katie Kempe added 15 points while Heikenen tallied 14. Kim Johnson registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds as St. Benedict won its eighth straight game.
Katie Maguire and Tracy Hartwig led Buena Vista with 14 points. Maguire shot just three of 14 from the floor. Kristina Kapler had 12 points and Lindsey Meyer tallied 11.
"What hurt us was bad possessions," stated Buena Vista coach Janet Berry. "I feel badly for our kids. We had a great season."
St. Benedict shot 24 of 51 (47 percent) from the field while Buena Vista shot 21 of 54 (39 percent). Both teams registered nine three pointers, 20 free throws, eight steals, and 15 turnovers. The Beavers held a 34-31 rebounding edge.
The loss was Buena Vista's second in a row following a 23-game winning streak. It is the first time the Beavers have lost two in a row since January of 2003.
St. Benedict now advances to Sectionals at a site to be determined on Sunday.
College of St. Benedict vs Buena Vista University 3/5/05 7:00 at Storm Lake, IA At Storm Lake, IA COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT 77, BUENA VISTA UNIVERSITY 71 COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT (24-4) Darby Noreen 6-10 3-4 17; Katie Kempe 3-7 8-8 15; Anna Heikenen 3-9 8-10 14; Kim Johnson 4-7 0-0 10; Justine Richels 3-6 0-0 9; Tara Schloe 2-5 0-0 4; Ellie Boone 1-4 1-2 3; Jen Dalhed 1-2 0-0 3; Laura Zwach 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-51 20-24 77. BUENA VISTA UNIVERSITY (25-3) MAGUIRE, Katie 3-14 6-7 14; HARTWIG, Tracy 4-8 4-4 14; KAPLER, Kristina 5-14 2-3 12; MEYER, Lindsey 4-5 0-0 11; STALEY, Kelli 1-1 5-6 8; GRIGGS, Jess 2-7 3-4 8; HOLTORF, Megan 1-3 0-0 2; HEITMANN, Penni 1-2 0-0 2; PUTNEY, Melissa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 20-24 71. College of St. Benedict....... 32 45 - 77 Buena Vista University........ 36 35 - 71 3-point goals-College of St. Benedict 9-19 (Justine Richels 3-5; Darby Noreen 2-4; Kim Johnson 2-4; Jen Dalhed 1-1; Katie Kempe 1-4; Anna Heikenen 0-1), Buena Vista University 9-21 (MEYER, Lindsey 3-3; MAGUIRE, Katie 2-10; HARTWIG, Tracy 2-4; GRIGGS, Jess 1-3; STALEY, Kelli 1-1). Fouled out--College of St. Benedict-None, Buena Vista University-None. Rebounds-College of St. Benedict 31 (Kim Johnson 11), Buena Vista University 34 (HOLTORF, Megan 5; STALEY, Kelli 5; MAGUIRE, Katie 5; KAPLER, Kristina 5). Assists-College of St. Benedict 14 (Darby Noreen 5), Buena Vista University 11 (MAGUIRE, Katie 6). Total fouls-College of St. Benedict 22, Buena Vista University 17. A-1100 NCAA III Round 2