Benedictine (10-11, 6-3 NIIC) beat Clarke (6-15, 2-6 NIIC) for the seventh straight time dating back to the 2002-03 season. However, it was the visitors that had control of the game early, bolting to a 12-5 lead in the first eight minutes behind six points from Leigh Ann Koopmann.
After a pair of Koopmann free throws, Tamika Curtis got Benedictine's 14-0 run started with her first bucket of the game. Megan Walczak followed on the next possession with a 3-pointer, and Curtis scored again to knot the game at 12-12. Dana Sullivan scored five straight points on a lay-up and trey to put the Eagles ahead for the first time, and Curtis closed the run with another basket.
Minutes later, Jenny Belka got Clarke to within three points (21-18) with a lay-up, but that's when the hosts started to get hot from 3-point range. Walczak had a pair of triples, while Tiffany Hardy and Sullivan each added long-range shots of their own, as the Eagles pushed their lead out 33-24 with four minutes to go in the half. A Jennison Cox trey gave Benedictine its largest lead of the half (38-27) with just less than two minutes to go in the frame, and the Eagles settled for a 38-28 halftime advantage.
Amanda Burditt knocked down a trey to begin an 8-0 Benedictine run to start the second half; that built the host's advantage to 18 (46-28) less than four minutes into the final 20 minutes. The Eagles went cold on the offensive end, going scoreless for the next four minutes, but Clarke was only able to cut its deficit to 14. Sullivan knocked down a trey to stop the scoreless streak and push Benedictine back up by 17 (49-32) with 12:41 left in the game, but that was the last basket the Eagles would score.
Clarke was able to whittle the Eagles' lead to nine points (52-43) on a Lacey McCabe trey with 6:27 left in the game, and trailed by eight (54-46) on a Jamie Loggins jumper with 5:20 remaining. That was as close as the Crusaders would get, however, as Benedictine made 7-of-8 free throws in the final five minutes to hold off a comeback. Walczak and Lauren Zuro each hit a pair of freebies, while Burditt made 3-of-4 in that span.
Curtis led three Benedictine players in double figures with 13 points, while Sullivan and Walczak each contributed 11 off the bench. Sullivan, Walczak and Zuro (9) helped Benedictine's bench outscore its counterparts by a 34-9 margin.
Koopmann just missed a double-double with game highs of 14 points and nine rebounds for Clarke, while Briggs added 10 points and nine rebounds. Clarke held a 48-40 advantage on the glass, but managed just 25% (15-61) shooting.
Benedictine plays at Eureka College on Tuesday, February 8, before taking a week off from competition.