The Eagles of Benedictine University came storming into Thornton Gymnasium on a pleasant Saturday afternoon to play the host Spartans and came away with an 83-58 win in the Northern Athletics Conference opener for the long time rivals.

The Eagles jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead and would not look back the remainder of the contest, eventually building a 21 point halftime lead. 

For the half, the Spartans were led by freshman guard Becky Gifford, as she chipped in eight points on two-of-five shooting from the field to go along with four free throws and two rebounds. Junior forward Megan Russe also contributed six points.

The Eagles were led by junior forward Jenn Bren and freshman guard Colleen Forkin. The two each had nine first half points with Brenn adding four assists and four rebounds.

The difference in the opening half and eventually the contest was the Eagles dominance on the offensive glass. Benedictine had 12 first half offensive rebounds (24 total in the first half) and 28 offensive rebounds in the game (58 total rebounds).

The second half was much of the same with the Eagles dominating the ball and offensive boards and extended their lead to as much as 29 points.

Gifford led the AU with 16 points while Russe finished with 12 points and three blocked shots.

For Benedictine, Bren had 16 points and seven offensive rebounds, sophomore guard Tracey Walsh had 14 points and nine rebounds.

With the loss, the Spartans fall 1-3 and 0-1 in the NAC while Benedictine went to 3-2 and 1-0 in the NAC.

The Spartans next action will be on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 when they travel to Milwaukee School of Engineering. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wis.