Before the No. 22-ranked Raven women's basketball team could turn their attention on their first match up of season against No. 11 MNU on Saturday, they had to take care of Culver-Stockton College inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium on Thursday.

Benedictine (13-2, 3-0 HAAC) used a 50-percent shooting effort in the first half to lead Culver (5-9; 0-4 HAAC) 39-23 at the half and then held the Wildcats to just six second-half field goals to earn the 71-47 win.

Culver led early, in fact the Wildcats held a lead over the Ravens until the midpoint of the first half.

A 3-pointer from Raven guard Kelsey Anselmi (Sr., Olathe) tied the game at 16 points and from there Benedictine outscored Culver 23-13 to take control of the game.

Defensively, Benedictine forced 19 turnovers and limited Culver to just 13 field goals total field goals. The Ravens converted on 14 field goals in the first half alone.

The second half proved to be a defensive struggle between the two teams.

Through the first 10 minutes of the second half, the two teams combined for nine field goals.

Benedictine pushed their lead to as much as 26 points with eight minutes remaining in the game and defensively, held Culver scoreless from the floor over the final three minutes.

The Ravens bench outscored the Wildcats bench 38-6 thanks in large part to the team-high 16 points of guard Rosie Youngstrom (Jr., Fairway).

Benedictine finished with three players in double figures. Guard Jackie Ziesel (Soph., St. Joseph, Mo.) added 12 points off the bench while guard Justin Payne (Jr., Stillwater, Okla.) added 10 points as the only starter in double figures.

Culver-Stockton was led by the game-high 25 points of guard Mimi Reaves. Reaves accounted for five of the Wildcats 13 field goals and eight of their 17 free throws.

Benedictine hits the road on Saturday for a battle of NAIA Div. I Top 25 programs as they travel to Olathe, to take on No. 11 MNU at 2 p.m.

MNU escaped a road contest in Kansas City, Mo, against Avila University, 57-52.