Cornell University Athletics

Last season, Benson became the floor general for the Big Red, starting every game and playing a full 40 minutes on five occasions. She set the school record for assists in a single-season and ranked first in the Ivy League and in the top-25 in the nation for assists per game all year long. A player with great athleticism and scrappiness, Benson is a hard worker who brings a tenacious playing style to the Big Red.

 

Benson was named honorable mention All-Ivy following her sophomore season after leading the conference and ranking 24th in the nation in assists per game (5.4). Benson was also among the Ivy League leaders in 3-point field goal percentage (.462 – first), assist/turnover ration (1.44 – second) and 3-point field goals made (1.25 – 10th). She set the Cornell single-season assists record (156) and moved up to ninth-place in career assists (228). Benson also led the team and finished ranked second all-time in Cornell history for minutes played in a season (1,008) after starting all 29 games and playing a full 40 minutes on five occasions. She finished the year ranked fourth on the team in rebounds (3.5), and fifth in points per game (6.9). She established a new career-high with eight assists in the first game of the season against Long Island, only to surpass that mark with nine assists vs. Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. An intelligent playmaker, Benson handed out at least six assists in 17 contests during the year. She led the Big Red in scoring on two occasions, including a career-high 15-point performance vs. Lafayette. She matched that outing with 15 points and a game-high seven assists vs. Harvard on Feb. 15 and one week later, she scored 15 points again in Cornell’s victory over Yale. Benson saw action in all 27 games during her rookie season and became a starter as the Ivy League season opened, earning 15 starts on the year. Benson handed out at least three assists in 13 games and finished the year ranked first on the team and 10th in the conference with 2.7 assists per game. She tallied a season-high seven assists vs. NJIT and dished out six helpers vs. Radford, Ithaca and Harvard. Benson earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors on Jan. 29 and Feb. 19. The first award came after she tallied seven points, five rebounds and six assists while committing only one turnover vs. Columbia on Jan. 27. The second award came after an outstanding weekend in which she registered career-highs in both points (13) and rebounds (8), while handing out four assists as the Big Red defeated Princeton on Feb. 16 and then scored eight points, grabbed two rebounds, handed out three assists and came up with one steal vs. Penn on Feb. 17. 

At Benet Academy
A four-year letter winner at Benet Academy, Benson played point guard for the Lady Redwings and holds the school’s assist record. She, along with Cornell classmate Molly McGue, helped Benet Academy to four-straight regional championships (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006) and two sectional titles (2003 and 2004). Benson served as team captain as a senior and was named a conference all-star and all-area, following a sophomore season in which she earned Street and Smith’s honorable mention honors. Benson was also a conference champion tennis player, earning third-team all-state honors in the process, and was nominated for the 2006 Wendy’s High School Heisman award.