Made my way over to venerable Hutton Arena after getting out of Hopkins' Lindbergh Center. Got settled in at the 17:29 mark of the 1st half with Hamline holding a 5-3 lead.
It became obvious after I got settled in that Hamline was controlling the tempo in this contest early on and was making life miserable for the visiting Cobbers although Concordia managed to stay within striking distance. Trailing 9-5 after Piper senior sensation Jordan Sammons connected with a lay-up at the 15:03 mark, the Cobbers gradually clawed their way back into position. Lanky sophomore reserve forward Jenna Januschka connected with a lay-up at the 14:42 mark to cut the Hamline lead down to 9-7 and a drive and finish by steady senior guard Alley Fisher knotted things up at 9 a piece. Free throws by strong junior forward Olivia Johnson at the 13:01 and 10:48 marks not only had Concordia in the bonus but also gave the Cobbers their first lead of the contest at 12-11.
Hamline would take the lead back on a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Alison Bartak with 9:13 left and speedy sophomore guard Chloe Graves added a free throw and a lay-up to give the Pipers a 16-12 lead with 8:09 left. Concordia would strike back, however, as sophomore reserve guard Morgan Gunderson connected with a lay-up with 7:45 left and a "3" by fellow sophomore reserve guard Emma Peterson from the left top area with 7:05 left gave Concordia a 17-16 advantage and, for a split second, it appeared that the Cobbers were ready to finally grasp control of this one. Alas, it would be Concordia's last lead of the game as things suddenly seemed to go awry for the maroon and gold-clad Cobbers. Sharp-shooting Piper sophomore guard Chelsey Bonsante uncorked a "3" from the left wing area with 5:59 left to put Hamline back out in front for good at 19-17 and a Bonsante lay-up with 5:27 left made it a three-point Piper lead at 21-18. Bonsante would add two free throws with 4:43 left to increase the lead to 23-18. Moreover, the speedy and athletic Hamline attack was gradually breaking down the normally rock-solid Concordia defense and the Cobber faithful had even more reason to be worried when Johnson chased a loose ball and took a spill into the bleachers with 3:33 left. She did manage to get up under her own power but it was a painful walk back to the bench and things just seemed to spiral downward from there. Graves connected with a pull-up jumper in transition with 2:12 left and then the Denver, Colorado native knocked down a "3" from the right wing area with 1:25 left for a 30-23 Piper lead and Concordia Head Coach Jessica Rahman had seen enough to know that a timeout was warranted. Bonsante connected with a lay-up in transition with 1:05 left that increased the Piper lead to 32-23 before senior forward Erin Januschka was finally able to knock down a pair from the charity stripe after getting fouled with :27.3 left. Down by seven at 32-25 by the halftime break, the Cobbers had plenty of work - and adjustments - to make if they were going to slow the potent Hamline offense and take back the momentum the Pipers had built thus far.
Concordia sophomore guard Greta Walsh tried to get a positive vibe going for her teammates at the beginning of the second half as she connected with a lay-up in transition at the 19:43 mark that cut the deficit down to five points but every move made the Cobbers made was always answered - and then some - by Hamline. Bonsante drilled a "3" from the right wing area at the 19:02 mark and then Sammons showed her takeover ability as she slithered into the paint for a score at the 18:33 mark and then snared a steal and blazed the other way for an easy lay-up at the 17:54 mark for an eleven point 40-29 lead. Down double-digits, Concordia tried to counter as Walsh knocked down a "3" from the left top area at the 17:03 mark that got the Cobbers back to within single digits trailing 40-32 and a short jumper by the Litchfield native at the 15:21 mark along with two free throws by reserve sophomore forward Mikayla Forness gave Concordia some hope as they whittled the Piper lead down to 42-36 by the 14:15 mark. But that hope soon vanished into thin air as Sammons uncorked a "3" from the right wing area at the 14:04 mark to up the Hamline lead back up to nine points at 45-36. A score in the paint by junior forward Mackenzie Lee at the 12:11 mark and two Bonsante free throws at the 12:05 mark put the Pipers back up by double digits again at 49-38 and, just like that, Concordia was back at Square One. A score in the paint by freshman forward Alex Peterson upped the Hamline lead to 51-38 at the 11:37 mark and Rahman had seen enough to know it was time to burn a timeout.
Hamline would maintain that double-digit advantage and, despite some worries when Sammons picked up foul number four at the 8:02 mark, the Pipers held firm. Another trey from Walsh (who had a solid second half for the Cobbers) with 6:44 left and two free throws by Fisher with 6:08 left did bring Concordia briefly back to within single digits again trailing 56-48 and provided a wisp of hope but the Cobbers could never narrow the gap. A jumper along the right baseline by junior guard Emily Behrman made it a ten-point Hamline lead at 60-50 but the deal was pretty much sealed when Graves made a nifty move and connected with a lay-up and got fouled in the process. The obligatory freebies made it 63-52 Hamline and Concordia had no choice but to foul in a desperate effort to prolong the issue. Two more Graves free throws with :49.2 left along with a pair from Sammons; who had since returned to the game with those four fouls maintained the ten-point edge. Bonsante would add a pair with :30.2 left and the Pipers pulled off an upset of their own in this young MIAC season with a 69-61 victory.
Rahman wouldn't go as far as to admit that this team is trying to forge a new identity for itself without players like Alexandra Lippert (who was in attendance cheering her former teammates on) or Kelsey Walloch and Erika Jossart but clearly this squad has issues and the paltry 4-18 (22%) from three-point land along with an equally frigid 19-53 (35.8%) FG attempts is cause for concern. Also, with seven games completed they are already 4-3 and that is not a good sign for a squad that has NCAA tournament-aspirations. I'm not saying that it's time for the Cobbers to break out the proverbial panic button just yet but they'd better know where it's located at least because at the rate this season is going they may very well need it - soon. Meanwhile, I think this win solidifies Hamline as a playoff contender at the very least. Their athleticism and speed is tough to match-up against and when they bring their "A" game, they can be scary good. The question with this squad again is, can they find some consistency? Can they avoid the roller-coaster rides they've been on before and solidify their conference standing come mid/late-January? Time will tell.
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