Was over at Hamline's Hutton Arena on this second day of 2013 to catch this in-town tilt between two teams that have MIAC playoff hopes - visiting Macalester and host Hamline. With the way the Pipers ended 2012 on something of a down note with their loss at Northwestern, I was interested to see if this team could bounce back and get it going again.
To be sure, the Pipers got off to a quick, hot start as both sophomore sensation Jordan Sammons and senior forward Cassidy Vogt propelled Hamline to an early 5-0 lead by the 18:56 mark. Macalester would respond, though, as junior post Veronika Jakubovie, who transferred over to Macalester from Hamline no less, scored six consecutive points for the Scots that helped Macalester build an 8-5 lead by the 14:44 mark. The Pipers would battle right back to make things tight again and grabbed a 12-10 lead on senior sharpshooting guard Steph Pilgrim's "3" from the right top at the 12:02 mark.
But the Pipers seemingly have a nasty habit of falling into some of their old habits that bring them down such as launching up reckless "3's" and not working the ball around enough on offense like they should and, sure enough, it happened again and Ellen Thompson's squad took advantage with some sharp shooting of their own. Senior point guard Kyanna Jones banged home a "3" from the top of the key at the 11:33 mark and after a relatively dry stretch by both teams, it was sophomore forward Annie Drabot who stepped into the spotlight as she nailed a "3" from the right corner at the 7:01 mark and then showed her defensive prowess a bit later with 5:23 left as she snared a steal and got a quick shot off the glass to up the Scot lead to 19-12. Macalester would maintain that 5-7 point advantage thanks to a "3" by frreshman Erin Murray with 2:25 left but Hamline would chip away at the Macalester advantage. Senior point guard Kara Poirier cashed in with a lay-up with 2:15 left and then it was sophomore reserve forward Rachel Usgaard who nailed an unlikely "3" from the right corner with 1:45 left. Jakubovie would get a rebound and putback with :57 left but then Sammons connected on a jumper with :42 left to cut the Scot lead down to 30-26 at the halftime break.
The Pipers knew they had to get their act together to avoid a repeat of last year and, as Head Coach Kerri Stockwell confided afterward, they had to move the ball better offensively and the Pipers did just that. A score inside by Jakubovie at the 18:22 mark upped Macalester's lead to 32-26 but Hamline wasted no time in turning things around. Pilgrim connected with a short jumper at the 17:59 mark and then it was quick, shifty junior guard JeNaya Brown doing the same at the 16:22 mark that cut the Scot lead down to 32-30. Sammons' lay-up in transition at the 15:15 mark tied the issue at 32 and then it was a turnaround jumper at the 14:51 mark by Pilgrim that not only gave the Pipers the lead for good at 34-32 but also prompted Thompson to call a quick timeout to try and stem the tide after this 8-2 run by the Pipers.
The Pipers, however, refused to let their foot off the gas pedal and kept their beat going. Pilgrim connected on a pretty turnaround lay-up in transition at the 13:59 mark and then it was Usgaard again working her magic as she muscled inside for a score at the 13:32 mark. A bit later, Usgaard wowed the Hutton Arena crowd by blocking a Macalester shot that allowed Pilgrim to get into position on the ensuing possession to knock down a jumper at the 12:05 mark. The Pipers upped their lead to double digits when senior reserve guard Danielle Daniels grabbed an offensive rebound and got a putback at the 10:51 mark for a 46-36 lead. The Scots, however, tried to get some momentum back behind the blonde sharpshooter from Sparta, Wisconsin - Murray - as she connected with consecutive "3's" at the 9:18 and 8:36 marks that cut the Hamline lead down to 46-42 but the Pipers calmly responded with another run as Sammons scored inside at the 8:25 mark and then it was Vogt connecting with a jumper just outside of the lane with 7:44 left. Sammons then made an acrobatic one-handed jumper in lane with 5:55 left that once again got the lead to double digits at 52-42 and then it was a "3" by the free-wheeling Vogt with 5:07 left that capped a decisive 9-0 run and ended any hopes Macalester may have had about stealing a big road win. Sammons scored on a lay-up in transition with 3:04 left and another score inside with 2:38 left and then it was a Poirier "3" from the right corner with 1:57 left that enabled the Scots to cruise to a 70-52 win.
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