The Auggies generated an eight-point lead, 17-9, in the opening five minutes of the game. A pair of three-pointers by Jackie Kelly (Jr., Blaine, Minn.) and Kara Poirier (Fy., Eau Claire, Wis.) cut the Piper deficit to two points a minute later.

At 11:22, Poirier then tied the game, 22-22, with another trey, and Kelly drained another from outside the arc at 7:52 for the Pipers’ first lead, 30-29.

Kelly’s three-pointer jump-started the Piper offense, as they put 13 straight points on the board for a 40-29 lead with 2:43 remaining in the half. They went on to lead 46-34 at halftime.

The Pipers didn’t back down in the second half, grabbing their first 20-point lead, 56-36, at 16:38 on a jumped in the paint from Rochelle Sather (Sr., Andover, Minn.).

The closest the Auggies could get was to within 13 at 10:27. The Pipers then maintained a 20+ point lead from the seven-minute mark to 1:45, when an Augsburg three-pointer cut their deficit to 18 at 92-74. Hamline went on to win, 94-76.

In addition to Wilkowski’s 32 points, she added 10 rebounds. Poirier totaled 19 points in just her second collegiate game. Kelly and Nikki Klinck (Jr., Hibbing, Minn.) each added 11 points. Kelly also had nine assists.

With the MIAC opening win, the Pipers are 2-0, 1-0 MIAC. The Auggies, playing their first game of the season, are 0-1, 0-1 MIAC. Hamline returns home to Hutton Arena to host Macalester on Saturday, December 5, at 1:00 p.m. in the first game of a women’s-men’s double-header.