Hamline hit the road to play St. Thomas for the second time in four days, and the third time this season, and battled them until the final buzzer.

St. Thomas scored first on their home court, and built up a 5-3 lead in the opening two minutes of play. Jackie Kelly (So., Blaine, Minn.) gave the Pipers their first lead, 6-5, on her first trey at 17:30.

The teams traded one-point leads over the next few minutes until St. Thomas jumped ahead 14-9, and then 19-12 with less than ten minutes remaining in the half. Kelly began to cut away at the lead, draining another three at 8:15 to cut the lead to 19-15.

Jessica Heinen (Sr., Spicer, Minn.) put the Pipers back ahead with less than six minutes to play, 22-21, with a short basket on a quick pass from Britta Schwartzhoff (Sr,. Hayward, Wis.).

With less than two minutes to pay in the half, the Pipers held a 39-30 lead. The Tommies went on an 8-to-1 run to cut Hamline’s halftime lead to 40-38.

Kelly led the Pipers with 15 points in the first half, including going 3-for-5 from outside the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

The game stayed close through the first five minutes of the second half, with the two teams exchanging three-pointers with less than 15 minutes to play to tie it at 47-47.

Kelly gave the Pipers a four-point lead at 53-49 with under 11 minutes to play as she drained another shot from outside the arc. After St. Thomas cut the lead to two with a pair of free throws, Mary Wilkowski (So., Savannah, Ga.) opened it up to four at 55-51 with nine minutes left in the game.

The Pipers pulled out to a 59-51 lead with eight minutes remaining in the game before St. Thomas climbed back with a 10-to-2 run that tied the game at 61-61 with three and a half minutes on the clock. The Tommies regained the lead on the scoreboard, 63-61, just over thirty seconds later, setting up an exciting final two minutes of play in the opening round game. 

Nikki Klinck (So., Hibbing, Minn.) was fouled on a successful layup and converted on the free throw to put Hamline up 64-63 with 1:20 to play. St. Thomas answered with an identical three-point play with 60 seconds left to go ahead once again, 66-64.
Hamline attempted a layup in the final seconds, but couldn’t get the ball to fall, and St. Thomas added one more free throw for the 67-64 win.

Kelly led the Pipers with 21 points, while Klinck had 15. Wilkowski produced a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Heinen had 11 points in her final game as a Piper, bring her career total to 1,073 points. She graduates eighth all-time in scoring at Hamline.