Big Second Half Carries HU Women Past St. Olaf, 70-57

Hamline's women's BB team used a 40-23 second half explosion to ground up St. Olaf, 70-57, Monday night at Hutton Arena. the Pipers have won two games in a row for the second time this season. They are now 6-13 overall, 5-11 in the MIAC.

HU won this game the old fashioned way -- they won all the statistical battles. They outshot the Oles (38.5 -34.5 percent), outrebounded them by a 41-37 margin and were better at the Free Throw Line (24-27 vs. 14-21).

Four starters ended up in double digits. Steph Pilgrim led the way with 22 points but she was closely followed by Kara Poirier (14 points, 5-5 in FTs), Jordan Sammons (who had a double-double - 11 pts, 11 rebounds) and Je'Naya Brown (10 points, 4 steals).

St. Olaf 34-30 at halftime. Hamline started the second half fast, scoring eight of the first 10 points to take a 38-26 lead. Rachel Usgaard's three-pointer with 10 minutes to go broke a 43-all tie and gave the Pipers the lead for good. The Oles hung around for the next couple of minutes until the Pipers made a 11-1 run that featured nine straight free throw points. That made it 63-52 and the die was cast.

Hamline ended up with a 41-37 rebounding edge over the taller Oles, including a 26-18 margin in the second half. In addition to Sammons' heroics, Veronika Jakubovie hauled in nine boards.

Hamline will take their two-game win skein on the road Wednesday to face an Augsburg team they defeated January 2. They return to Hutton Saturday to tangle with St. Benedict. Game time will be 3:00 p.m.

Box Score Here