Box Score All night long, the Hamline women's basketball team kept rallying against powerful St. Mary's Wednesday, eventually forging a nine-point lead. 

Unfortunately, the Cardinals had similar ideas and came back themselves in the late stages to defeat the Pipers, 68-65. 

Jordan Sammons, the all-time leading scorer in HU women's basketball, had a big night, scoring 22 points, grabbing a game high 15 rebounds and four steals. Chelsey Bonsante had 11 points and Chloe Graves recorded 10 as the Pipers dropped to 9-9 overall, 4-7 in the MIAC. 

The Pipers led 24-22 with 6:53 remaining in the first half when the Cardinals broke free for a 10-0 run. Undaunted, Hamline responded back and SMU only led 34-30 at the break. 

In the second half, Bonsante scored the first five points and Graves added a basket to push Hamline back in front. HU pushed to a 48-39 lead before the Cardinals started to rally and eventually took a 52-50 edge. There were more ties and lead changes until SMU forged a 66-59 margin with two minutes remaining. Back came the Pipers with Sammons scoring four and Emily Behrman adding a pair of free throws to margin to one at 66-65. 

That was as close as HU would get, though. 

The Pipers did hold a big edge on the boards with a 53-40 advantage. Alex Peterson and Graves had nine boards each. Graves also had seven assists. 

Hamline returns home to face Gustavus Adolphus (13-5, 7-4 MIAC) Saturday at Hutton Arena. Game time is 1:00 p.m.