ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The Hamline women's basketball team (13-5, 8-5 MIAC) improved to 10-2 when playing on the road, defeating Saint Benedict 42-39 in St. Joseph on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Pipers tie their win total and conference win total from last season with seven games left in the regular season.
 
Senior Reilly Geistfeld led Hamline in scoring with 10 points and seven other Pipers combined to score the other 32. Geistfeld also led the team in rebounds with seven. First year Lydia Lecher had eight points and sophomore Chan'el Anderson-Manning had seven points, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists on the day.
 
After only scoring four points in the first quarter, the Pipers added 10 in the second quarter to trail 17-14 after the first 20 minutes.
 
Hamline had their best quarter in the third, taking over the lead and at one point leading by nine. The Bennies ended the quarter on a 6-1 run, though, and the Pipers headed into the final quarter up by four after outscoring CSB 18-11.
 
A three pointer for Saint Benedict about halfway through the fourth, made it a one-point game, but the Pipers scored the next four points off of free throws to put themselves up by five with 15 seconds to go. The Bennies made a layup with 10 seconds left, and gave themselves a chance to tie the game up with a last second three, but Geistfeld was there to block it to secure the HU win.
 
Both teams hovered around the 30.0% field goal range, and neither team shot over 20.0% from three. The Pipers did cash in at the free throw line, however, making 11 of their 14 attempts (78.6%), while the Bennies only scored four points from the line.  
 
The Pipers will play next on Monday, February 3, as they head up to Concordia for a 7:00 p.m. game. The Cobbers are currently two games behind Hamline in the MIAC standings, holding the sixth and final playoff spot. If you can't make the trip be sure to follow along online with live stat and video links that can be found on the schedule page.