Tommie women win 68-50 over Pipers

January 18, 2010

Click here for final women's box score:

http://www.tommiesports.com/wbb/stats/1-18-wbb.htm

There's no webcast for tonight's Hamline-UST women's and men's basketball doubleheader -- being played at Macalester's Leonard Center -- but check back here for a Live Blog with score updates throughout both games.

Live Blog:

--- The Tommie women have started this game on a 8-2 run, shooting 50% from the field while forcing four Piper turnovers. St. Thomas' Rachel Booth leads all scorers with 4.

--- Tommie women have continued to place the pressure on Hamline, grabbing their largest lead of the first half at 22-9 despite losing the rebound battle. Guard Becky Theisen is 3-of-3 from the field, while Piper conference scoring leader Mary Wilkowski is struggling shooting thusfar going just 1-7. St. Thomas is shooting 67% (10-15) while the Pipers have shot 4-18 (22%).

-- Rachel Booth has continued to exhibit her will underneath tallying 11 points and 4 rebounds in 13 minutes. Becky Thiesen was forced to sit out the last few minutes of the opening half with a pair of fouls. The Tommies (52%) lead the Pipers (24%) by eight, 33-25, at the half.

-- Both teams have come out in the second half sluggish, however, the real bright spot for St. Thomas continues to be junior Rachel Booth, who now has 16 points and 7 rebounds. The Tommies are 6-0 on the season when Booth has scored 14 points or more.

-- Tommies had pushed their lead to 14, tied for their largest of the game, however the Pipers' five 3-point field goals have allowed them to cut the deficit to four at 44-40. St. Thomas' 19 turnovers to the Pipers' 12 hasn't helped their cause.

-- The Tommies have answered the Pipers' run with a 9-1 run of their own as Rachel Booth has added 6 of those to get the lead back up to 13, 54-41, with seven and a half left. Booth has amassed an impressive line tonight with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in 24 minutes.

-- It should be mentioned that the Pipers came into this game short two players, and a third went down in the first half. Hamline head coach Melissa Young-Kruse's bench is starting to ware thin, which is unfortunate for them. St. Thomas leads 62-46, courtesy of an 18-6 run, with 4:12 left.

-- St. Thomas closes out the game, 68-50, which is their seventh consecutive victory over the Pipers. UST's Rachel Booth ended her night with 24 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Tommies used a game-closing 24-10 run to pull away. They'll play Wednesday at Concordia-Moorhead, which started the night in second place in the MIAC

 

Women's Pregame notes:

In the 5:45 p.m. clash, the Hamline women (6-7 overall, 4-6 MIAC) face the Tommies of St. Thomas (9-4, 6-4). The 7:45 p.m. men¹s game pits the streaking Pipers (9-5, 5-4) against the fifth-ranked Toms (12-2, 8-1).           

Tonight marks the final games of the first half of the MIAC schedule.
   

HU¹s women have battled injuries but last Saturday had an impressive 21-point win over St. Catherine. Piper senior Mary Wilkowski ranks at the top of MIAC scoring and rebounding.             

 The Toms got one of two free throws by Rachel Booth with two seconds left in Saturday¹s 66-65 road upset of MIAC co-leader St. Ben¹s. Booth had 21 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. The Toms are 6-0
when she¹s scored 14 or more points.
   

Men's Pregame notes:

The Piper men are on a good roll with wins in six of their last seven games after a 3-4 start. Senior transfer Ray Brown has sparked HU and junior center Carl Hipp has continued his improvement. The Pipers, who had a bye Saturday, are 6-2 at home and 2-3 on the road. They won 88-75 over St.
John¹s five days ago.
   

UST has allowed just 61.3 ppg and will get a test as Hamline has scored 79 ppg in a 4-1 run this month.
   

St. Thomas shares the MIAC lead after Saturday¹s 70-69 overtime win over St. John¹s. Tyler Nicolai
had 20 points, five assists and four steals. Nicolai has scored in double figures in 15 of his last 16 games,
and UST is 50-3 when he scores seven or more points. Joe Scott (1,005 points at UST) and Nicolai (902 career points) surpassed milestones on the night in their 73rd games as backcourt starters. UST sophomore center Tommy Hannon scored a career-high 14 points, six in overtime.
   

UST¹s men and women play doubleheaders Wednesday at Concordia and Saturday at St. Olaf.