Staff photo by Travis Rosenau
Martin Luther College’s Jordyn Heckendorf passes the ball out to teammate Grace Kieselhorst while guarded by Hamline University’s Alyssa Williamson on Wednesday night at MLC in New Ulm.
NEW ULM — Hamline University wasn’t wearing all white coming into Wednesday night’s nonconference women’s basketball game against Martin Luther College, but it would have been fitting with the Pipers’ focus on the paint all game.
Scoring almost as many points in the paint, 46, as MLC scored all game, the Pipers (2-0) controlled the lane and took down the Knights (2-2) in the process with a 78-49 win at MLC.
Hamline outshot MLC from the floor 47.5%-35.8% and won the rebounding battle 38-31. The Pipers converted 15 of 22 shots from the free-throw line (68.2%), while the Knights made just 8 of 22 (36.4%).
Lydia Lecher led Hamline with 21 points, while Tess Hauer and Michaela Stamer each added 9 points.
MLC was led by Lydia Feidt’s 13 points, while Lauren Paulsen chipped in 10 and Jordyn Heckendorf added 9.
Trailing 9-6, the Knights got buckets inside from Feidt and Kortney Behnke for a 10-9 lead. Hamline answered with a bucket before Emma Nelson and Paulsen each hit 3s to give the Knights an early 15-11 lead.
A layup by Maya Price beat the first-quarter horn and had the Knights up 17-15 heading into the second quarter. Hamline needed just two shots early in the second quarter to take back the lead for good and got it after Lecher scored a bucket inside and hit a 3 from the top of the key for a 20-17 lead.
Hamline ended the half on a 14-6 run to lead 34-23.
In a stretch that started in the second quarter and ended in the third, Hamline scored nine of its field goals exclusively in the paint. A 3 by Lecher put a pause to that paint domination momentarily and had the Pipers ahead 45-24.
MLC cut the deficit to 51-36 after Feidt drained a corner 3 and then converted on an and-one with two minutes left in the third quarter, but that was the closest the Knights got from there out. The Pipers’ largest lead of the game came in the fourth quarter when they led by 31.
MLC was coming off of back-to-back wins over the weekend and will look to start a new winning streak Friday at Waldorf.
