ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team was able to overcome one deficit Saturday afternoon against Hamline, but not two.
 
Down 10 in the first, CSB rallied to take a lead into the second quarter, and keep things close at halftime. But the Pipers used a big third quarter to pull away for an 87-58 win in Claire Lynch Hall. Saint Benedict is now 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the MIAC, while the Pipers are 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the league.
 
Hamline went on a 14-4 run to start Saturday's game and take an early lead midway through the first half, but Megan Thompson scored a three-point play Maddie Schmitz scored a pair of jumpers and Dacoda Speidel hit a three to tie the game at 14-14. A basket by Kate Seyer and a three from McKenzie Holgate made it 19-14, and Schmitz scored with two seconds left to put CSB up 21-19 at the end of the first.
 
Breanna Gates scored early in the second to give CSB a four-point cushion, and from there it was back and forth the entire quarter. Sidney Schiffler and Schmitz hit back-to-back threes to keep the team on top, and another three from Schmitz – who went 7-for-9 from the field in the first half – tied the game at 39-39, but Hamline converted a three-point play to go up 42-39 at halftime.
 
Megan Thompson scored the first basket of the second half to make it a 42-41 game, but that's the last basket CSB would hit until Thompson scored again with 2:04 left in the quarter to cut the Pipers' lead to 16, 59-43. Hamline outscored CSB 23-6 in the third quarter to take a 65-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Schiffler hit a three, Holgate scored then Thompson scored to start the fourth and make it a 14-point game, 66-52, but the Pipers wouldn't let up. They pushed the lead back to 21, then eventually 23, en route to the win.
 
Schmitz finished with 18 points to lead CSB, which shot just 37 percent from the field. The team was shooting 51.6 percent at halftime, but went cold in the second half, shooting 25 percent. Thompson added 11 points and Gates led the team with seven rebounds. Thompson also had four assists and she and Gates had four steals each. CSB went 2-for-2 from the line and had 11 turnovers.
 
Reilly Geistfeld led all scorers with 28 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Hamline, which shot 55 percent from the field – including 62 percent in the second half. Three other players also scored in double digits for the Pipers, which outrebounded CSB 47-25, went 15-for-21 from the line and had 14 turnovers.
 
CSB is back at home once more to close out the 2018 portion of its conference schedule. The team hosts Saint Mary's at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12.