ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Augsburg University women's basketball team came up just short on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 71-70 decision to Hamline University in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play in St. Paul.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Hamline 71, Augsburg 70
LOCATION: Hutton Arena, St. Paul, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 11-12 overall (8-12 MIAC), Hamline 17-6 overall (14-6 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Augsburg led wire-to-wire in the first quarter, peaking at a nine-point advantage before Hamline made it a six-point game at 19-13 at the first quarter break. The Auggies once again refused to relinquish the lead in the second quarter, leading by as many as eight and taking a 28-23 lead to halftime.
• The Pipers chipped away at the deficit throughout the third quarter and managed to make it a two-point game with 1:15 on the clock, but Augsburg came up with another answer as they pushed the lead back to eight at the final quarter break.
•  The Pipers would gain their first lead of the day at 52-51 with 7:36 remaining in the game, but Augsburg quickly jumped back on top and held the advantage for the following five minutes. With just 44 seconds to play, Hamline regained the lead for what proved to be the final time at 67-65. Jaley Coplin (SR, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) did her best to will Augsburg to victory with a three pointer with nine seconds on the clock and a quick jumper with just a single tick remaining, but the Pipers capitalized on their late free throw opportunities and hung on for the one-point win. 
• Coplin finished as the game's scoring leader, knocking down seven of her 14 attempts, including 4-8 from beyond the arc, for 23 points along with six rebounds. Grace Eastman (SR, Elk River, Minn./St. Francis HS) tallied a season-high 13 points, going a perfect 3-3 from outside the arc.  Kalena Myers (JR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) was the third and final Auggie in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds.
• Nikole Gullerud (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) logged a career-high nine points and matched her career-high with seven rebounds while Samaiya Buchanan (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./Hopkins HS) added six points off the bench.
• The Auggies posted the more efficient shooting performance of the two teams, going 23-55 (41.8%) from the field while Hamline shot just 23-61 (37.7%).

FOR THE FOES
• Lydia Lecher led the Pipers with 16 points while Chan'el Anderson-Man and Michaela Stamer each scored 10.  

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will host St. Catherine University at Si Melby Hall on Wednesday (2/15) at 7 pm.