On Saturday, Dec. 1, both of Hamline’s basketball teams faced the St. Thomas Tommies in a doubleheader. The women’s game tipped off at 1 p.m. as the men’s played at 3 p.m.

The women’s basketball team matched up against the nation’s fifth best team, the St. Thomas Tommies.

In the first five minutes of play, the Pipers took control of the game. They dictated the tempo and took an early lead. However, the Pipers shots weren’t falling, and they weren’t able to stretch their lead against the Tommies.

The Tommies called a few timeouts to regroup and applied full court pressure against the Pipers. Their defensive play overwhelmed the Pipers and created multiple fast breaks. By the end of the half, they led 34-18.

At the start of the second half, sophomore Jordan Sammons initiated a 9-2 scoring run against the Tommies that was capped off by a three-pointer by senior guard Steph Pilgrim.

The Pipers were able to cut the deficit to nine as the score was 36-27 with 16:50 remaining in the game. Unfortunately for the Pipers, the Tommies responded with three pointers and when the Pipers broke free on fast breaks their shot weren’t falling.

The Tommies were able to pull away with a 59-41 victory. The Pipers played a competitive second half in which they were only outscored by two points.

After the game, head coach Kerri Stockwell said she felt good about the team’s overall play.

“The reality is that we’re doing a lot of things really, really well,” she said. “We are playing high-quality teams.”

The next time the Pipers face the Tommies will be Jan. 26.

“I’m very confident that we’ll be able to come back and have a stronger offensive showing,” Stockwell said.

Right after the women’s game, the men’s team followed up with their own MIAC showdown against the St. Thomas Tommies. Over 650 fans arrived at Hutton Arena to watch the game.

The Pipers offense was efficient in the first half of play as they made about 46 percent of their shots. From the perimeter they were three of seven and held the Tommies scoreless from behind the arch. They trailed by four as the score was 33-29 going into half.

In the second half, disaster struck in Hutton Arena as nothing seemed to go the Pipers way.

At the beginning of the half, the Pipers tied the game with a quick 4-0 scoring run with two free throws from senior Victor Easter and a layup by junior guard Tyler “Problem Child” Pannell.

About five minutes later, the game took a turn when a technical foul was called on senior forward Noah Aguirre. The crowd in Hutton Arena was sent in an uproar after that call. Foul trouble continued to plague the Pipers, as they were penalized with 17 in the second half and 29 in total in the game. The Tommies took advantage of free throw opportunities and stretched their lead.

Coach Nelson Whitmore voiced his frustration with the calls as he gave the officials an earful. However, he was not given a technical for his remarks.

The game ended with a 80-59 win for the Tommies, thanks to their second half surge.

“Tonight it wasn’t on, but we can’t let that get in our heads,” first-year guard Wes Pinera said after the game.

Pinera hopes they can rebound in their next game.

“We just got to be ready,” he said.