The Hamline University Women’s basketball team looks to continue their strong season with five games remaining in the ultra-competitive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
Currently, the Pipers sit tied for third place with St. Benedict, both with a 9–4 conference record. If the current standings hold, it would earn the Pipers a spot in the six-team 2025 MIAC playoffs.
The Pipers are led by junior guard Camille Cummings, who averages 16.7 points per game and junior guard/forward Sophie Stork, who averages 9.4 points per game. Standing alongside the bench is head coach Joshua Hersch, who is in his seventh year at Hamline and his second season as head coach.
The team has had an exceptionally strong season so far. They have been able to piece together modest winning streaks of three and four games and rebound from losses to avoid any losing streaks, having never lost back-to-back games this season.
A key component of maintaining such a strong record comes down to team chemistry and the mentality of sticking close as a team. Stork highlighted this concept and how it applies to each individual player.
“The team chemistry has been an essential part of our success and positive experience this season. We are all such a close group of friends on and off the court and all 21 women are valued,” Stork said via email.
While the end goal is to win a MIAC championship, the Pipers have to remain focused and level-headed. Even when they hit a few bumps in the road, the team proves to never let their competitive spirits get too down.
“We are always there picking one another up when we need it most. Not everyone is going to be on their A-game every day, but we have multiple people step up when we needed and work well together,” Stork said via email.
Looking ahead, the remaining schedule looks promising for the Pipers. Four of the last five games of the season are against teams that currently sit outside of the playoffs. These should be winnable games for Hamline and would further bolster their current season record.
This does not mean that Hamline can take these games lightly, though.
“Like every year, the end goal is a MIAC championship, but we have to take it one game at a time. We are currently sitting at the three seed so we want to keep winning games to stay at that spot and first earn a home playoff game, then go one day at a time from there,” Stork said via email.
These strong bonds and a team-first mentality are what will give them momentum at the end of the season and into the playoffs.
“It definitely has been a grind of a season, but we all try to remember all of the workouts and time and effort we have been putting in, it is all for right now, playoffs are approaching. We remember our “why” and know we won’t regret finishing strong and with our best effort,” Stork said via email.