On a day when points were hard to come by, a freshman guard stepped to the forefront for the Hamline women's basketball team. 

Chloe Graves scored 18 points and added three steals as the Pipers made it two in a row with a hardfought 54-49 decision over Macalester Saturday at Hutton Arena. 

Graves hit seven of eight free throws as HU claimes its first MIAC win of the season and improved to 2-7 overall.  Rachel Usgaard added a dozen points and Jordan Sammons chipped in with 11 in the come-from-behind triumph.

It wasa defensive battle from the getgo. The Pipers jumped to a 15-10 lead midway through the first half only to see the Scots score six in a row for a 16-15 edge. It went back and forth from there. So it was probably appropriate that the teams went off the court even at 23 at intermission.

The visitors had the advantage early in the second half, moving to a 34-29 lead after nine minutes. Usgaard and Graves then went to work to change the course of the game. Usgaard hit a three-pointer and the freshman guard nailed a layup to tie the game. Usgaard followed with two free throws that untied the game for good.

Macalester, however, refused to go out quietly. Hamline worked its way to a 47-39 lead with 1:28 left but the Scots kept coming back, finally getting to within one at 50-49 with 16 seconds left. 

Graves, however, had the last work, sinking four free throws to ensure that the Pipers started 2014 the way they ended 2013 -- with a victory.

The HU win wasn't the only good news on the day. Je'Naya Brown made her seasonal debut, playing 10 minutes. She had been out since early in training camp with a knee injury. The senior promptly showed she still had the touch, registering a steal during her first shift on the court.

Hamline will have more days than anticipated to enjoy the win. Monday's scheduled game at St. Catherine has been postponed due to the prospect of cold weather (temps are predicted around -25). No makeup date has been set. Hamline will play at Augsburg on Wednesday, January 9. Game time is 7:30 p.m.