There was just enough time for one shot. 

And what a shot it was.

Kaeli Stayer uncorked a three-pointer at the buzzer to complete an impressive rally as the Hamline women's basketball team won their fourth straight game, 67-66, over St. Mary's Wednesday at Hutton Arena. Stayer, who finished the game with 15 points, hit three long range shots as HU improved to 8-4 overall and 3-2 in MIAC play. 

It took a lot of grit to get there. 

The Pipers trailed 48-39 at the start of the fourth quarter. They still trailed by nine at 60-51 with 3:19 left. Chan'el Anderson-Manning's three point play whittled the margin to six at 60-54. Reilly Geistfeld hit a pair of free throws to make it 60-56. But SMU hit free throws in their own right and led by seven at 65-58 with 25 seconds to play.

That's when things really got interesting. Geistfeld connected from three-point range with 13 seconds left to chop the margin to four at 65-61. After SMU missed two free throws, Geistfeld tossed in another long range missile and it was suddenly a one point game at 65-64 with four seconds left. HU fouled immediately. The Cardinals made the first shot but missed the second. Morgen Coleman snatched the rebound but, with no timeouts, threw the ball up court to Anderson-Manning. The freshmen winged it to Stayer, who left it fly from just in front of the Pipers bench. The buzzer went off with the ball in mid air. The ball hit nothing but net to give HU the win. The Pipers had not led in the game since the 3:40 mark of the first quarter.  

Geistfeld ended up the leading scorer with 23 points, 14 of which came in the second half. She had a dozen rebounds, nine of which came in the second 20 minutes of play.Anderson-Manning joined Stayer on the 15 point pedestal, adding six steals and four assists as well. Rachel Kedl led the cardinals (7-5, 3-2) with 11 points. Claire Patterson and Abby Winter added 10 each. 

At 3-2, Hamline is part of a five way logjam for third place in the MIAC. The Pipers take their winning ways on the road for their next two games. On Saturday, January 5, they visit St. Thomas for a 1:00 p.m. tipoff. HU is at Concordia on January 9 before returning to Hutton to take on Carleton on January 12.