University of St. Thomas Athletics
25-5
UW-Whitewater
24-4
W. Hoops hangs tough but falls to Warhawks
3/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By DOUG HENNES
UW-Whitewater mounted a second-half rally and held off St. Thomas down the stretch Saturday night, knocking off the Tommies 87-78 and denying them a third straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
St. Thomas (25-5) led by four at halftime, fell behind by eight after the break abut rallied to take a 62-61 lead. But the Warhawks (24-4) responded with an 8-0 run and didn't allow the Tommies to get closer than four points the rest of the way.
The loss ended the careers of seniors Taylor Young, Kelly Brandenburg and Annessa Hicks. They finished with a 100-20 record.
"I am so proud of this team and these seniors," Coach Ruth Sinn said. "Look at what they accomplished! They had so many obstacles to overcome, with injuries to players all season long, but they always found a way to get better. They showed real leadership."
Young led the Tommies with 22 points, followed by juniors Jenna Dockter with a season-high 20 and Maggie Weiers with 18. Dockter returned to the lineup eight games ago after a summer knee injury, and Weiers missed all of last season to injury.
The game promised to be a showdown between one of Division III's best defenses (St. Thomas ranked No. 8 at 50.9 points allowed per game) and best offenses (Whitewater was No. 14 at 79 points per game).
The first half featured nine ties before the Tommies went ahead 25-24 on two Brandenburg free throws. They stretched the lead to six twice and led 39-35 at halftime. Dockter had 13 points on perfect shooting - 4 of 4 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free throw line -- while Kristen Ruchti came off the bench to spark Whitewater with 15 points.
The Warhawks used a 9-0 run early in the second half for a 46-42 lead and extended it to eight at 56-48 on their sixth and final three-pointer. But Dockter made a three-pointer -- St. Thomas' first -- and Young hit two shots in the paint during a 7-0 run that brought the Tommies to within 56-55. Two minutes later, back-to-back Weiers' layups gave them a 62-61 lead with 9:29 to go.
It proved to be their final lead. Whitewater scored on four of its next five possessions to go up 69-62. The Tommies cut the deficit to four points on five occasions, the last on a Brandenburg layup with 2:37 to go. But the Warhawks responded each time with free throws or layups to build six-point leads and held on to win.
"We usually get stops in situations like that," Sinn said, "but they (the Warhawks) were aggressive and kept driving to the bucket. The free throws really hurt."
That's where Whitewater won the game, outscoring the Tommies 25-15, including 17-4 in a 52-point second half. The 87 points were the most given up by St. Thomas this year; the previous high was 77 to nationally-ranked Whitman in a season-opening loss.
Ruchti, a volleyball player who joined the basketball team in December, led Whitewater with a season-high 25 points -- more than double her 10-point average. Mary Merg added 22 and Kaitlyn Thill had 14. The Warhawks made only one turnover in the second half and eight for the game, while St. Thomas had 16 turnovers.
Young finished her career in the St. Thomas top 10 in three categories: 1,391 points (fourth), 106 blocks (third) and 257 assists (eight). She also had 476 rebounds and 162 steals.
Brandenburg had 795 points, 380 rebounds, 201 assists and 153 steals in her career.
Click here for box score:
http://www.d3hoops.com/seasons/women/2013-14/box_scores/20140308_ue04.xml
