University of St. Thomas Athletics
23-3
Concordia-Moorhead
18-9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia-M'head | 6 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 48 |
| St. Thomas | 18 | 9 | 16 | 26 | 69 |
Women's Hoops wins 13th in row, on to finals
2/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By DOUG HENNES
St. Thomas Women's Basketball has lived by the 3-point basket all season long. It broke a school record during the regular season for shots behind the arc with 192, and made eight or more in 14 of 25 games.
So it was no surprise on Thursday night when the No. 8 Tommies came out firing in their MIAC playoff semifinal game against visiting Concordia-Moorhead. They made a pair of treys in the opening minute and never let up, draining 11-of-25 from 3-point range en route to a 69-48 win over the Cobbers.
Top-seed St. Thomas (23-3) advances to the MIAC playoff championship game for the seventh consecutive year and will go for their fifth title in a row at 3 p.m. Saturday in Schoenecker Arena against second-seed St. Mary's (21-5).
The Cardinals, who finished second behind the Tommies during the regular season, defeated Gustavus Adolphus 78-70 in a semifinal game in Winona.
Inside, outside
Coach Ruth Sinn gave credit for the Tommies' hot outside shooting to Kaitlin Langer, the 6-foot-3 junior center whose game-best 20 points led four players in double figures. She never took a shot outside of the lane but made seven shots from close range and hit six free throws.
"It's all a matter of positioning and spacing on offense," Sinn said, "and it's Kaitlin. She's a phenomenal go-to player, and then she kicks the ball out. We have really great shooters, and they get open 3s because Kaitlin establishes us inside."
St. Thomas extended its school record of three-pointers to 203 on the year and its top sharpshooter, senior guard Katie Stone, had four of them in the second half to set the individual school record with 71. She has 192 on her career, second in program history behind Missy Pederson's 210 (1999-2002). She needs two to break the MIAC single-season record.
"I just got into a rhythm," said Stone, who made three straight 3-pointers, preceded by two free-throws, during a third-quarter run that extended St. Thomas' lead from 29-26 to 42-30. "My teammates were setting really good screens, and I was able to step behind them and hit the shots."
Early lead doesn't hold up
The Tommies jumped to a 10-0 lead, opening the game with 3-pointers by freshman guard Lucia Renikoff, who finished with four, and sophomore forward Lauren Fischer. Another Renikoff 3-pointer three seconds before the buzzer gave them an 18-6 after the first quarter.
Concordia bounced back and used a 15-2 run over a five-minute span to take its only lead of the game at 24-23. A Langer layup and two Stone free throws gave St. Thomas a 27-24 lead at halftime.
Stone took over the game in the second half with the 3-point flurry to boost the lead to 42-30. Concordia stayed within striking distance at 55-41 until sophomore guard Maddie Wolkow came off the bench to score the Tommies' next 10 points on a 3-pointer, two breakaway layups, and another 3-pointer for a 65-43 lead.
"Ten in a row?" she asked. "I got some open shots and was able to get out and run. I'm a next-play player – I always try to focus on the next play – so I really don't keep track of points that I score."
Saturday's game against St. Mary's, with an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament at stake, will come a week after the Tommies defeated the Cardinals 89-65 in the regular-season finale on its home floor. St. Thomas won its first game against St. Mary's 76-67 in Winona.
A playoff championship, on top of the regular-season title, would be sweet for the young Tommies, who lost four of five starters from the 30-1 team that reached the Division III quarterfinals. On Thursday night, Sinn started a freshman, a sophomore, two juniors and a senior.
"I didn't think we'd start off the season so well (8-0) against tough non-conference opponents, but I knew we'd be here at the end of the season," Sinn said. "This is the time of year when we start to understand what our identity is and how we need to play to it."
Sinn's last nine teams have combined to build a 69-8 record in February games, including a 15-2 record in conference playoffs and 54-6 mark in the regular season.
