University of St. Thomas Athletics
25-2
Gustavus Adolphus
22-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gustavus Adolphus | 13 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 56 |
| University of St. Thomas | 11 | 23 | 13 | 15 | 62 |
W. Hoops in 7th heaven with latest playoff title
2/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By DOUG HENNES
As the St. Thomas players and coaches gathered for a team photo on the court Saturday afternoon, everyone grinned at the cameras and held up an open hand and two fingers.
Seven . . . as in seven consecutive MIAC women's basketball playoff championships.
It wasn't easy to hit that mark, playing without their likely All-American center against a tough Gustavus team, but the No. 8 Tommies pulled through with a 62-56 win. They earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament and hope to host a first-round game next Friday night.
In the process, St. Thomas (25-2) extended several other streaks. It has won 18 games in a row this season, 54 consecutive games against conference opponents (30 at home), and 20 straight games against Gustavus. This is the fourth straight year they swept the MIAC regular season and playoff titles.
"I am so proud of these players," said coach Ruth Sinn, basketball net draped around her neck. "Our All-American post (Hannah Spaulding) goes down (Feb. 17 with an injury) and they just said, 'We can't worry about it.' They just wouldn't get down."
Three guards scored in double figures – Maddie Wolkow with 17 points, Lucia Renikoff with 12, and Kaylie Brazil with 11 – and it was Wolkow who provided the spark time after time. She hit a career-high five 3-pointers, including back-to-back treys inside three minutes to go.
"My shot just felt good," said Wolkow, who played a game-high 38 minutes, "and my teammates got me open."
Wolkow said the Tommies felt confident they could win without Spaulding, who suffered a concussion on Feb. 17 and also missed Thursday's semifinal win over St. Mary's. She has cleared concussion protocol and will return to practice on Monday.
"We are a very deep team," Wolkow said. "We work hard all-year round – not just during the season – and we knew we could win today. We believed in each other and we played the way we are supposed to – as a team."
Sinn pointed to Wolkow and fellow senior Lauren Fischer, who pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
"Those two are 78-2 against conference opponents," Sinn said. "We talked about seven in a row before the game and how they had to work hard and do the little things to succeed. And they did."
Gustavus leads early
In last year's championship game, St. Thomas jumped to a 30-16 lead over Gustavus after the first quarter and won 66-49. But it was the Gusties who held the early lead on Saturday and looked very sure of themselves.
They jumped ahead 13-7. The Tommies took the lead for good at 19-16 on a Fischer 3-pointer and made five from beyond the arc in the second quarter to extend the lead to 34-28 at halftime. For the game, UST's five starters hit 11 of 25 3-pointers, and Gustavus made only six.
Brazil said the players had "a pretty motivational" talk at halftime, but it didn't start with Sinn. "It was before the coaches came in," the junior guard said. "We talked about how it had been a long season and how we worked so hard, and we told each other we just had to work a little harder."
St. Thomas built leads of eight points three times in the second half, but Gustavus would not fade. The Gusties dominated the boards 42-27, with 22 offensive rebounds, and held a 14-5 edge on the glass in the fourth quarter alone. But they also shot only 32 percent for the game to the Tommies' 44 percent.
"It was a really physical game," Sinn said. While St. Thomas missed the presence of Spaulding, who averages 19.9 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, Sinn pointed to the hard-nosed play of regular backups Elsa Anderson and Kaia Porter.
"They stepped up and filled roles," Sinn said. "They just hung in there."
Gustavus cut its final eight-point deficit to 53-50 with 3:18 to go, and that's when Wolkow took charge. She made a 3-pointer and, after a Gustavus layup, hit her final trey. The Gusties got back-to-back baskets to close to 59-56, but Renikoff made three free throws to ice the win.
Tommie notes
• In the 18-year history of the MIAC playoffs, the Tommies now have won half the titles. The only year this decade when they weren't champions was 2011, when they lost to Concordia in the title game.
• Over the last seven seasons, Sinn's teams have a 190-20 (.904) record including a 32-6 postseason mark. St. Thomas is 297-80 (.788) in her 13 years as coach.
• This will be St. Thomas' 25th appearance in an NCAA tournament in 35 seasons, with a record of 49-24 in the first 24 appearaances. The Tommies won the national title in 1991 under coach Ted Riverso and All-American center Laurie Trow Kelly, who has coached Gustavus the last six seasons, and have finished third nationally five times.
• A different player has led the Tommies in scoring each of the last four games.
