University of St. Thomas Athletics
Idaho State
Game Notes - St. Thomas Women's Basketball starts five-game home stand beginning with Idaho State
12/8/2021 1:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Coming Up
St. Paul - Minn. - St. Thomas Women's Basketball begins a five-game home stand after spending much of November on the road. The Tommies host a pair of non-conference games against Idaho State and Northland before welcoming a pair of Summit League opponents in Omaha and Denver, before closing out the home stand against Upper Iowa on Dec. 29.
The Purple are coming off their second win of the season as they defeated Chicago State, 62-57, this past Saturday in Chicago.
As a team, the Tommies are averaging just under 58 points per game and 31 rebounds per game.
Individually, grad student F Erin Norling is leading the team with 13.5 points per game. Norling is connecting on 44 percent (43-of-98) of her shots from the field and 33 percent (14-of-42) of her shots from behind the arc. Freshman G Jade Hill is averaging 12.0 points per game through her first eight collegiate contests. Hill also leads St. Thomas with 24 assists on the season.
Idaho State Info
Idaho State averages 53.7 points per game, 16.3 fewer than the 70 St. Thomas gives up per contest. The Bengals are 1-1 this season when they put up more than 70 points.
The Bengals are shooting 72.7 percent from the charity stripe as a team, good for sixth in the Big Sky. Finley Garnett is leading Idaho State with 2.0 made free throws a game (shooting 77 percent from the line).
Dora Goles paces the Idaho State's scoring effort, averaging 9.6 points per game. Estefania Ors is the team's best passer, tallying 3.0 assists to go with 6.7 points per game. The Bengals' leading rebounder is Callie Bourne, who pulls down 6.4 boards per game in addition to averaging 8.4 points.
Goles' 1.3 made three-pointers per contest makes her Idaho State's most prolific three-point shooter. She makes 20 percent of her shots from beyond the arc.
Northland Noteables
The Northland Women's Basketball team enters this weekend with a 1-4 record and is set to play a pair of games this weekend before traveling to St. Paul to face the St. Thomas Tommies.
The Lumber Jills are coaches by Daryle Tucker recently completed his fifth season at NCAA Division III Northland College in Ashland, Wis.
The Jills are led by the duo of Miranda Wagner and Triniti Aderson who each average 13 points per game. As a team, Northland is connecting on 33 percent (93-of-279) of its shots from the field and 22 percent (16-of-74) of its attempts from behind the arc.
Last Time Out
The St. Thomas Women's Basketball team went on a 5-0 run in the final 55 seconds of the game to defeat Chicago State, 62-57, and earn its second Division I era win.
The Tommies posted an excellent first quarter, holding a 21-16 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. The Purple led by as many as seven points, 21-14, late in the quarter. St. Thomas connected on seven-of-12 (58 percent) of its shots from the field, including a perfect three-for-three from behind the arc. Junior G Jordyn Glynn led the scoring efforts in the opening quarter with seven points.
St. Thomas took a 33-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Purple cooled off from the field in the second quarter. In total, the Tommies made 11-of-23 (48 percent) of their attempts from the field and four-of-four from behind the arc and a perfect seven-of-seven from the charity stripe.
In the third quarter, the Tommies opened the largest lead of the game, 41-31 with 3:44 remaining in the quarter.
The fourth quarter saw a tightly contested ball game. St. Thomas and Chicago State were tied at 57-57 with 55 seconds remaining before grad student F Kaia Porter connected on a layup, freshman G Phoebe Frentzel made a free throw and freshman G Jade Hill iced the game with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds on the clock to earn the 62-57 win.
Individually, grad student F Erin Norling led the Tommie scoring efforts with 19 points on an eight-of-12 showing from the field and made three-of-five attempts from behind the arc. Joining her in double-digit scoring figures were Glynn and Hill who each recorded 11 points.
As a team, St. Thomas held a lead for over 31 minutes of the game. The Tommies scored 23 points off 18 CSU turnovers. The Purple connected on 22-of-49 (45 percent) of their shots from the field, six-of-15 (40 percent) of their attempts from deep and made 12-of-14 (86 percent) of their free-throw attempts.
Tommie Leader
Head coach Ruth Sinn starts her 17th season at St. Thomas in 2021-22. Her overall record of 358-94, incling a mark of 356-88 in Division III averages out to be a 27-4 over the last nine full seasons.
Sinn returned three starters from a 6-1 team in a shortened 2020-21 season. St. Thomas finished 21-6 in 2019-20, just after a senior-led Tommie team in 2018-19 reached the D-III Final Four with a 30-2 finish.
Second-Quarter Strong
St. Thomas has been playing its best ball in the second quarter of games. The Purple has scored 139 points in the second quarter of their games this season, averaging 17.4 points per second quarter.
Super-Senior Leadership
Grad Student F Kaia Porter ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 7.1 points per game. Porter leads the team in three-point shooting average (36 percent) connecting on 13-of-36 attempts on the season from behind the arc. Porter also averages 3.4 rebounds per game and has dished out 14 assists through the first eight games of the season.
Grad Student F Erin Norling transferred from Wayne State to join the Tommies in their inaugural D-I season. She leads St. Thomas 13.5 points per game. Norling is connecting on 44 percent (43-of-98) of her shots from the field and 33 percent (14-of-42) of her shots from behind the arc.
Schedule Talk
The Toms had six November contests, including four on the road and one on a neutral court. They are now scheduled to play six of seven December games at home. They open Summit League play here in Schoenecker Arena on Dec. 20 and 22 against Omaha and Denver.
Did You Know?
St. Thomas is scheduled to play games in 10 different states and all four time zones this season with trips to Wisconsin, Illinois, California, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, South Dakota and North Dakota.
Tommie Opponents' Last Season W-L
St. Thomas will play 18 games against its nine Summit League foes and nine other non-conference games against D-I opponents. Here's what those 18 teams did last season for won-loss records:
Wisconsin (5-19)
Illinois State (16-9)
South Carolina State (1-9)
Presbyterian (11-10)
Cal Poly (13-11)
North Texas (13-7)
Northern Iowa (17-13)
Chicago State (0-14)
Idaho State (22-4)
Omaha (7-13)
Denver (7-16)
Western Illinois (8-16)
Oral Roberts (6-15)
Kansas City (10-12)
North Dakota State (15-9)
North Dakota (2-19)
South Dakota State (21-4)
South Dakota (19-6)
Family Ties
Freshman guard Jade Hill is the younger sister of WNBA player and former Ohio State standout Tayler Hill.
Freshman forward Jordyn Lamker is the daughter of Tommie All-America WBB player Amy Bot and daughter of Augsburg University head football coach Darrin Lamker.
Transfer forward Maggie Negaard is the younger sister of former St. Thomas swimmer Tom Negaard, a nine-time conference championin relays and individual races here from 2015-19. Their grandfather Jack played basketball at Drake (1949-50).
Tommie Returners
Grad student Kaia Porter: 5-11 G/F…2021-22: Has played in all eight games with five starts...averages 7.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game...D-III: in 71 games over parts of four seasons in D-III she had 716 points, 278 rebounds and 147 assists; started as a sophomore on Tommies' 30-2 Final Four team.… career highs include 23 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals .
Sophomore Katelyn Stanley: 5-8 G…2021-22: Has yet to appear in a game...D-III: Started in all seven games as a freshman; scored 58 points, 21 assists, and secured 43 rebounds; shot 89% from the foul line and hit 10 3-pointers... career highs include 14 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals.
Junior Jordyn Glynn: 5-9 G…2021-22: Appeared in eight games with four starts...averages 3.9 points and 3.9 rebounds through eight games...D-III: Played in 23 games and scored 33 points.
Junior Abby Mackenthun: 5-11 F…2021-22: Played four games...scored two points and hauled in four rebounds...D-III: played in 34 games and has recorded 156 points, 48 assists, 166 rebounds.
Sophomore Kate Burns: 6-2 C…2021-22: Started all seven games shes played...averges 6.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game...D-III: Played in five of team's seven games, scored 30 points.
Sophomore Brynn Schwanz: 6-0 F…2021-22: Appeared in two games...hasn't recorded any stats...D-III: Missed 2020-21 season with an injury.
Newcomers:
Grad Student Transfer Erin Norling: 5-11 F...2021-22: Started all eight games...averages 13.5 points per game...connecting on 44 percent (43-of-98) of her shots from the field and 33 percent (14-of-42) of her shots from behind the arc...Previously: Wayne State University… played four years at D-II Wayne State; recorded 1,597 career points, scored in double figures in 84 games, 4X all-conference, and twice voted onto the elite CoSIDA Academic All-America team… in 2020-21 was voted Northern Sun Conference South Division Player of the Year... led team in scoring (16.3) and rebounding (6.8), ranking fourth in the NSIC in scoring and eighth in rebounding.
Senior Transfer Maggie Negaard: 5-10 G...2021-22: Started all eight games for the Purple...averages 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game...Previously: Drake University…played in 78 games at Drake
Freshman Jade Hill: 5-6 G...2021-22: Started all eight games and averages a team-high 34.9 minutes per game...averages 12.0 points per game and 3 assists per game.
Freshman Gabby Johnson: 5-8 G...2021-22: Played in six games...contributed seven points and eight bounds.
Freshman Jordyn Lamker: 6-0 F...2021-22: Appeared in seven games for the Purple...scored 10 points and hauled in nine rebounds.
Freshman Phoebe Frentzel: 5-9 G...2021-22: Played all eight games for St. Thomas...contributed eight points and four rebounds.
Freshman Sammy Opichka: 6-0 F...2021-22: Has yet to compete for the Tommies.
Freshman Jo Langbehn: 6-2 C...2021-22: Played all eight games for St. Thomas...averages 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Freshman Audrey Hatfield: 6-2 C...2021-22: Has not made St. Thomas debut.
Unprecedented Move
St. Thomas is the first NCAA institution to move all of its athletics teams directly from Division III to D-I in one season.
Tommie teams have begun competing in four conferences across all 21 sports, with 31 different universities as
fellow conference mates:
• The Summit League (18 sports);
• Pioneer Football League;
• Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) for women's hockey;
• Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) for men's hockey.
Division III Era and Tradition
• 1 NCAA championship (1991)
• 7 NCAA Final Fours (three in eight-year span from 2012-2019)
• 32 postseason appearances in last 33 full seasons
• 27 MIAC championships (18 regular-season)
• 30-win seasons four times in nine years (2012-2020)
• 26 NCAA playoff appearances (55 wins)
• 22 All-America honors since 1980
• 77-game conference win streak ended in Dec. 2019
• 5 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
• 9 of the last 21 MIAC Player of the Year honors
• 5 of the 13 MIAC Coach of the Year honors
• Kaitlin Langer 2017 National Player of the Year
