University of St. Thomas Athletics

Saturday, January 15
St. Paul, Minn.
1:00 p.m.

6-9,3-2Summit League

55
vs
66

North Dakota

10-8,4-3Summit League

1
2
3
4
F
North Dakota
19
22
12
13
66
St. Thomas (MN)
12
15
10
18
55

Team Stats

UND
UST
FG%
.475
.338
3FG%
.313
.227
FT%
1.000
.667
RB
38
37
TO
10
6
STL
4
5

Game Leaders

Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0

Players Mentioned

C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
Opichka_und

Women’s Basketball rallies in fourth quarter, but can’t overcome North Dakota’s size

1/15/2022 3:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

St. Paul, Minn. – The St. Thomas women's basketball team (6-9, 3-2) fell to North Dakota (10-8, 4-3) on Saturday afternoon by a score of 66-55 in Schoenecker Arena.
 
"Great North Dakota team that came in here, they're on a winning streak, we were on a winning streak and it was a great battle," commented Head Coach Ruth Sinn. "Tonight we just didn't have an answer. It's early in the season, these are things we can work and improve, and we will get better."
 
After dropping 22 points on Thursday night in a short-handed win, freshman G Jade Hill poured in a team-high 19 points, her second-best collegiate total less than 48 hours later in the loss to UND.
 
As a team, St. Thomas couldn't overcome the Fighting Hawks size and a rough day shooting the ball from the field, the Tommies connected on 22-of-65 (34 percent) of their shots from the field and only 23 precent (5-of-22) from behind the arc.
 
The Purple struck first by way of a transition three-point shot from grad student F Erin Norling with Hill assisting. UND outpaced St. Thomas 12-7 through the first five minutes of play.
 
The Fighting Hawks finished the first quarter on a 7-5 run to open up at 19-12 lead through the first period.
 
Five different Tommies contributed buckets in the first quarter, led by Norling and sophomore C Kate Burns each tallying three points. St. Thomas connected on 5-of-18 (28 percent) of its shots from the field and 1-of-4 from behind the arc in the first half.
 
UND opened the second quarter on a 9-5 run opening up a 28-17 lead forcing the Tommies to use a timeout with 7:01 to play in the first half.
 
The Fighting Hawks took a 41-27 lead into halftime behind a 17-of-32 (53 percent) shooting effort from the field. The Tommies connected on 11-of-34 (32 percent) of their shots from the field, but only made 3-of-11 (27 percent) from behind the arc.
 
Individually, freshman F Sammy Opichka led the scoring efforts with seven points. Seven players contributed points in the first half behind a balanced full-team effort.
 
In the third quarter, UND extended its lead by two points, owning a 53-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The St. Thomas defensive efforts helped cool off the UND offensive attack out of the locker room at half, limiting the Fighting Hawks to a 40 percent (6-of-15) shooting effort from the field in the quarter.
 
The Tommies outscored the Fighting Hawks 18-13 in the fourth quarter to test the Fighting Hawks. St. Thomas was able to find its footing shooting the ball in the final 10 minutes of the contest, connecting on 44 percent (7-of-16) of its shots from the field.
 
Rounding out the leading scorers were freshman F Sammy Opichka with a career-high nine points in her third collegiate game. Fellow freshman C Jo Langbehn added eight points in the game and junior G Jordyn Glynn added a team-high seven rebounds.
 
"I'm real proud of our girls' effort, their intensity and we just got to continue. We don't have a lot of time to worry about next, because we're getting on a plane at 6 a.m. tomorrow and we're going down to Oral Roberts, so next game," Sinn added.
 
The Tommies return to action on Monday as they travel to Tulsa, Okla., in a rescheduled game from earlier this season. Tipoff is slated for 12:00 p.m.
 
Jade Hill School of Education Feature
Thursday, February 27
Press Conference: Tommie Women's Basketball Postgame vs ORU 02/26/25
Thursday, February 27
Press Conference: Tommie Women's Basketball Summit League Tournament Preview
Monday, March 04
Press Conference: Tommie Women's Basketball vs NDSU
Friday, February 23