University of St. Thomas Athletics
South Dakota State
Game Notes - Women’s Basketball to play SDSU in second of three-game road trip
1/19/2022 5:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. - St. Thomas Women's Basketball (6-10, 3-3) continues its three-game road stand as they face South Dakota State University (10-8, 6-1).
The Tommies most recently fell to Oral Roberts in a rescheduled game, falling to 3-3 in conference action. Last Thursday night, St. Thomas downed NDSU 73-62.
Individually, grad student F Erin Norling is leading the team with 13.5 points per game. Norling is connecting on 44 percent (86-of-196) of her shots from the field and 38 percent (32-of-85) of her shots from behind the arc. Freshman G Jade Hill is averaging 12.6 points per game through her first 16 collegiate contests. Hill also leads St. Thomas with 47 assists on the season.
As a team, the Tommies are averaging 60.0 points per game and 36 rebounds per game.
'Rabbit Talk
South Dakota State beat Denver in an 87-43 decision on Saturday afternoon.
SDSU ended the game shooting 55 percent from the field and 10-for-12 from the free throw line compared to 29 percent field-goal shooting and a 50 percent free-throw rate for Denver.
As a team, SDSU is averaging 68.9 points per game and allowing 61.1 points per game. The Jackrabbits are shooting 45 percent from the field and 37 percent from behind the arc. SDSU owns a slight rebounding advantage on the season, on average pulling down 35 rebounds per game compared to 32 by its opponents.
Individually, Paige Meyer is 1-of-2 Jackrabbits to average double-digit points per game with 10.4 points, she is joined by Myah Selland who contributes and average of 10.2 points per contest.
Last Time Out
The St. Thomas women's basketball team (6-10, 3-3) trailed by two points, 40-38, midway through the third quarter before Oral Roberts (9-8, 4-2) ended the game on a 32-6 run to earn the 72-44 win.
In the first of three road games in a six-day stretch, grad student F scored a team-high 11 points, as a total of eight Tommies made their way into the scoring column.
The Tommies struck first with a layup from grad student F Kaia Porter before the Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run to open an 8-2 lead four minutes into the first quarter. St. Thomas responded with a 5-0 run of its own cutting the lead to 8-7 halfway through the first quarter.
The Purple connected on 5-of-12 (42 percent) of their shots from the field in the first quarter and 2-of-5 (40 percent) from behind the arc but trailed Oral Roberts 19-14 after one quarter of play.
With just under four minutes played in the second quarter, senior G Maggie Negaard knocked down her second three-point shot of the game to cut the Golden Eagle lead to 23-21 with five minutes to play in the first half. Through the first 14 minutes of the game, Negaard connected on all three of her shots from the field including both attempts from behind the arc to score a team-best 8 points.
Porter knocked down another three-point basket with 3:54 remaining in the first half to cut the Oral Roberts' lead to one point, 25-24. Over the final 3:54 of the second quarter, the Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 lead to take a 32-24 lead into intermission.
In the first half, St. Thomas connected on 9-of-33 (27 percent) of its shots from the field, 4-of-12 (33 percent) from behind the arc and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
Individually, Negaard led the scoring efforts with eight points through the first 20 minutes of play. Freshman C Jo Landbehn hauled in a team-best five first-half rebounds.
The Purple came out of halftime and outscored the Golden Eagles 12-8 through the first six minutes of the third quarter to cut the Oral Roberts lead to two points, 40-38 with 4:10 to play in the third quarter. St. Thomas connected on six of their first nine shots in the second half and a strong defensive effort held Oral Roberts to a 2-of-7 showing in that same timeframe.
Despite the strong Tommie start to the third quarter, the Golden Eagles ended the third quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 50-38 lead into the fourth quarter. The Purple didn't have an answer for the Golden eagles as they finished the game on a 32-6 run to earn the 72-44 victory.
St. Thomas connected on 18-of-62 (29 percent) of its shooting attempts from the field and 4-of-23 (17 percent) from behind the arc, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the game.
Conference Standings
As the Tommies enter their first Summit League games, they are towards the top of a handful of statistic across the conference.
Below are the top-five team and individual rankings and statistics for all games by the 10 conference schools this season.
Rank Category Stat
Team
5th Rebounding Margin +0.9 per game
Individual
1st Minutes J. Hill, 35.1 per game
5th Free-Throw Percentage J. Hill, .786
8th Assists J. Hill, 2.9 per game
9th Scoring E. Norling, 13.4 per game
7th 3-point field goals made E. Norling, 2.0 per game
10th Scoring J. Hill, 12.8 per game
10th Blocked Shots E. Norling, 0.8 per game
10th Defensive Rebounds E. Norling, 4.3 per game
Tommie Leader
Head coach Ruth Sinn is in her 17th season at St. Thomas in 2021-22. Her overall record of 362-98, including 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 have outscored their opponents 268-257 in the second quarter of their games this season, averaging 16.8 points per second quarter.
Super-Senior Leadership
Grad Student F Kaia Porter ranks third on the team in scoring (min. five games played), averaging 7.4 points per game. Porter is an efficient three-point shooter connecting on 22-of-66 attempts (33 percent) of her shots on the season from behind the arc. Porter also averages 3.9 rebounds per game and has dished out 26 assists through 16 games this 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 (86-of-196) of her shots from the field and 38 percent (32-of-85) 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, followed by six of seven December games at home. They opened 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 those 18 teams records so far this season:
Wisconsin (4-12)
Illinois State (9-7)
South Carolina State (1-14)
Presbyterian (7-8)
Cal Poly (1-11)
North Texas (7-6)
Northern Iowa (10-5)
Chicago State (2-12)
Idaho State (10-6)
Omaha (6-11)
Denver (5-14)
Western Illinois (11-5)
Oral Roberts (9-8)
Kansas City (12-4)
North Dakota State (7-10)
North Dakota (10-8)
South Dakota State (10-8)
South Dakota (14-4)
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 champion in relays and individual races here from 2015-19. Their grandfather Jack played basketball at Drake (1949-50).
Tommie Players
#4 Jade Hill: 5-6, Fr., G...2021-22: Started all 16 games and averages a league-high 35.3 minutes per game...averages 13.0 points per game and 2.9 assists per game.
#12 Jordyn Glynn: 5-9, Jr., G…2021-22: Appeared in 16 games with 12 starts...averages 3.2 points and 4.8 rebounds through 16 games...D-III: Played in 23 games and scored 33 points.
#13 Gabby Johnson: 5-8, Fr., G...2021-22: Played in 10 games...contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
#14 Jordyn Lamker: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Appeared in 12 games for the Purple...scored 16 points and hauled in 20 rebounds.
#15 Phoebe Frentzel: 5-9, Fr., G...2021-22: Played 13 games for St. Thomas...contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds.
#20 Sammy Opichka: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Played in four games this season...made Collegiate debut against Northland...scored 20 points, recorded nine rebounds and three steals on the season.
#22 Erin Norling: 5-11, Grad Student, F...2021-22: Started all 16 games...averages a team-best 13.5 points per game...connecting on 44 percent (86-of-196) of her shots from the field and 38 percent (32-of-85) of her shots from behind the arc...scored a career-high 34 points against NDSU...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.
#23 Maggie Negaard: 5-10, Sr., G...2021-22: Started 14 of 15 games played for the Purple...averages 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game...Previously: Drake University…played in 78 games at Drake
#24 Abby Mackenthun: 5-11, Jr., F…2021-22: Played seven games...averages 2.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, while playing 3.3 minutes per game...D-III: played in 34 games and has recorded 156 points, 48 assists, 166 rebounds.
#25 Katelyn Stanley: 5-8, So., G…2021-22: Played in seven games for St. Thomas...contributed 10 points and 18 rebounds on the season...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.
#32 Kaia Porter: 5-11, Grad Student, G/F…2021-22: Has played in all 16 games with seven starts...averages 7.4 points and 3.9 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.
#33 Brynn Schwanz: 6-0, So., F…2021-22: Appeared in four games...has recorded two rebounds...D-III: Missed 2020-21 season with an injury.
#34 Jo Langbehn: 6-2, Fr., C...2021-22: Played all 15 games for St. Thomas...averages 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
#35 Kate Burns: 6-2, So., C…2021-22: Started all 15 games she's played...averges 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game...D-III: Played in five of team's seven games, scored 30 points.
#50 Audrey Hatfield: 6-2, Fr., C...2021-22: Played in two games...ade collegiate debut against Northland...scored eight points and recorded four rebounds, two blocks and a steal on the season.
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
