University of St. Thomas Athletics
South Dakota
Game Notes - Women’s Basketball completes grueling three-game, six day road trip
1/21/2022 3:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. - St. Thomas Women's Basketball (6-11, 3-4) completes its three-game road stand as they face Summit League leading South Dakota (15-4, 8-0).
The Tommies most recently fell to South Dakota State, falling to 3-4 in conference action. In the Tommies most recent win, St. Thomas downed NDSU 73-62 on Jan. 15.
Individually, grad student F Erin Norling is leading the team with 13.8 points per game. Norling is connecting on 45 percent (93-of-209) of her shots from the field and 39 percent (35-of-90) of her shots from behind the arc. Freshman G Jade Hill is averaging 12.5 points per game through her first 16 collegiate contests. Hill also leads St. Thomas with 49 assists on the season.
As a team, the Tommies are averaging 59.2 points per game and 35.2 rebounds per game.
Scouting the Coyotes
South Dakota beat Omaha in an 70-53 decision last week.
South Dakota came out firing to start the second half, forcing 10 third-quarter turnovers by the Leathernecks and scoring 16-straight points, to pull away with a 70-53 win over Western Illinois.
As a team, USD is averaging 67.1 points per game and allowing 53.1 points per game. The Coyotes are shooting 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc. USD owns a slight rebounding advantage on the season, on average pulling down 34 rebounds per game compared to 33 by its opponents.
Individually, Chloe Lamb is 1-of-3 Coyotes to average double-digit points per game with 15.4 points, she is joined by Hannah Sjerven and Liv Korngable who contribute an average of 13.3 and 12.3 points per contest, respectively.
Last Time Out
The St. Thomas Women's Basketball Team (6-11, 3-4) fell to South Dakota State (10-8, 6-1) by a score of 88-47 on Thursday night.
The Tommies trailed by one point heading into the second quarter before the Jackrabbits erupted for 26 second-quarter points to pull away and earn the 88-47 win behind a 66 percent (36-55) shooting effort from the field.
In a tightly contested first quarter, St. Thomas trailed by one point on two separate occasions, once with 2:42 to play in the first quarter after a turnaround jumper by grad student F Erin Norling and once again with 37 seconds to play in the opening quarter by way of a pair of made free-throws by sophomore C Kate Burns.
The Jackrabbits found their groove in the second quarter, outscoring the Tommies 26-8 in the quarter to take a 45-26 lead into intermission.
St. Thomas connected on 39 percent (10-of-26) of its shots from the field and 38 percent (3-of-8) from behind the arc in the first half. The Tommies forced six first-half turnovers by the Jackrabbits.
Individually, Norling led the team with 10 points in the first half. Grad Student F Kaia Porter added five points and grabbed a team-high four first-half rebounds.
The third quarter saw Norling pour in another eight points on a 3-of-5 (60 percent) shooting effort from the field.
St. Thomas connected on 35 percent (17-of-48) of its shots from the field and 29 percent (4-of-14) from behind the arc in the contest.
Individually, Norling was one-of-two Tommies to reach double-figures with a game-high 18 points. She was joined by freshman G Jade Hill who contributed 10 points in the contest.
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 356-89 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.
Super-Senior Leadership
Grad Student F Kaia Porter ranks third on the team in scoring (min. five games played), averaging 7.2 points per game. Porter is an efficient three-point shooter connecting on 23-of-70 attempts (33 percent) of her shots on the season from behind the arc. Porter also averages 4.1 rebounds per game and has dished out 27 assists through 17 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 13.8 points per game. Norling is connecting on 45 percent (93-of-209) of her shots from the field and 39 percent (35-of-90) 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 (6-12)
Denver (6-14)
Western Illinois (11-6)
Oral Roberts (9-9)
Kansas City (13-4)
North Dakota State (7-11)
North Dakota (11-8)
South Dakota State (11-8)
South Dakota (15-4)
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 17 games and averages a league-high 35.1 minutes per game...averages 12.5 points per game and 3.1 assists per game.
#12 Jordyn Glynn: 5-9, Jr., G…2021-22: Appeared in 17 games with 13 starts...averages 3.0 points and 4.6 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 11 games...contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
#14 Jordyn Lamker: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Appeared in 13 games for the Purple...scored 17 points and hauled in 23 rebounds.
#15 Phoebe Frentzel: 5-9, Fr., G...2021-22: Played 14 games for St. Thomas...contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds.
#20 Sammy Opichka: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Played in five 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 17 games...averages a team-best 13.8 points per game...connecting on 45 percent (93-of-209) of her shots from the field and 39 percent (35-of-90) 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 16 games played for the Purple...averages 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game...Previously: Drake University…played in 78 games at Drake
#24 Abby Mackenthun: 5-11, Jr., F…2021-22: Played eight games...averages 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds per game, while playing 3.4 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 eight 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 17 games with eight starts...averages 7.2 points and 4.1 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
