University of St. Thomas Athletics
Western Illinois
Game Notes - Women’s Basketball returns to Schoenecker Arena to continue Summit League Action
1/27/2022 4:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Coming Up
St. Paul, Minn. - St. Thomas Women's Basketball (6-12, 3-5) starts a three-game home stand as they host Western Illinois (11-7, 2-5).
The Tommies are looking to return to their winning ways and improve on their 3-5 in conference record. St. Thomas will come into the game well rested after their last game at South Dakota on Jan. 22, the final game of a three-game road trip spanning only six days.
The Purple's most recent game at USD features a balance scoring effort with four players each netting at least seven points, led by freshman C Jo Langbehn and freshman G Jade hill with eight points each.
As a team, the Tommies are averaging 58.3 points per game and 35 rebounds per game.
Individually, grad student F Erin Norling is leading the team with 13.4 points per game. Norling is connecting on 43 percent (96-of-221) of her shots from the field and 37 percent (35-of-94) of her shots from behind the arc. Freshman G Jade Hill is averaging 12.2 points per game through her first 18 collegiate contests. Hill also leads St. Thomas with 54 assists on the season.
Lookin' into the Leathernecks
Western Illinois most recently lost to South Dakota State 114-50 last Saturday, Jan. 22 in Brookings, S.D.
Elizabeth Lutz led the Leatherneck offense, scoring a team-high 12 points before fouling out in the final quarter. Lutz also tied for a team-high in rebounds, pulling down three. Evan Zars added eight points for the Leathernecks, while Danni Nichols chipped in with seven. Samantha Pryor had a team-high three assists for the Leathernecks.
As a team, Western Illinois is averaging 74.4 points per game and allowing 69.5 points per game. The Leathernecks are shooting 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc. Western Illinois is being out rebounded on the season, on average pulling down 38.0 rebounds per game compared to 42.7 by its opponents.
Individually, Danni Nichols is 1-of-4 Leathernecks to average double-digit points per game with 17.1 points, she is joined by Jada Thorpe (11.9), Evan Zars (11.2) and Elizabeth Lutz (10.8) as the leading scorers for Western Illinois.
Last Time Out
The St. Thomas women's basketball team (6-12, 3-5) completed its three-game road trip with a 70-43 loss to the University of South Dakota (16-4, 9-0).
A balanced scoring effort in the first 10 minutes of the game gave St. Thomas an 11-9 lead after the first quarter of action. The Tommies were led in scoring in the first quarter by freshman C Jo Langbehn with four points. Four different players contributed to the scoring column in the first quarter. As a team, St. Thomas connected on 5-of-12 (42 percent) of its shots from the field and 1-of-2 (50 percent) of its shots from behind the arc in the first quarter.
Starting with 1:55 to play in the first quarter through the first two mintues of the second quarter, the Tommies went on a 9-0 run to open a 15-9 lead with 8:08 remaining in the first half. USD responded with a 6-1 lead of its own to bring the game to. 16-16 tie with 6:00 remaining in the second quarter.
In the final six minutes of the second quarter, the Coyotes went on a 17-5 run to take a 33-21 lead into halftime.
The Purple connected on 39 percent (9-of-23) of their shots from the field and 17 percent (1-of-6) in the first half and committed seven turnovers.
Langbehn posted a team-high six first-half points, while senior G Maggie Neegard and grad student F Erin Norling each added five points for the Purple through the first two quarters of play.
The Coyote run extended through halftime and into the third quarter – USD limited the Tommies to a 20 percent shooting effort in the third quarter, while connecting on 47 percent of its own shots from the field in the third quarter. The Yotes extended their lead to 53-33 heading into the 4th quarter.
St. Thomas, which played its third game in six days, simply couldn't outlast the Yotes who outscored the Purple 17-10 in the final quarter to claim the 70-43 victory.
As a team, the Tommies shot 33 percent (15-of-46) from the field and under 10 percent (1-of-12) from beyond the arc.
Individually, Langbehn and freshman G Jade Hill lead the team with eight points each. Grad student F Kaia Porter and Norling each contributed seven 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-10 individual rankings and statistics for all games by the 10 conference schools this season.
Rank - Category - Stat
Individual
1st - Minutes - J. Hill, 34.9 per game
4th - Free-Throw Percentage - J. Hill, .813
6th -3-point field goals made - E. Norling, 1.9 per game
7th - Assists -J. Hill, 2.9 per game
8th -Scoring - E. Norling, 13.3 per game
Tommie Leader
Head coach Ruth Sinn is in her 17th season at St. Thomas in 2021-22. Her overall record of 362-100, 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, averaging 7.2 points per game. Porter is an efficient three-point shooter connecting on 24-of-73 attempts (33 percent) of her shots on the season from behind the arc. Porter also averages 4.2 rebounds per game and has dished out 29 assists through 18 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 13.4 points per game. Norling is connecting on 43 percent (96-of-221) of her shots from the field and 37 percent (35-of-94) 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 (5-13)
Illinois State (10-8)
South Carolina State (3-14)
Presbyterian (8-9)
Cal Poly (1-11)
North Texas (7-8)
Northern Iowa (10-6)
Chicago State (3-12)
Idaho State (12-6)
Omaha (6-12)
Denver (6-14)
Western Illinois (11-7)
Oral Roberts (9-10)
Kansas City (13-5)
North Dakota State (8-11)
North Dakota (12-8)
South Dakota State (12-8)
South Dakota (16-4)
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 18 games and averages a league-high 35.1 minutes per game...averages 12.2 points per game and 3.0 assists per game.
#12 Jordyn Glynn: 5-9, Jr., G…2021-22: Appeared in 18 games with 14 starts...averages 2.9 points and 4.4 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 12 games...contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds.
#14 Jordyn Lamker: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Appeared in 14 games for the Purple...scored 17 points and hauled in 23 rebounds.
#15 Phoebe Frentzel: 5-9, Fr., G...2021-22: Played 15 games for St. Thomas...contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds.
#20 Sammy Opichka: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Played in six games this season...made Collegiate debut against Northland...scored 22 points, recorded 16 rebounds and four steals on the season.
#22 Erin Norling: 5-11, Grad Student, F...2021-22: Started all 18 games...averages a team-best 13.4 points per game...connecting on 43 percent (96-of-221) of her shots from the field and 37 percent (35-of-94) 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 15-of-17 games played for the Purple...averages 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game...Previously: Drake University…played in 78 games at Drake.
#24 Abby Mackenthun: 5-11, Jr., F…2021-22: Played nine games...averages 1.8 points and 1.4 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 nine 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 percent 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 18 games with eight starts...averages 7.2 points and 4.2 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 six 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 17 games for St. Thomas...averages 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
#35 Kate Burns: 6-2, So., C…2021-22: Started all 17 games she's played...averges 5.5 points and 2.9 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 four games...made 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
