University of St. Thomas Athletics
Tuesday, November 15
Normal, Ill.
6:30 p.m. Central
at
Illinois State
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Redbirds to host Tommie Women’s Basketball Tuesday in second-ever meeting
11/14/2022 1:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. -- St. Thomas Women's Basketball travels for its second road game of the season Tuesday, Nov. 15 with a 6:30 p.m. tip-off at Illinois State in Normal, Ill.
The Last Time Out
Freshman guard Amber Scalia provided a second-half spark Saturday night to lead St. Thomas Women's Basketball to a 61-35 win over South Carolina State at Schoenecker Arena. Scalia finished with 14 points and four 3-pointers while senior Maggie Negaard led the Tommies with 15 points.
"I felt like the girls did a really good job executing the game plan and staying to it," Head Coach Ruth Sinn said. "Even in the first half when we weren't hitting shots, they continued to stay the course, started to hit shots and all of a sudden the momentum of the game changed."
Negaard began the game with the first of her three 3-pointers followed immediately by a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs. Both teams began to struggle shooting from the field, as the Tommies failed to convert their second field goal until Scalia connected on her first 3-pointer with 43 seconds to play in the first quarter.
The Tommie defense held the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for nine minutes of game time spanning into the second quarter. St. Thomas built its lead to 11, 18-7, and limited South Carolina State to just four points in the quarter.
Negaard sank two of St. Thomas' first three field goals of the second half, both coming from beyond the arc. Her final 3-pointer of the game pushed her scoring total to 15 and gave the Tommies a 28-16 lead.
St. Thomas finished the final 5:47 of the third quarter on a 20-4 run, hitting 7-of-10 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point line. After entering the fourth quarter with a 48-22 lead, the Tommies pushed its lead to a game-high 34, 61-27, with 2:10 to play.
Negaard went 3-of-8 from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Scalia finished 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range with 11 of her 14 points coming in the second half. Sophomore Jade Hill was the final Tommie to register double-digit points with 12.
The Tommies shot 34.0 percent from the field (18-53) and 34.4 percent from the 3-point line (11-32) while going a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line. St. Thomas took advantage of 22 South Carolina State turnovers which led to 21 points.
Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State won its season opener in overtime, 74-70, over Dayton on Thursday, Nov. 10 in Dayton, Ohio. The Redbirds also won an exhibition over Indianapolis, 77-58, and finished the 2021-22 season 19-14 overall and 12-6 in the Summit League following a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Dayton jumped ahead of Illinois Sate 18-12 after the first quarter and held a 31-28 lead at halftime. The Redbirds outscored the Flyers in the fourth quarter, 18-14, to force overtime. The lead traded after the first three scores of overtime as Paige Robinson and Maya Wong each scored five points in the the period.
Head Coach Kristen Gillespie enters her sixth year leading the Redbirds. She guided the team to its fifth Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2008.
The Redbirds bring back 10 returners from last season's MVC Championship and NCAA Tournament team, including All-MVC First Team member and MVC All-Tournament Team member, DeAnna Wilson. ISU added three transfers and two freshmen in the off-season, including NCAA Division II Player of the Year, Paige Robinson (Drury), NJCAA All-Region VII Team member, Ta'Shonna Wright-Gaskins (Chipola College), and NJCAA All-American, Daijah Smith (most recently Wabash Valley College). Taylor Veach and Abbie Aalsma make up the Redbirds' freshmen class for the 2022-23 season.
Series History
The Tommies and Redbirds have met once all-time, a 70-55 loss for St. Thomas on Nov. 13, 2021 in Normal, Ill.
The Redbirds jumped out to a 16-6 lead after the first quarter before the Tommies won the second, 14-12. Illinois State outscored St. Thomas over the final two quarters to spoil the Purple's NCAA Division I home debut.
Jade Hill led all Tommies with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting with five assists against Illinois State. Only four current Tommies scored against the Redbirds in last season's meeting.
NCAA Division I Year One in Review
Head Coach Ruth Sinn leads the Tommies into year two of NCAA Division I play after a 7-21 campaign, including a 4-14 mark in the Summit League, last season.
The Tommies bring back nine returners, including three starters, and welcome in six newcomers. Seniors Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard, along with sophomore Jade Hill, were each consistent starters a year ago.
The first Summit League victory for St. Thomas came at home against Denver on Dec. 22, 56-48. The Tommies concluded their first Division I season with a 61-56 road win at Omaha.
Coming in Hot
Two Tommies were selected to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team last season, including sophomore Jade Hill and graduate transfer Erin Norling.
Hill played the most minutes per game of any women's freshman player in DI hoops in 2021-22. Hill averaged 36.15 minutes over 28 games. (Only one freshman DI men's player, Trey Townsend of Oakland at 36.24, had a higher per-game average.) Hill also led the entire Summit League in minutes per game.
Hill leads the Tommies this season with 13.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. She's shooting 34.8 percent from the field (8-23), 42.9 percent from 3-point range (3-7) and .875 from the free throw line (7-8).
Where Are My Upperclassmen At?
Graduate student Autam Mendez, and seniors Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard are the only three upperclassmen on the team.
Glynn is the only member of the team who was with the program during its NCAA DIII days. She played in 24 games with 17 starts last season to average 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 points per game. Glynn is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game, totaling four against Northern Iowa and five against South Carolina State.
Negaard played her first season with the Tommies in 2021-22 after transferring in from Drake. She made 24 starts in 27 games played and averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. This season, Negaard has led the Tommies in scoring once, totaling 15 points in the win over South Carolina State.
Mendez makes her Tommie debut this season after playing at San Jose State from 2020-22 and at North Iowa Area Community College from 2018-20. Mendez played nine of her 10 minutes this season against South Carolina State.
Hitting a Stride Early
The Tommies began the 2021-22 Summit League schedule 3-1 after putting together a three-game winning streak in league play.
First Four 2021-22 Summit League Games
Dec. 20 vs. Omaha - L, 61-55
Dec. 22 vs. Denver - W, 56-48
Jan. 1 at Western Illinois - W, 66-64 (2OT)
Jan. 13 vs. North Dakota State - W, 73-62
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Women's Basketball, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWBBall
Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2022 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
The Last Time Out
Freshman guard Amber Scalia provided a second-half spark Saturday night to lead St. Thomas Women's Basketball to a 61-35 win over South Carolina State at Schoenecker Arena. Scalia finished with 14 points and four 3-pointers while senior Maggie Negaard led the Tommies with 15 points.
"I felt like the girls did a really good job executing the game plan and staying to it," Head Coach Ruth Sinn said. "Even in the first half when we weren't hitting shots, they continued to stay the course, started to hit shots and all of a sudden the momentum of the game changed."
Negaard began the game with the first of her three 3-pointers followed immediately by a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs. Both teams began to struggle shooting from the field, as the Tommies failed to convert their second field goal until Scalia connected on her first 3-pointer with 43 seconds to play in the first quarter.
The Tommie defense held the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for nine minutes of game time spanning into the second quarter. St. Thomas built its lead to 11, 18-7, and limited South Carolina State to just four points in the quarter.
Negaard sank two of St. Thomas' first three field goals of the second half, both coming from beyond the arc. Her final 3-pointer of the game pushed her scoring total to 15 and gave the Tommies a 28-16 lead.
St. Thomas finished the final 5:47 of the third quarter on a 20-4 run, hitting 7-of-10 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point line. After entering the fourth quarter with a 48-22 lead, the Tommies pushed its lead to a game-high 34, 61-27, with 2:10 to play.
Negaard went 3-of-8 from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Scalia finished 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range with 11 of her 14 points coming in the second half. Sophomore Jade Hill was the final Tommie to register double-digit points with 12.
The Tommies shot 34.0 percent from the field (18-53) and 34.4 percent from the 3-point line (11-32) while going a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line. St. Thomas took advantage of 22 South Carolina State turnovers which led to 21 points.
Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State won its season opener in overtime, 74-70, over Dayton on Thursday, Nov. 10 in Dayton, Ohio. The Redbirds also won an exhibition over Indianapolis, 77-58, and finished the 2021-22 season 19-14 overall and 12-6 in the Summit League following a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Dayton jumped ahead of Illinois Sate 18-12 after the first quarter and held a 31-28 lead at halftime. The Redbirds outscored the Flyers in the fourth quarter, 18-14, to force overtime. The lead traded after the first three scores of overtime as Paige Robinson and Maya Wong each scored five points in the the period.
Head Coach Kristen Gillespie enters her sixth year leading the Redbirds. She guided the team to its fifth Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2008.
The Redbirds bring back 10 returners from last season's MVC Championship and NCAA Tournament team, including All-MVC First Team member and MVC All-Tournament Team member, DeAnna Wilson. ISU added three transfers and two freshmen in the off-season, including NCAA Division II Player of the Year, Paige Robinson (Drury), NJCAA All-Region VII Team member, Ta'Shonna Wright-Gaskins (Chipola College), and NJCAA All-American, Daijah Smith (most recently Wabash Valley College). Taylor Veach and Abbie Aalsma make up the Redbirds' freshmen class for the 2022-23 season.
Series History
The Tommies and Redbirds have met once all-time, a 70-55 loss for St. Thomas on Nov. 13, 2021 in Normal, Ill.
The Redbirds jumped out to a 16-6 lead after the first quarter before the Tommies won the second, 14-12. Illinois State outscored St. Thomas over the final two quarters to spoil the Purple's NCAA Division I home debut.
Jade Hill led all Tommies with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting with five assists against Illinois State. Only four current Tommies scored against the Redbirds in last season's meeting.
NCAA Division I Year One in Review
Head Coach Ruth Sinn leads the Tommies into year two of NCAA Division I play after a 7-21 campaign, including a 4-14 mark in the Summit League, last season.
The Tommies bring back nine returners, including three starters, and welcome in six newcomers. Seniors Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard, along with sophomore Jade Hill, were each consistent starters a year ago.
The first Summit League victory for St. Thomas came at home against Denver on Dec. 22, 56-48. The Tommies concluded their first Division I season with a 61-56 road win at Omaha.
Coming in Hot
Two Tommies were selected to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team last season, including sophomore Jade Hill and graduate transfer Erin Norling.
Hill played the most minutes per game of any women's freshman player in DI hoops in 2021-22. Hill averaged 36.15 minutes over 28 games. (Only one freshman DI men's player, Trey Townsend of Oakland at 36.24, had a higher per-game average.) Hill also led the entire Summit League in minutes per game.
Hill leads the Tommies this season with 13.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. She's shooting 34.8 percent from the field (8-23), 42.9 percent from 3-point range (3-7) and .875 from the free throw line (7-8).
Where Are My Upperclassmen At?
Graduate student Autam Mendez, and seniors Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard are the only three upperclassmen on the team.
Glynn is the only member of the team who was with the program during its NCAA DIII days. She played in 24 games with 17 starts last season to average 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 points per game. Glynn is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game, totaling four against Northern Iowa and five against South Carolina State.
Negaard played her first season with the Tommies in 2021-22 after transferring in from Drake. She made 24 starts in 27 games played and averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. This season, Negaard has led the Tommies in scoring once, totaling 15 points in the win over South Carolina State.
Mendez makes her Tommie debut this season after playing at San Jose State from 2020-22 and at North Iowa Area Community College from 2018-20. Mendez played nine of her 10 minutes this season against South Carolina State.
Hitting a Stride Early
The Tommies began the 2021-22 Summit League schedule 3-1 after putting together a three-game winning streak in league play.
First Four 2021-22 Summit League Games
Dec. 20 vs. Omaha - L, 61-55
Dec. 22 vs. Denver - W, 56-48
Jan. 1 at Western Illinois - W, 66-64 (2OT)
Jan. 13 vs. North Dakota State - W, 73-62
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Women's Basketball, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWBBall
Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2022 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
Players Mentioned
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