Women’s Basketball closes calendar year with home series versus USD, SDSU

St. Paul, Minn. -- St. Thomas Women's Basketball returns to Schoenecker Arena Dec. 29 and 31 to host South Dakota and South Dakota State for the first home Summit League games of 2022-23. The Tommies welcome in the Coyotes at 7 p.m. Thursday before facing the Jackrabbits at 1 p.m. Saturday in St. Paul.

The Last Time Out
St. Thomas opened the Summit League schedule 0-2 following losses of 70-56 Dec. 19 at North Dakota and 74-56 Dec. 21 at North Dakota State.

The Tommies shot 31.4 percent from the field overall and just 20.4 percent from 3-point range while the Fighting Hawks and Bison combined to shoot 44.7 percent and 34.1 percent long range. The Purple were outscored 82-47 combined in the first half of both games.

The Tommies outscored the Fighting Hawks by 10 points in the fourth quarter but shot under 30 percent from the field to open the Summit League schedule.

The Tommies shot season lows of 29.4 percent from the field (20-68) and 15.6 percent from 3-point range (5-32) compared to 45.9 percent from the floor (28-61) and 31.8 percent (7-22) from long range for the Fighting Hawks.

Jo Langbehn led the Tommies with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting while Mendez led with eight rebounds. Negaard finished with nine points and Opichka totaled eight.

The Tommies faced another double-digit halftime deficit two days later against the Bison and recorded its second lowest total field goals of the season.

The Tommies shot 34.0 percent from the field (18-53) and 29.4 percent from 3-point range (5-17). St. Thomas was outrebounded, 43-27, while Sammy Opichka led the Purple with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting with four rebounds, one block and one steal.

Scouting South Dakota
The Coyotes enter Thursday's game 6-7 overall and 2-0 in the Summit League after taking home wins to open conference play. South Dakota scored the most total points among all Summit League teams with wins of 82-59 over Kansas City and 101-57 against Oral Roberts.

Grace Larkins leads the Coyotes and ranks third in the Summit League with 17.3 points per game and ranks among the top seven in the league in six categories including assists per game (4.2/3rd), free throw percentage (.817/3rd), 3-point field goals per game (1.8, t-5th), rebounds per game (6.7/6th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3/6th) and steals per game (1.8/7th). She is the reigning TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week after averaging 24.0 points per game on 67 percent shooting to open the conference schedule.

South Dakota is second in the conference with 72.1 points per game and allows 64.6 points while shooting 41.4 percent from the field, which is third in the Summit. The Coyotes are 19th in the nation and lead the league shooting 37.4 percent from 3-point range.

Series History vs. South Dakota
St. Thomas and South Dakota have played twice all-time, both wins by USD last season. The Tommies fell to the Coyotes in Vermillion, S.D., 70-43 on Jan. 2, 2022 before a 73-46 loss in St. Paul on Feb. 17, 2022.

Jade Hill led all Tommies with 11.0 points per game versus USD, including a 14-point effort in February, going 7-of-8 on free throws with four assists. Hill tied Jo Langbehn for the team lead with eight points during the first-ever meeting.

Scouting South Dakota State
The Jackrabbits begin the week 9-5 overall, including wins in five of the last six games, while starting the Summit League schedule 2-0. South Dakota State took an 83-80 win over Oral Roberts on Dec. 19 before an 86-54 victory over Kansas City on Dec. 21.

Myah Selland is the only Jackrabbit to average double-digit scoring with a team-high 15.4 points per game. She also leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game and is third in the Summit League shooting 50.0 percent from the field.

South Dakota State averages 70.4 points and allows 64.8 points per game. The Jackrabbits are second in the Summit League and 60th in the nation with 41.4 rebounds per game.

Series History vs. South Dakota State
St. Thomas and South Dakota State have played twice in the series, both wins for SDSU last season. The Tommies fell 88-47 on Jan. 20, 2022 in Brookings, S.D., before an 83-42 loss on Feb. 19, 2022 in St. Paul.

Hill leads all Tommie returners with 10.5 points per game against the Bison, scoring 10 points in January and 11 in February. Langbehn averaged 7.0 points per game on 7-of-9 shooting.

The Efficient Duo
Jo Langbehn and Sammy Opichka rank fifth and eighth, respectively, in the Summit League in field goal percentage. Langbehn leads the Tommies shooting 55.3 percent from the field and Opichka follows shooting 49.5 percent.

Go Hard in the Paint
Sophomore Jo Langbehn recorded a career-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds Sunday, Dec. 11 at Wisconsin to mark her fourth career double-double. She sank 9-of-13 from the field while five of her rebounds came on the offensive end. Langbehn was two rebounds shy of her career high and totaled nearly one-third of her season rebound total on Sunday.

After entering the 2022-23 season with a single-game career-high of 12 points, Langbehn has topped that mark in three of the last six games. She set a new mark of 14 points Dec. 3 at Idaho State before scoring 21 points at Wisconsin and following up with another 20-point effort Dec. 14 against Chicago State. Langbehn is second on the Tommies and tied for 19th in the Summit League with 9.8 points per game.

Sammy 2-O
Sophomore Sammy Opichka went off for a career-high 20 points Nov. 15 at Illinois State before topping it with 25 points Dec. 8 versus Purdue Fort Wayne. She was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line against ISU. She also recorded career highs of 12 rebounds and three steals against PFW, marking the first double-double of her career and the first for St. Thomas since the 2021-22 season finale.

This is the first instance of a Tommie recording at least 25 points and 12 rebounds in a game since Brynne Rolland recorded 30 points and 13 rebounds Jan. 22, 2020 against Bethel. It's also the first time a Tommie went at least 6-of-6 from the field since Langbehn went 6-of-6 against Oral Roberts on Feb. 5, 2022.

Opichka's two 20-point games this season match her entire scoring output from the 2021-22 season. She totaled 45 points as a freshman and is third on the team and 22nd in the Summit League with 9.7 points per game this season.

Running Point
Sophomore Jade Hill scored in double digits during eight of the first nine games this season and led the Tommies in scoring two times. She scored a season-high 24 points during the Nov. 19 win over Presbyterian and set a season-high six assists Nov. 15 at Illinois State. Hill has led the team in assists in nine of 12 games.

Hill is third in the Summit League with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, third with 2.2 steals, fifth with 3.8 assists, and is 13th with 11.4 points per game.

Behind the Arc
St. Thomas allowed its first opponent to shoot over 35 percent from 3-point range in the win over Chicago State on Dec. 14. The Tommies have held 10 of their 12 opponents to less than 35 percent from long range. The Purple have outshot their opponents from beyond the arc in seven of 12 games.

Maggie Negaard is tied with South Dakota's Grace Larkins for fifth in the Summit League with 1.8 3-pointers per game. She's shooting 42.0 percent from beyond the arc to lead the Tommies.

Non-Conference Improvement
St. Thomas improved its non-conference win total from last year by two victories. The Tommies went 5-5 this season after going 3-7 in non-conference games last season. The Purple are currently two wins shy of its overall win total from 2021-22.

The Tommies saw a bump in field goal percentage (.395 to .416), 3-point field goal percentage (.304 to .311), rebounds per game (33.6 to 35.9), assists per game (12.4 to 14.6) and points per game (61.1 to 63.4).

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Women’s Basketball closes calendar year with home series versus USD, SDSU

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Players Mentioned

Jade Hill

Jo Langbehn

Maggie Negaard

Sammy Opichka

University of St. Thomas Athletics