University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, December 8
St. Paul, Minn.
7:00 p.m. Central
4-4,0-0Summit League
79
vs
64
Purdue Fort Wayne
4-6,1-1Horizon
1
2
3
4
F
Purdue Fort Wayne
20
10
21
13
64
St. Thomas (MN)
18
18
17
26
79
Team Stats
Pur-FW
UST
FG%
.433
.540
3FG%
.192
.214
FT%
.467
.710
RB
33
34
TO
21
18
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Opichka’s double-double powers Tommies to 79-64 win over Mastodons
12/8/2022 10:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. -- Sophomore Sammy Opichka's career night powered St. Thomas Women's Basketball to a 79-64 win over Purdue Fort Wayne Thursday night at Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies closed out the fourth quarter with 26 points to move to 4-4 on the season.
Opichka's first of a career-high 25 points came on the first score of the game as five different players recorded the first five baskets of the game. The lead traded sides three times, including the Mastodons taking a 20-18 lead into the second quarter.
The Tommies began the second quarter on a 16-0 run, limiting the Mastodons to 0-of-7 shooting with five turnovers, for a 34-20 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne brought the St. Thomas lead back to single digits for a 36-30 halftime score.
The Purple brought the lead back to double digits two minutes out of halftime before seeing a 15-4 run cut the lead to 50-49. Opichka connected with Maggie Negaard on back-to-back possessions to start the fourth quarter, including an and-one by Negaard to lead, 58-51. Opichka scored all of St. Thomas' points during a 10-2 run to help the Purple seal the game.
Opichka finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs. It's the first double-double and most points scored by a Tommie since the 2021-22 season finale when Jo Langbehn totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds and Erin Norling recorded 26 points. Opichka shot 10-of-13 from the field and added three assists and three steals.
Negaard followed with 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Jade Hill put in 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and dished out a team-high seven assists.
The Tommies shot 54.0 percent from the field, its first game shooting over 50 percent this season. St. Thomas went 22-of-31 from the free throw line, its most attempts as a team since the start of the 2021-22 season.
St. Thomas travels to Madison, Wisc., to face Wisconsin at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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.
Opichka's first of a career-high 25 points came on the first score of the game as five different players recorded the first five baskets of the game. The lead traded sides three times, including the Mastodons taking a 20-18 lead into the second quarter.
The Tommies began the second quarter on a 16-0 run, limiting the Mastodons to 0-of-7 shooting with five turnovers, for a 34-20 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne brought the St. Thomas lead back to single digits for a 36-30 halftime score.
The Purple brought the lead back to double digits two minutes out of halftime before seeing a 15-4 run cut the lead to 50-49. Opichka connected with Maggie Negaard on back-to-back possessions to start the fourth quarter, including an and-one by Negaard to lead, 58-51. Opichka scored all of St. Thomas' points during a 10-2 run to help the Purple seal the game.
Opichka finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs. It's the first double-double and most points scored by a Tommie since the 2021-22 season finale when Jo Langbehn totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds and Erin Norling recorded 26 points. Opichka shot 10-of-13 from the field and added three assists and three steals.
Negaard followed with 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Jade Hill put in 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and dished out a team-high seven assists.
The Tommies shot 54.0 percent from the field, its first game shooting over 50 percent this season. St. Thomas went 22-of-31 from the free throw line, its most attempts as a team since the start of the 2021-22 season.
St. Thomas travels to Madison, Wisc., to face Wisconsin at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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.
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