University of St. Thomas Athletics
Sunday, December 11
Madison, Wis.
1:00 p.m. Central
at
Wisconsin
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Women’s Basketball to take on Big Ten foe Wisconsin Sunday
12/9/2022 2:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. -- St. Thomas Women's Basketball heads to Madison, Wis., Sunday for a matchup against Wisconsin. The Tommies and Badgers meet for the second time at 1 p.m. from the Kohl Center.
The Last Time Out
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.
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.
Scouting Wisconsin
The Badgers are 3-8 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten after falling in back-to-back games to open the conference season. Wisconsin was handed losses of 102-71 at home by Iowa on Dec. 4 and 82-54 in Lincoln, Neb., by Nebraska on Dec. 7.
Maty Wilke leads the Badgers with 13.8 points per game followed by Serah Williams with 13.2. Wilke is 42nd in the country with 24 total 3-pointers while Williams is 47th shooting 55.2 percent from the field.
Wisconsin averages 69.9 points per game on 42.8 percent shooting and pulls down 34.9 rebounds per game. The Badgers rank 45th in the country with 16.5 assists per game.
Series History
St. Thomas and Wisconsin have played once all-time, a 67-51 win by the Badgers on Nov. 10, 2021 in Madison, Wis.
The Tommies were outscored by just one point in each of the first, third and fourth quarters while Jo Langbehn led all returners with nine points on 5-of-6 shooting. Maggie Negaard chipped in seven points and pulled down five rebounds.
The Efficient Trio
Sam Opichka, Jordyn Lamker and Jo Langbehn each rank among the top seven in the Summit League in field goal percentage. Opichka leads the Tommies and is fourth in the league shooting 55.9 percent, Lamker is fifth shooting 54.3 percent and Langbehn is seventh shooting 51.0 percent.
No other Summit League program has three student-athletes among the top 11 in field goal percentage.
Running Point
Sophomore Jade Hill has scored in double digits in all but one game this season and led the Tommies in scoring two times. She tied a career-high 24 points in 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 six of eight games.
Hill leads the Summit League with 2.5 steals per game and is ninth with 13.3 points per game.
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.
Sophomore Alexis Pratt recorded her first double-digit scoring game with the Tommies on 10 points against Presbyterian. She added three assists against PC and set a new season-high with four at UIC.
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 now second on the team and 14th in the Summit League with 10.9 points per game this season.
A Pair of Overtimes
St. Thomas recorded its first instance of two overtimes games over a three-game stretch with losses at UIC and Idaho State. It's the first instance of two overtimes in three games since 2002-03, going to overtime against Concordia (Minn.) in an 80-77 win and against Macalester in a 67-59 loss.
The Tommies went to overtime twice in 2021-22 and played in overtime twice from 2018-20.
Good Defense, Bad Result
St. Thomas' loss at Idaho State is the first of the season when limiting its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the field. The Tommies held the Bengals to 4-22 from the field in the first half and 21-61 in the game.
Where Are My Upperclassmen At?
Graduate student Autam Mendez, and seniors Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard are the only three upperclassmen on the team. The 2022-23 Tommies are comprised of three upperclassmen, eight sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen.
Glynn is the only member of the team who was with the program during its NCAA DIII days. She played in 23 games during the 2019-21 seasons and 24 games with 17 starts last season to average 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 points per game. Glynn is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game this season.
Negaard played her first season with the Tommies in 2021-22 after playing in 78 games with nine starts at Drake. She made 24 starts in 27 games played and averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest last year. 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, including 26 games last season, and at North Iowa Area Community College from 2018-20. Mendez has hit at least one 3-pointer in three of the last four games.
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
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.
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.
Scouting Wisconsin
The Badgers are 3-8 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten after falling in back-to-back games to open the conference season. Wisconsin was handed losses of 102-71 at home by Iowa on Dec. 4 and 82-54 in Lincoln, Neb., by Nebraska on Dec. 7.
Maty Wilke leads the Badgers with 13.8 points per game followed by Serah Williams with 13.2. Wilke is 42nd in the country with 24 total 3-pointers while Williams is 47th shooting 55.2 percent from the field.
Wisconsin averages 69.9 points per game on 42.8 percent shooting and pulls down 34.9 rebounds per game. The Badgers rank 45th in the country with 16.5 assists per game.
Series History
St. Thomas and Wisconsin have played once all-time, a 67-51 win by the Badgers on Nov. 10, 2021 in Madison, Wis.
The Tommies were outscored by just one point in each of the first, third and fourth quarters while Jo Langbehn led all returners with nine points on 5-of-6 shooting. Maggie Negaard chipped in seven points and pulled down five rebounds.
The Efficient Trio
Sam Opichka, Jordyn Lamker and Jo Langbehn each rank among the top seven in the Summit League in field goal percentage. Opichka leads the Tommies and is fourth in the league shooting 55.9 percent, Lamker is fifth shooting 54.3 percent and Langbehn is seventh shooting 51.0 percent.
No other Summit League program has three student-athletes among the top 11 in field goal percentage.
Running Point
Sophomore Jade Hill has scored in double digits in all but one game this season and led the Tommies in scoring two times. She tied a career-high 24 points in 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 six of eight games.
Hill leads the Summit League with 2.5 steals per game and is ninth with 13.3 points per game.
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.
Sophomore Alexis Pratt recorded her first double-digit scoring game with the Tommies on 10 points against Presbyterian. She added three assists against PC and set a new season-high with four at UIC.
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 now second on the team and 14th in the Summit League with 10.9 points per game this season.
A Pair of Overtimes
St. Thomas recorded its first instance of two overtimes games over a three-game stretch with losses at UIC and Idaho State. It's the first instance of two overtimes in three games since 2002-03, going to overtime against Concordia (Minn.) in an 80-77 win and against Macalester in a 67-59 loss.
The Tommies went to overtime twice in 2021-22 and played in overtime twice from 2018-20.
Good Defense, Bad Result
St. Thomas' loss at Idaho State is the first of the season when limiting its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting from the field. The Tommies held the Bengals to 4-22 from the field in the first half and 21-61 in the game.
Where Are My Upperclassmen At?
Graduate student Autam Mendez, and seniors Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard are the only three upperclassmen on the team. The 2022-23 Tommies are comprised of three upperclassmen, eight sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen.
Glynn is the only member of the team who was with the program during its NCAA DIII days. She played in 23 games during the 2019-21 seasons and 24 games with 17 starts last season to average 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 points per game. Glynn is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game this season.
Negaard played her first season with the Tommies in 2021-22 after playing in 78 games with nine starts at Drake. She made 24 starts in 27 games played and averaged 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest last year. 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, including 26 games last season, and at North Iowa Area Community College from 2018-20. Mendez has hit at least one 3-pointer in three of the last four games.
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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