University of St. Thomas Athletics
North Dakota State
Game Notes - Women’s Basketball continues three-game road trip at North Dakota State
2/11/2022 3:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. - St. Thomas Women's Basketball (6-16, 3-9) continues their three-game road trip as they travel to Fargo, N.D. on Saturday for game two of three-straight road games as they face North Dakota State (9-15, 5-9).
The Tommies are looking to return to their winning ways and improve on their 3-9 conference record. St. Thomas faces looks to complete the season sweep over the Bison after earning a 73-62 win in Schoenecker Arena on Jan. 13.
In the last game against the Bison, The Tommies were led by Erin Norling (34) and Jade Hill (22) offensively as the two players combined for 56 points. Norling went 6-9 from deep while Hill was 7-8 at the free throw line. Kaia Porter fell just short of a double-double as she tallied nine points and 10 boards against the Bison.
The Tommies excelled in the paint, scoring 32 of their 73 points inside the restricted zone. The Bison were held to just 22 points in the paint. St. Thomas shot 46.6 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from deep, and 91.7 percent at the charity stripe in the victory.
As a team on the season, the Tommies are averaging 59.2 points per game and 35 rebounds per game.
Individually, grad student F Erin Norling is leading the team with 14.2 points per game. Norling is connecting on 45 percent of her shots from the field and 37 percent of her shots from behind the arc. Freshman G Jade Hill is averaging 13.6 points per game through her first 22 collegiate contests. Hill also leads St. Thomas with 70 assists on the season.
Bits on the Bison
North Dakota State most recently fell to Western Illinois, 61-59, in a game played in Fargo, N.D.
The Bison trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half before storming back outscoring the Leathernecks (13-10, 4-8 Summit) in the third frame, 23-7, to pull within one, 49-48, after three quarters of play. NDSU then stole a four-point edge, 55-51, after Reneya Hopkins found Emily Dietz for a jumper with 5:22 remaining. The Leathernecks answered right back locking the contest, 59-59, with 15 seconds to play. Elizabeth Luth then buried two free throws to give Western Illinois a 61-59 advantage with two seconds on the clock. NDSU was unable to get anything going on the inbound and went on to drop the contest, 61-59.
As a team, North Dakota State is averaging 62.8 points per game and allowing 65.1 points per game. The Bison are shooting 40 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc. North Dakota State is out rebounding its opponents on the season, on average pulling down 34.4 rebounds per game compared to 32.6 by its opponents.
Individually, Heavan Hamling is one-of-two Bison to average double-digit points per game with 13.4 points, she is joined by Ryan Cobbins (11.3) as the top scorers for North Dakota.
Last Time Out
The St. Thomas Women's Basketball Team (6-16, 3-9) posted a strong second half, but had its efforts come up short at North Dakota (6-20, 2-11), with a 74-61 loss in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Tommies trailed by seven points with 4:43 to play, before UND ended the game on a 10-6 run.
With 3:04 remaining in the first quarter, the two teams were tied at 10-10, before North Dakota went on an 8-2 run to take an 18-12 lead into the second quarter. The Tommies connected on 5-of-17 shots from the field, including a 2-of-7 showing from deep in the opening quarter.
The Fighting Hawks hit a three-point shot 20 seconds into the second quarter to open up a 21-12 lead. North Dakota outscored St. Thomas 22-16 in the second quarter to push their lead to 40-28 at halftime.
As a team, St. Thomas connected 11-of-33 of its shots from the field and 4-of-11 attempts from behind the arc through the first 20 minutes of the game.
A total of seven Tommies found their way into the scoring column in the first half of the game. Freshman C Jo Langbehn led the way with a team-best six points in the first 20 minutes of play. Senior G Maggie Negaard hauled in a team-best five first-half rebounds.
The Tommies were able to improve their shooting in the third quarter, connecting on 40 percent of their shots from the field in the quarter and 3-of-7 from behind the arc. The Purple put up 19 points in the third quarter, but were unable to cut into the UND lead, as the Fighting Hawks scored 20 points in the frame to open their lead to 60-47 heading into the fourth quarter.
St. Thomas trailed by seven points with 4:43 to play, before UND ended the game on a 10-6 run. The Tommies and the Fighting Hawks each posted 14 points in the fourth quarter.
As a team, St. Thomas connected on 37 percent (23-of-63) of its shots from the field, 33 percent (7-of-21) from behind the arc and committed only eight turnvoers in the game.
Individually for the Tommies, grad student F Erin Norling led the scoring efforts with 22 points on a 9-of-17 showing from the field, including a 3-of-7 effort from deep. Freshman G Jade Hill added 11 points and a team-high four assists in the game.
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.
* Please notes the rankings were not updated by the league at the time of publication and do not reflect Thursday's game *
Rank - Category - Stat
Individual
1st - Minutes - J. Hill, 35.5 per game
4th - Free-Throw Percentage - J. Hill, .794
5th - 3-point field goals made - E. Norling, 2.1 per game
7th - Assists - J. Hill, 3.1 per game
7th - Scoring - E. Norling, 13.9 per game
9th - Scoring - J. Hill, 13.8 per game
Tommie Leader
Head coach Ruth Sinn is in her 17th season at St. Thomas in 2021-22. Her overall record of 362-104, including a mark of 356-88 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 6.5 points per game. Porter is an efficient three-point shooter connecting on 26-of-84 attempts (31 percent) of her shots on the season from behind the arc. Porter also averages 4.1 rebounds per game and has dished out 34 assists through 22 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 14.2 points per game. Norling is connecting on 45 percent (123-of-276) of her shots from the field and 37 percent (46-of-125) 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 (6-17)
Illinois State (14-9)
South Carolina State (3-18)
Presbyterian (9-13)
Cal Poly (3-14)
North Texas (11-10)
Northern Iowa (16-6)
Chicago State (4-16)
Idaho State (15-8)
Omaha (6-17)
Denver (8-17)
Western Illinois (13-10)
Oral Roberts (12-11)
Kansas City (18-5)
North Dakota State (9-15)
North Dakota (15-10)
South Dakota State (16-8)
South Dakota (19-5)
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 22 games and averages a league-high 35.9 minutes per game...averages 13.6 points per game and 3.2 assists per game.
#12 Jordyn Glynn: 5-9, Jr., G…2021-22: Appeared in 22 games with 17 starts...averages 2.8 points and 4.2 rebounds through 22 games...D-III: Played in 23 games and scored 33 points.
#13 Gabby Johnson: 5-8, Fr., G...2021-22: Played in 15 games...contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds.
#14 Jordyn Lamker: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Appeared in 17 games for the Purple...scored 22 points and hauled in 27 rebounds.
#15 Phoebe Frentzel: 5-9, Fr., G...2021-22: Played 18 games for St. Thomas...contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds.
#20 Sammy Opichka: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Played in 10 games this season...made Collegiate debut against Northland...scored 33 points, recorded 19 rebounds and five steals on the season.
#22 Erin Norling: 5-11, Grad Student, F...2021-22: Started all 22 games...averages a team-best 14.2 points per game...connecting on 45 percent (123-of-276) of her shots from the field and 37 percent (46-of-125) 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 19-of-21 games played for the Purple...averages 5.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game...Previously: Drake University…played in 78 games at Drake.
#24 Abby Mackenthun: 5-11, Jr., F…2021-22: Played 10 games...averages 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game, while playing 3.1 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 12 games for St. Thomas. this season..contributed 13 points and 21 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 22 games with nine starts...averages 6.5 points and 4.1 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 seven games...has recorded two rebounds and one steal...D-III: Missed 2020-21 season with an injury.
#34 Jo Langbehn: 6-2, Fr., C...2021-22: Played 21 games for St. Thomas with one start...averages 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game...posted two double-doubles on the season.
#35 Kate Burns: 6-2, So., C…2021-22: Started 20-of-21 games this season...averges 5.0 points and 2.8 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
