University of St. Thomas Athletics
North Dakota
Game Notes - Women’s Basketball takes to the road for three games starting at UND
2/9/2022 3:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. - St. Thomas Women's Basketball (6-15, 3-8) embarks on a three-game road trip as they travel to Grand Forks, N.D. on Thursday to face the University of North Dakota (14-10, 8-5).
The Tommies are looking to return to their winning ways and improve on their 3-8 conference record. St. Thomas faces the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks in their first of three road games in a five day span.
The Purple's most recent game against Oral saw a career-best 27 points from freshman G Jade Hill.
With the game tied at 59-59 with under 30 seconds to play, the Tommies had two chances to secure the win, Norling missed a three-point shot, Langbehn pulled down her 12th rebound of the game and grad student Kaia Porter couldn't connect on the hook shot as time expired. The Tommies outscored the Golden Eagles 18-13 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. The Tommies were outscored 14-8 in the overtime period to fall to the Golden Eagles 73-67.
As a team, the Tommies are averaging 59.1 points per game and 35 rebounds per game.
Individually, grad student F Erin Norling is leading the team with 13.9 points per game. Norling is connecting on 44 percent of her shots from the field and 36 percent of her shots from behind the arc. Freshman G Jade Hill is averaging 13.8 points per game through her first 21 collegiate contests. Hill also leads St. Thomas with 66 assists on the season.
Getting to know the Fighting Hawks
North Dakota most recently defeated Omaha 74-61 in a game played in Omaha, Neb.
In the win over Omaha, the Fighting Hawks shot 42.4 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from the three, and 80.0 percent from the line. Comparatively, the Mavericks shot 35.9 percent from the field, 15.4 percent from the three-point line, and 61.1 percent from the line. Olivia Lane led the Fighting Hawks with 16 points. She also secured ten rebounds to earn her second double-double of the road trip.
As a team, North Dakota is averaging 67.4 points per game and allowing 67.7 points per game. The Fighting Hawks are shooting 41 percent from the field and 31 percent from behind the arc. North Dakota is out rebounding its opponents on the season, on average pulling down 38.8 rebounds per game compared to 37.5 by its opponents.
Individually, Kacie Barowicz is one-of-three Fighting Hawks to average double-digit points per game with 18.4 points, she is joined by Olivia Lane (11.6) and Claire Orth (11.1) as the top scorers for North Dakota. Lane leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game.
Glancing back at the Golden Eagles game
The St. Thomas Women's Basketball Team (6-15, 3-8) trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, but battled back to force overtime, eventually falling to Oral Roberts (12-11, 7-5), 73-67.
Freshman G Jade Hill, who has scored 49 points in her last two outings continue to pace the St. Thomas offensive efforts, finishing today's game with a career-high 27 points. Freshman C Jo Langbehn poster her second-career double-double matching a career-best 12 points and hauling in a career-best 12 rebounds.
The Tommies started slow shooting the ball, connected on one of their first nine shots of the ball game. Freshman C Jo Langbehn scored the first points of the game for the Purple. The Tommies connected on two threes in the opening frame, trailing 16-8 after the first period.
A three-point shot by grad student F Erin Norling cut the Golden Eagle lead to three points, 22-19 with 5:45 remaining in the second quarter. Oral Roberts went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to open up a 32-19 lead with 2:51 to play in the first half. The Purple responded with a 7-2 run of their own to bring the score to 34-26 in favor of the Golden Eagles at halftime.
Langbehn led the Tommies in the opening half with 10 points and four rebounds. The freshman center connected on all five of her shot attempts from the field. Norling ended the half with six points by way of a pair of threes.
As a team, St. Thomas was able to gain some traction shooting the ball, it finished the half connecting on 10-of-27 (37 percent) of its attempts from the field and 3-of-11 (27 percent) from behind the arc. The Tommies were plagued with 12 first-half turnovers which led to 14 points for Oral Roberts.
Oral Robers started the second half on a 4-0 run, the Tommies responded with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the Golden Eagle lead to six points, 38-32 with six minutes to play in the third quarter. The Tommies would get within two points, 38-36 with 3:25 remaining in the third, before ORU pushed its lead back to five, 46-41 at the end of the third quarter.
With 8:23 to play Norling gave the Tommies their first lead of the game, 47-46, before the Golden Eagles responded with a bucket of their own. Over the next five minutes, the two teams would exchange leads with ORU holding a 53-52 lead with 4:20 to play.
With the game tied at 59-59 with under 30 seconds to play, the Tommies had two chances to secure the win, Norling missed a three-point shot, Langbehn pulled down her 12th rebound of the game and grad student Kaia Porter couldn't connect on the hook shot as time expired. The Tommies outscored the Golden Eagles 18-13 in the fourth quarter to force overtime The Tommies were outscored 14-8 in the overtime period to fall to the Golden Eagles 73-67.
As a team, St. Thomas connected on 44 percent (26-of-59) of its shots from the field, 24 precent (4-of-17) from behind the arc, but committed 24 penalties which led to 23 points for the Golden Eagles. Individually, Hill was one of three players to reach double-digit points, leading with a carrer-best 27 points. Norling added 15 points and Langbehn finished with 12 points and 12 boards, her second-collegiate double-double.
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.
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 362-103, 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 25-of-79 attempts (32 percent) of her shots on the season from behind the arc. Porter also averages 4.1 rebounds per game and has dished out 33 assists through 21 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 13.9 points per game. Norling is connecting on 44 percent (114-of-259) of her shots from the field and 36 percent (43-of-118) 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 (6-16)
Illinois State (13-9)
South Carolina State (3-18)
Presbyterian (9-11)
Cal Poly (2-14)
North Texas (10-10)
Northern Iowa (15-6)
Chicago State (4-15)
Idaho State (14-8)
Omaha (6-16)
Denver (8-16)
Western Illinois (12-10)
Oral Roberts (12-11)
Kansas City (18-5)
North Dakota State (9-14)
North Dakota (14-10)
South Dakota State (14-8)
South Dakota (18-5)
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 21 games and averages a league-high 35.5 minutes per game...averages 13.8 points per game and 3.1 assists per game.
#12 Jordyn Glynn: 5-9, Jr., G…2021-22: Appeared in 21 games with 17 starts...averages 3.0 points and 4.1 rebounds through 21 games...D-III: Played in 23 games and scored 33 points.
#13 Gabby Johnson: 5-8, Fr., G...2021-22: Played in 14 games...contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds.
#14 Jordyn Lamker: 6-0, Fr., F...2021-22: Appeared in 16 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 nine games this season...made Collegiate debut against Northland...scored 30 points, recorded 19 rebounds and five steals on the season.
#22 Erin Norling: 5-11, Grad Student, F...2021-22: Started all 21 games...averages a team-best 13.9 points per game...connecting on 44 percent (114-of-259) of her shots from the field and 36 percent (43-of-118) 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 18-of-20 games played for the Purple...averages 5.9 points and 3.6 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 11 games for St. Thomas. this season..contributed 10 points and 18 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 21 games with eight 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 20 games for St. Thomas...averages 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game...posted two double-doubles on the season.
#35 Kate Burns: 6-2, So., C…2021-22: Started all 20 games she's played...averges 5.2 points and 2.9 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
