University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, January 21
St. Paul, Minn.
1:00 p.m. Central
vs
Western Illinois
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Women’s Basketball hosts Western Illinois Saturday for Alumni Day
1/20/2023 9:46:00 AM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. -- St. Thomas Women's Basketball remains at home Saturday, Jan. 21 for its lone game of the weekend, hosting Alumni Day against Western Illinois. The Tommies and Leathernecks tip-off at 1 p.m. from Schoenecker Arena in the third meeting all-time.
St. Thomas secured its first weekend sweep during the NCAA Division I era with a 63-60 win over Kansas City on Jan. 12 and a 76-75 win over Oral Roberts on Jan. 14. The Tommies shot 45.0 percent from the field against the Roos before holding off an 18-point comeback by the Golden Eagles for their first Summit League wins of the season.
Recapping the Kansas City Game
Senior Maggie Negaard put up another career night Thursday with a near triple double to lead St. Thomas Women's Basketball to a 63-60 win over Kansas City in Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies brought home their first win in Summit League play as Negaard led all scorers with a career high 24 points.
After setting a career high in scoring with 19 points on Jan. 7, Negaard scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc, while adding eight assists, which tied a career high, and seven rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Jordyn Lamker with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting with six rebounds while Jo Langbehn added 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting.
Thursday's game, which featured 15 lead changes, saw the Tommies hold a 15-13 advantage after the first quarter before a 31-31 tie at halftime. St. Thomas shot 46 percent from the field in both the first and second quarters.
Following a basket by UMKC out of halftime to take the lead, Negaard recorded her 19th point on her fifth and final 3-pointer of the game. Both teams traded leads through the first seven scores of the second half. St. Thomas made just one of its first five shots in the final period, allowing Kansas City to go on a 11-2 run and take a game-high 54-49 lead.
Amber Scalia pulled up with five minutes to play to sink a jumper, starting an 8-1 run to give the lead back to the Tommies for a short while, 57-55. An and-one conversion allowed the Roos to tie the game and take the lead, but Negaard came back with her own and-one conversion that gave St. Thomas the lead for good.
St. Thomas shot 45.0 percent from the field (27-60) while the Roos shot 36.2 percent from the floor (25-69). UMKC won the rebound margin, 48-34, including 21 offensive rebounds put back for 19 second-chance points. The Purple took advantage of 18 turnovers for 21 points, though, while UMKC scored just 11 points off 17 St. Thomas turnovers.
Recapping the Oral Roberts Game
St. Thomas withstood a fourth quarter scoring barrage to take a 76-75 win over Oral Roberts Saturday in Schoenecker Arena. The victory secured the Tommies' first weekend sweep in the Division I era.
The Tommies led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter before the Golden Eagles scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to take its only lead of the game.
Maggie Negaard was one of four Tommies to score after that point, finishing with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting. The Summit League's leading 3-point shooter hit 4-of-9 from long range as she added four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
After entering the fourth quarter with a 63-50 lead, the Tommie saw the Golden Eagles go on a 15-2 run over the first five minutes to tie the game, 65-65. Negaard answered with a fastbreak jumper in the paint while ORU's Hannah Cooper tied the game again and sank one of two free throws for a 68-67 lead, the team's only lead of the game.
St. Thomas gave away six turnovers to aid Oral Roberts with its lead before Negaard put in a layup with an and-one conversion to get the lead back. Negaard then took advantage of an ORU turnover, finding Jo Langbehn for a layup to extend the lead to four points.
The Tommies shot 38.5 percent from the field (25-65) and 35.7 percent from long range (10-28) while outrebounding the Golden Eagles, 42-40. The Purple cleaned up their work on the boards, denying ORU any second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds and winning the overall rebound margin, 42-40.
The Purple finished with four scorers in double figures, including Jade Hill with 15, Scalia with 12 off the bench and Jordyn Glynn with 11. Glynn and Hill both led the team with eight rebounds, which is a career high for Hill. Langbehn led the team with a career high five assists while she added nine points, four rebounds and one steal.
Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois is 7-12 overall and 2-6 in the Summit League after taking a weekend split against Oral Roberts on Jan. 12 and Kansas City on Jan. 14. The Leathernecks began the weekend with a 94-90 loss to the Golden Eagles before taking a 78-68 win over Kansas City in Macomb, Ill.
Jada Thorpe and Anna Deets lead WIU with 12.6 and 12.5 points per game, respectively, and are the only Leathernecks averaging double digit points. Deets was named the TicketSmarter Summit League Women's Basketball Peak Performer of the Week after averaging 29.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steal per game. She set a career high of 35 points against UMKC and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Thorpe is 14th in the NCAA with 117 total free throw attempts and is 15th with 87 free throws made.
The Leathernecks average 68.6 points per game on 35.1 percent shooting from the field and allow 73.6 points. WIU has a knack of getting to and making its free throws, ranking third with 25.26 free throw attempts per game and leading the country with 18.95 free throws made per game. Western Illinois also ranks 12th in the nation and leads the Summit League with 26.8 3-point field goal attempts per game.
Series History vs. Western Illinois
St. Thomas and have met twice all-time, a series split during the 2021-22 season. The Tommies began the series with a 66-64 double-overtime victory Jan. 1, 2022 at WIU before the Leathernecks pulled out an 82-67 victory Jan. 29, 2022 in St. Paul.
Jade Hill averaged 16.0 points per game against WIU last season, including a 20-point effort on 7-of-18 shooting with three steals Jan. 29. Hill was joined by Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard with scoring in double figures, as Hill totaled 12 points and Glynn and Negaard finished with 11 on Jan. 1.
Negaard's Career Streak
Senior Maggie Negaard entered the season with a single-game career high of 15 points and has since topped that mark in six games, including four straight. She set a career-high with 18 points Dec. 8 against Purdue-Fort Wayne before scoring 19 on Jan. 7 at Omaha and 24 on Jan. 12 against Kansas City. She added 19 points again in the win over ORU.
Negaard is the only student-athlete in the Summit League to have scored at least 17 points in each of their last four games. She joins North Dakota's Kacie Borowicz (four-game streak and seven-game streak) and Kansas City's E'Lease Stafford (six-game streak) to score at least 17 points through at least four consecutive games at any point this season.
Negaard leads the Summit League and is tied for 22nd in the country shooting 43.8 percent from 3-point range. She also leads the Tommies and is tied for 13th in the league with 11.9 points per game. Negaard has sunk at least three 3-pointers in five straight games.
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 scored 16 points Jan. 7 at Omaha to snap a six-game streak failing to reach double digits. Previous to that streak, she had never recorded back-to-back single-digit scoring games in her Tommie career. Hill is averaging 13.0 points per game over the last three outings, scoring 16 points Jan. 7 at Omaha and 15 Jan. 14 against Oral Roberts.
Hill is tied for fourth in the Summit League with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, seventh with 3.6 assists, tied for seventh with 1.7 steals, and is 17th with 10.8 points per game.
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, set twice in 2021-22.
After entering the 2022-23 season with a single-game career-high of 12 points, Langbehn topped that mark in three of a four-game stretch. 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 third for St. Thomas with 9.4 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 fourth on the team with 9.1
Behind the Arc
After going the first 14 games without allowing an opponent to shoot over 36.8 percent from 3-point range, the Tommies allowed three of its last four opponents to shoot at least 40 percent. Denver sank 13 3-pointers on Jan. 5, the most St. Thomas has allowed since Northern Iowa put in 16 on Dec. 1, 2021.
Bad Luck Overtimes
St. Thomas played in its third overtime game of the season Jan. 7 at Omaha, the first season with three overtime games for the program since the 2009-10 season. The Tommies went 2-1 in those games and has lost in all three such games this season. St. Thomas' overtime losses came Nov. 27 at UIC, 75-71, Dec. 3 at Idaho State, 58-54, and Jan. 7 at Omaha, 80-77.
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.
St. Thomas secured its first weekend sweep during the NCAA Division I era with a 63-60 win over Kansas City on Jan. 12 and a 76-75 win over Oral Roberts on Jan. 14. The Tommies shot 45.0 percent from the field against the Roos before holding off an 18-point comeback by the Golden Eagles for their first Summit League wins of the season.
Recapping the Kansas City Game
Senior Maggie Negaard put up another career night Thursday with a near triple double to lead St. Thomas Women's Basketball to a 63-60 win over Kansas City in Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies brought home their first win in Summit League play as Negaard led all scorers with a career high 24 points.
After setting a career high in scoring with 19 points on Jan. 7, Negaard scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc, while adding eight assists, which tied a career high, and seven rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Jordyn Lamker with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting with six rebounds while Jo Langbehn added 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting.
Thursday's game, which featured 15 lead changes, saw the Tommies hold a 15-13 advantage after the first quarter before a 31-31 tie at halftime. St. Thomas shot 46 percent from the field in both the first and second quarters.
Following a basket by UMKC out of halftime to take the lead, Negaard recorded her 19th point on her fifth and final 3-pointer of the game. Both teams traded leads through the first seven scores of the second half. St. Thomas made just one of its first five shots in the final period, allowing Kansas City to go on a 11-2 run and take a game-high 54-49 lead.
Amber Scalia pulled up with five minutes to play to sink a jumper, starting an 8-1 run to give the lead back to the Tommies for a short while, 57-55. An and-one conversion allowed the Roos to tie the game and take the lead, but Negaard came back with her own and-one conversion that gave St. Thomas the lead for good.
St. Thomas shot 45.0 percent from the field (27-60) while the Roos shot 36.2 percent from the floor (25-69). UMKC won the rebound margin, 48-34, including 21 offensive rebounds put back for 19 second-chance points. The Purple took advantage of 18 turnovers for 21 points, though, while UMKC scored just 11 points off 17 St. Thomas turnovers.
Recapping the Oral Roberts Game
St. Thomas withstood a fourth quarter scoring barrage to take a 76-75 win over Oral Roberts Saturday in Schoenecker Arena. The victory secured the Tommies' first weekend sweep in the Division I era.
The Tommies led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter before the Golden Eagles scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to take its only lead of the game.
Maggie Negaard was one of four Tommies to score after that point, finishing with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting. The Summit League's leading 3-point shooter hit 4-of-9 from long range as she added four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
After entering the fourth quarter with a 63-50 lead, the Tommie saw the Golden Eagles go on a 15-2 run over the first five minutes to tie the game, 65-65. Negaard answered with a fastbreak jumper in the paint while ORU's Hannah Cooper tied the game again and sank one of two free throws for a 68-67 lead, the team's only lead of the game.
St. Thomas gave away six turnovers to aid Oral Roberts with its lead before Negaard put in a layup with an and-one conversion to get the lead back. Negaard then took advantage of an ORU turnover, finding Jo Langbehn for a layup to extend the lead to four points.
The Tommies shot 38.5 percent from the field (25-65) and 35.7 percent from long range (10-28) while outrebounding the Golden Eagles, 42-40. The Purple cleaned up their work on the boards, denying ORU any second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds and winning the overall rebound margin, 42-40.
The Purple finished with four scorers in double figures, including Jade Hill with 15, Scalia with 12 off the bench and Jordyn Glynn with 11. Glynn and Hill both led the team with eight rebounds, which is a career high for Hill. Langbehn led the team with a career high five assists while she added nine points, four rebounds and one steal.
Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois is 7-12 overall and 2-6 in the Summit League after taking a weekend split against Oral Roberts on Jan. 12 and Kansas City on Jan. 14. The Leathernecks began the weekend with a 94-90 loss to the Golden Eagles before taking a 78-68 win over Kansas City in Macomb, Ill.
Jada Thorpe and Anna Deets lead WIU with 12.6 and 12.5 points per game, respectively, and are the only Leathernecks averaging double digit points. Deets was named the TicketSmarter Summit League Women's Basketball Peak Performer of the Week after averaging 29.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steal per game. She set a career high of 35 points against UMKC and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Thorpe is 14th in the NCAA with 117 total free throw attempts and is 15th with 87 free throws made.
The Leathernecks average 68.6 points per game on 35.1 percent shooting from the field and allow 73.6 points. WIU has a knack of getting to and making its free throws, ranking third with 25.26 free throw attempts per game and leading the country with 18.95 free throws made per game. Western Illinois also ranks 12th in the nation and leads the Summit League with 26.8 3-point field goal attempts per game.
Series History vs. Western Illinois
St. Thomas and have met twice all-time, a series split during the 2021-22 season. The Tommies began the series with a 66-64 double-overtime victory Jan. 1, 2022 at WIU before the Leathernecks pulled out an 82-67 victory Jan. 29, 2022 in St. Paul.
Jade Hill averaged 16.0 points per game against WIU last season, including a 20-point effort on 7-of-18 shooting with three steals Jan. 29. Hill was joined by Jordyn Glynn and Maggie Negaard with scoring in double figures, as Hill totaled 12 points and Glynn and Negaard finished with 11 on Jan. 1.
Negaard's Career Streak
Senior Maggie Negaard entered the season with a single-game career high of 15 points and has since topped that mark in six games, including four straight. She set a career-high with 18 points Dec. 8 against Purdue-Fort Wayne before scoring 19 on Jan. 7 at Omaha and 24 on Jan. 12 against Kansas City. She added 19 points again in the win over ORU.
Negaard is the only student-athlete in the Summit League to have scored at least 17 points in each of their last four games. She joins North Dakota's Kacie Borowicz (four-game streak and seven-game streak) and Kansas City's E'Lease Stafford (six-game streak) to score at least 17 points through at least four consecutive games at any point this season.
Negaard leads the Summit League and is tied for 22nd in the country shooting 43.8 percent from 3-point range. She also leads the Tommies and is tied for 13th in the league with 11.9 points per game. Negaard has sunk at least three 3-pointers in five straight games.
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 scored 16 points Jan. 7 at Omaha to snap a six-game streak failing to reach double digits. Previous to that streak, she had never recorded back-to-back single-digit scoring games in her Tommie career. Hill is averaging 13.0 points per game over the last three outings, scoring 16 points Jan. 7 at Omaha and 15 Jan. 14 against Oral Roberts.
Hill is tied for fourth in the Summit League with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, seventh with 3.6 assists, tied for seventh with 1.7 steals, and is 17th with 10.8 points per game.
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, set twice in 2021-22.
After entering the 2022-23 season with a single-game career-high of 12 points, Langbehn topped that mark in three of a four-game stretch. 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 third for St. Thomas with 9.4 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 fourth on the team with 9.1
Behind the Arc
After going the first 14 games without allowing an opponent to shoot over 36.8 percent from 3-point range, the Tommies allowed three of its last four opponents to shoot at least 40 percent. Denver sank 13 3-pointers on Jan. 5, the most St. Thomas has allowed since Northern Iowa put in 16 on Dec. 1, 2021.
Bad Luck Overtimes
St. Thomas played in its third overtime game of the season Jan. 7 at Omaha, the first season with three overtime games for the program since the 2009-10 season. The Tommies went 2-1 in those games and has lost in all three such games this season. St. Thomas' overtime losses came Nov. 27 at UIC, 75-71, Dec. 3 at Idaho State, 58-54, and Jan. 7 at Omaha, 80-77.
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.
Players Mentioned
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