University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, November 18
St. Paul, Minn.
2:30 p.m. Central
2-1,0-0Summit League
70
vs
62
Utah Valley
1-2,0-0WAC
1
2
3
4
F
Utah Valley
12
14
16
20
62
St. Thomas (MN)
20
13
17
20
70
Amber Scalia scored a career high 28 points Saturday afternoon.
Photo by: Rebecca Twite
Scalia leads Tommies to 70-62 win over Utah Valley
11/18/2023 5:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The University of St. Thomas women's basketball really loves playing in Schoenecker Arena, In their second home game of the 2023-24, the Tommies were once again victorious in their home arena, as they earned an impressive win over Utah Valley University. With the help of a career high 28 points from sophomore Amber Scalia (Stillwater Minn./ Stillwater), St. Thomas won its second consecutive game by a final score of 70-62. With the win, the Tommies are now 2-1 overall entering their trip to California.
RECAP:
St. Thomas could not have asked for a better start to its third game of 2023-24. The Tommies opened with a 13-0 run in the first quarter, as Scalia scored eight points thanks to 5-6 shooting from the floor. The Wolverines eventually managed to crack the St. Thomas defense, pulling nearly within 10 at 18-7. However, the Tommies maintained their strong and impressive lead, as it was again Scalia knocking down two free throws to make it 20-12 St. Thomas after the first quarter.
Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn./ Elk River) started the second quarter with a layup, but Utah Valley held the hot hand early. Thanks to a run of their own, the Wolverines pulled within five at 22-17. A three by Faith Feuerbach (Sycamore, Ill./ Sycamore) and free throws by Langbehn helped get the Tommies back on track, as they were able to extend the lead back to a seemingly comfortable 27-20. However, the Wolverines lurked in the background, always staying within striking distance of the St. Thomas lead. Still, a three by Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) and last second free throws by Scalia helped the Tommies walk into the locker room with a 33-26 halftime lead.
St. Thomas watched as its lead slipped away to open the third, as Utah Valley stole all the momentum the Tommies took into the locker room at the half. This time around, it was St. Thomas' turn to lurk in the shadows, as a layup from Phoebe Frentzel (Hartland, Wis./ Arrowhead) ignited a run for the Tommies. Thanks to baskets from Scalia, Langbehn and Angelina Hammond (Hopkins, Minn./ Hopkins), St. Thomas was able to take back the lead at 45-40 and the defense held the Wolverines at bay in the closing minutes.
With a 50-42 lead after 30 minutes of play, St. Thomas took the court in the fourth looking confident and ready to shutdown Utah Valley for good. Still the Wolverines continued to hang around, matching the Tommies shot for shot early in the quarter. However, the closest Utah Valley would ever come to catching St. Thomas was six points. Thanks to the Tommies stingy defense, and strong free throw shooting, the Wolverines were forced to foul in the closing seconds, and it still wasn't enough to whittle the lead. It was Scalia who eventually secured the victory, sinking two free throws with under 10 seconds to clinch the 70-62 win over St. Thomas.
TOP TOMMIES
RECAP:
St. Thomas could not have asked for a better start to its third game of 2023-24. The Tommies opened with a 13-0 run in the first quarter, as Scalia scored eight points thanks to 5-6 shooting from the floor. The Wolverines eventually managed to crack the St. Thomas defense, pulling nearly within 10 at 18-7. However, the Tommies maintained their strong and impressive lead, as it was again Scalia knocking down two free throws to make it 20-12 St. Thomas after the first quarter.
Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn./ Elk River) started the second quarter with a layup, but Utah Valley held the hot hand early. Thanks to a run of their own, the Wolverines pulled within five at 22-17. A three by Faith Feuerbach (Sycamore, Ill./ Sycamore) and free throws by Langbehn helped get the Tommies back on track, as they were able to extend the lead back to a seemingly comfortable 27-20. However, the Wolverines lurked in the background, always staying within striking distance of the St. Thomas lead. Still, a three by Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) and last second free throws by Scalia helped the Tommies walk into the locker room with a 33-26 halftime lead.
St. Thomas watched as its lead slipped away to open the third, as Utah Valley stole all the momentum the Tommies took into the locker room at the half. This time around, it was St. Thomas' turn to lurk in the shadows, as a layup from Phoebe Frentzel (Hartland, Wis./ Arrowhead) ignited a run for the Tommies. Thanks to baskets from Scalia, Langbehn and Angelina Hammond (Hopkins, Minn./ Hopkins), St. Thomas was able to take back the lead at 45-40 and the defense held the Wolverines at bay in the closing minutes.
With a 50-42 lead after 30 minutes of play, St. Thomas took the court in the fourth looking confident and ready to shutdown Utah Valley for good. Still the Wolverines continued to hang around, matching the Tommies shot for shot early in the quarter. However, the closest Utah Valley would ever come to catching St. Thomas was six points. Thanks to the Tommies stingy defense, and strong free throw shooting, the Wolverines were forced to foul in the closing seconds, and it still wasn't enough to whittle the lead. It was Scalia who eventually secured the victory, sinking two free throws with under 10 seconds to clinch the 70-62 win over St. Thomas.
TOP TOMMIES
- Sophomore Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) led the team with a career-high 28 points, scoring 20+ in back-to-back games for the first time in her career, thanks to .460 shooting from the floor.
- Fifth year Jordyn Glynn (Grand Meadow, Minn. / Grand Meadow) added 11 points for the team, shooting .800, and contributed four rebounds.
- Junior Phoebe Frenzel (Hartland, Wis. / Arrowhead) had six points and eight rebounds for a career high.
- Angelina Hammond (Hopkins, Minn. / Hopkins) led the team with nine rebounds on Saturday.
CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS
Scalia's night at the free throw line was historic on several levels. After going 16-16 from the charity stripe, Scalia set the Division I record for free throws attempted and made in a game and became the first player to attempt more than 15 rebounds in a game since Kaitlin Langer in 2016-17. The eventual All-American was 14-20 from the free throw line and was the last player to attempt 15+ free throws before Scalia attempted 16 on Saturday.
UP NEXT
The Tommies continue nonconference play on Tuesday, November 21, as they travel to Moraga, California for a 7:00 p.m. CT tipoff against Saint Mary's (Calif.). They will then play in the Tiger Turkey Tip-off later in the week in Stockton California, facing UC Irvine and Butler.
Team Stats
UVU
UST
FG%
.356
.408
3FG%
.304
.280
FT%
.591
.719
RB
35
42
TO
18
23
STL
5
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
16
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
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