University of St. Thomas Athletics
Iowa State
Tommies return home to host Iowa State
11/27/2023 11:02:00 AM | Women's Basketball
First Power Five match up in program history
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team is back in Minnesota. After a week-long trip to California, the Tommies are back for, perhaps, the "biggest" game in program history. St. Thomas will host Iowa State University in the first official Power Five match up in program history on Wednesday, November 29.
The Tommies put together, perhaps, their best week in the DI era, winning three consecutive games over UW-River Falls, Utah Valley and Saint Mary's (Calif.). Over the weekend, though, St. Thomas saw its three-game win streak snapped, as the team fell to UC Irvine and Butler at Pacific University's Turkey Tip-Off Classic in Stockton, California. The Tommies were plagued by inconsistency at the tournament, as they averaged just 56.0 points in two games while surrendering an average of 75.0 a night. However, St. Thomas has proved to be quite good at rebounding. The Tommies are 1-1 this season in games following a loss, and 1-0 at Schoenecker Arena this season.
Tip off between St. Thomas and Iowa State is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota. Tickets are still available for purchase online at www.tommiesports.com/tickets, and fans who cannot attend the game in person can follow along on the Summit League Network. The home of all Summit League action, the Summit League Network is a subscription-based platform with costs $9.99 per most or $79.99 for an annual plan. The fee provides fans and alumni with the opportunity to watch St. Thomas from a variety of devices through the Midco Sports Plus app, including phones, tablets, TVs, and web-based browser interference. Additionally, the app and its exclusive Summit League content will be available on AppleTV, Fire TV and Roku, allowing fans to sign in and watch through their account on multiple devices. Fans can subscribe at www.midcosportsplus.com.
Tommie Tidbits:
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in its trip to California. Winning perhaps the biggest game in the DI era, a 74-60 thrashing of Saint Mary's (Calif.), the Tommies lost two straight to close the trip, falling to UC Irvine and Butler at the Turkey Tip-Off Classic, hosted by Pacific University. St. Thomas got out to hot starts in both games before falling by final scores of 74-65 and 76-54, as the team was plagued by inconsistency on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Still, the Tommies saw their top scorers continue to put points on the board, as Amber Scalia, Jade Hill and Jo Langbehn all scored 10+ points against both the Anteaters and Bulldogs.
TUNE IN: Basketball fans can follow the Tommies on their new streaming home, the Summit League Network, fueled by Midco Sports and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas basketball games along with exclusive Tommie and Summit League content. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Fans can also follow Live Stats on TommieSports.com.
PROMOTIONS: The first 150 students in attendance will receive a free bucket hat and thundersticks to cheer on the Tommies.
THE OPPOSITION: Iowa State has established itself as one of the best programs in women's basketball during head coach Bill Fennelly's tenure. An NCAA Tournament team in 2022-23, the Cyclones are off to a 2-3 start in 2023-24 and have played a ridiculously tough schedule to open the season. Iowa State opened the year with an 82-55 win over the same Butler team that beat the Tommies on Saturday and also earned a 78-60 win over Southern a few weeks ago. However, like St. Thomas, the Cyclones struggled in their holiday tournament, falling to Vanderbilt (68-53) and Syracuse (81-69) without scoring 70 points in either game.
POWER FIVE WELCOME: The Tommies have achieved a lot of "firsts" in the DI era, and Wednesday will be no different. Iowa State will be the first Power Five women's basketball team to play in Schoenecker Arena. However, it's not the first Power Five team to square off against any Tommie team at home. The women's hockey team has been facing Power Five opponents since joining the WCHA in 2021-22, facing powerhouses such as the Badgers, Minnesota and Ohio State on a regular basis. The St. Thomas men's hockey team played the Gophers at a neutral site in 2023-24, nearly upsetting the No. 1/2 team in the country at Xcel Energy Center on October 13, 2023.
COACHING ROYALTY: Wednesday's game will feature two of the winningest coaches in college basketball, as Ruth Sinn and Bill Fennelly square off for the first time in their respective careers. The two coaches have won a combined 1136 games in 1622 chances and both own career win percentage over .600. Fennelly owns a career win percentage of .680, while Sinn owns a .746 win percentage in her career.
POST PRESENCE: Wednesday's game will feature two of the best post players in women's basketball this season. St. Thomas junior Jo Langbehn has been on a hot streak to open the 2023-24 season, averaging 12.7 points per game while shooting .714 from the floor. She was incredibly impressive during the Tommies trip to California, averaging 14.3 points in three games while shooting a blistering .769 from the floor (20-26). Meanwhile, Iowa State first year Audi Cooke has taken the court by storm in her first season with the Cyclones. A 6'3 center from Algona, Iowa, Cooke is averaging 16.8 points per game for Iowa State and shooting .729 (35-48) from the floor.
800/100 CLUB: Junior guard Jade Hill has made a name for herself in just three seasons with St. Thomas. During the team's trip to California, Hill joined the 800/100 club, becoming the first Tommie student-athlete in the DI era to score 800 points and tally 100 steals with St. Thomas. Entering Wednesday's contest, Hill owns 812 career points, averaging 12.69 per game throughout her Tommie career, and exactly 100 steals. She additionally looks to eclipse the 300 career assists milestone this season with 229 total to her name.
300/250 CLUB: Hill isn't the only student-athlete nearing milestones for St. Thomas. Fifth year senior Jordyn Glynn is inching closer and closer to 300 career rebounds, as she sits at 294 entering Wednesday's contest. Langbehn is also creeping up the rebound rankings. The junior owns 247 in three seasons with the Tommies and is just three away from the 250 career rebound milestone. Head coach Ruth Sinn is also on milestone watch, as she looks to win her 400th career game this season.
CONFERENCE COMPARISON: How much separation is there between the Power Five and mid-majors in women's basketball this season? As of Sunday morning, the Big 12 as a conference was averaging 77.0 points per game thanks to .459 shooting from the floor, which includes a nation-leading .354 clip from three-point range. The Summit League, by comparison, is averaging 67.0 points per game this season and shooting .403 from the floor and .285 from three-point range. There is some separation, however, the Summit League has multiple teams ranking towards the top of the nation in various statistical categories. Omaha ranks 18th in bench points per game (31.8), while South Dakota State's defense continues to be one of the stingiest in college basketball. The JackRabbits rank 14th in defensive FGP (.329) and 18th in blocks per game (5.6) as of Sunday.
IS THAT... NOT GOOD?: For the second time this season, St. Thomas saw four student-athletes score 10+ points in a single game... and lose. Glynn (15), Langbehn (14), Hill (11) and Amber Scalia (10) all scored in double digits in the Tommies 76-54 loss to Butler on Saturday, marking the second time this season St. Thomas has had 4+ double-digit point performers in a loss. The first time it occurred was in the season opener at Drake when five different players scored 10+ points (Langbehn, Glynn, Hill, Scalia, Faith Feuerbach). That marked the first time in the DI era five Tommies scored double-digits in the same game.
SCHOENECKER SUCCESS: St. Thomas is hard to beat in Schoenecker Arena. Since head coach Ruth Sinn took over in 2005-06, the Tommies are 193-46 on their home court. In fact, St. Thomas has only posted one losing record at home in the past 18 seasons and lost just six games at home from 2011 to 2019. Since making the leap to Division I, though, St. Thomas is 12-16 in home games, which includes a 7-6 record in 2022-23. So far this season, the Tommies are 2-0 at home and average 85.5 points per game at Schoenecker Arena.
NO SCALING BACK: Amber Scalia, in particular, is a force to be reckoned with on her home court. In two games at Schoenecker Arena, the sophomore guard has scored 54 points, including a career-high 28 in the win over Utah Valley on November 18. In fact, in the Tommies three wins this season, Scalia averaged 23.3 points per game and scored 20+ points in two of those three victories. Additionally, the sophomore shot 19-41 from the floor in those victories, just under .500, and shot at least 50% from three-point land in two of those wins. Currently, Scalia ranks third in the Summit League in scoring (18.0), fourth in field goal percentage (.455), and leads the conference in three-points per game (2.3).
