University of St. Thomas Athletics
Milwaukee
Women's basketball continues road trip at Milwaukee
12/6/2023 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. PAUL, MINN. – December is officially off and running for the University of St. Thomas women's basketball team. After a busy start to the season, the Tommies will kick off another weekend on the road Thursday evening, as they travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on the Milwaukee Panthers for the first time in program history.
St. Thomas is still looking for its first win of December, and its first in four games, as the Tommies opened the month with an 82-78 loss at Western Illinois. It marked the fourth consecutive loss for St. Thomas, who has not won a game since the November 21 win over Saint Mary's (Calif.). Milwaukee, meanwhile, is on a bit of a tear. The Panthers earned their first Horizon League win of the season last time out and have won three of their last four games entering Thursday's contest.
Tip off between St. Thomas and Milwaukee is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Tickets are still available for purchase through the Panthers official athletic website, and fans can also follow the team on ESPN+.
Tommie Tidbits:
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas faced a familiar opponent in Western Illinois last weekend. Entering Saturday's game, the Tommies were 3-2 all-time against the Leathernecks and never lost in Western Hall. That streak came to an end in an 82-78 loss for St. Thomas. In a wire-to-wire contest, the Tommies led Western Illinois 43-42 at the half and nearly mounted a furious comeback in the fourth quarter. Down 77-69 with two minutes to go, St. Thomas outscored the Leathernecks 8-1 in a minute and a half stretch, cutting the lead to 78-77 with 20 seconds to go. Unfortuantely, the Tommies could not close the gap any futher, despite a 21 point scoring night from Jade Hill, as they fell by final score of 82-78.
THE OPPOSITION: Wisconsin week officially kicks off for St. Thomas on Thursday, as three of the team's four upcoming opponents all hail from the neighboring state. The Tommies will certainly have their hands full if they want to snap their four-game losing skid. Milwaukee enters Thursday's contest with a 5-4 record, including a 1-1 mark in Horizon League play. In fact, the Panthers have won five of their last seven games and are 2-1 at home since November 21. In both wins, Milwaukee scored at least 70 points, averaging 69.4 points per game at home in 2023-24. That is, in large part, due to the Panthers hot shooting. As a team, Milwaukee is shooting .421 from the floor (225-534) and .329 (71-216) from three-point range. The Panthers additionally have four players shooting over. 400 this season, including the team's leading scorer Kendall Nead.
CHEESEHEADS: St. Thomas has found plenty of success against teams from the UW system, especially when it was a Division III team. The Tommies have played UW schools 25 times dating back to 2000-01 and hold a 17-8 record against their Wisconsin foes. St. Thomas has earned the most wins against UW-Stevens Point, a team it will face later this season, posting a 8-2 record in 10 meetings with the Pointers. However, the Tommies are 0-for all-time against two teams from the UW system: Wisconsin and UW-Whitewater. St. Thomas was 0-3 in three meetings with the Warhawks, the most recent loss coming in 2019. The Tommies have also struggled against Wisconsin foes since making the leap to Division I, losing both meetings with the Badgers. This will be the first ever meeting between St. Thomas and Milwaukee.
LUCKY #8: The duo of Amber Scalia and Jade Hill has been lethal for St. Thomas this season. In addition to averaging over 15.0 points per game apiece, they are the first ever duo in the Division I era to score 10+ points in eight consecutive games to open a season. The last time any Tommie duo scored 10+ points for at least five consecutive games to open a season happened in 2018-19, when Kaia Porter and Hannah Spaulding did it over a six game.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Tommies have spent a lot of time on the road in recent weeks. St. Thomas has played five games since November 19 and all but one has been played away from home. In that four game road stretch, the Tommies are 1-3 with their lone win coming over Saint Mary's (Calif.) on November 21. However, St. Thomas' overall road record is still 1-2, as two of those games were played at neutral site venues. Currently this season, the Tommies are 2-1 at home, 1-2 on the road and 0-2 at neutral site venues.
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 844 career points, averaging 12.79 per game throughout her Tommie career, and now has 108 steals. She additionally looks to eclipse the 300 career assists milestone this season with 238 total to her name.
300/250 CLUB: Hill isn't the only student-athlete nearing milestones for St. Thomas. Fifth year senior Jordyn Glynn eclipsed 300 career rebounds on Saturday and now has 301 in her career with the Tommies. Jo Langbehn officially secured her 250th career rebound in St. Thomas' loss to Iowa State in late November and currently sits at 254 in her career.
STINGY D: Milwaukee held a team to under 60 points for the third time this season in its most recent win over IUPUI. The Panthers are 3-0 in 2023-24 when holding an opponent to under 60 points and have held opponents to less than 60 points in three of their last four games. The Tommies, usually known for their defense, have struggled to keep teams from scoring as of late. In the last four games, St. Thomas has surrendered 317 total points to opponents, giving up an average of 79.25 points per game in that stretch.
STREAK SNAPPERS: After winning three consecutive games in mid-November, the Tommies find themselves in the midst of a four-game losing skid, having suffered four consecutive losses to UC Irvine, Butler, Iowa State and Western Illinois. It's the longest losing streak St. Thomas has suffered this season and marks the first time the Tommies have lost three or more games in a row since the 2022-23 season. St. Thomas lost six consecutive games from December 19 to January 7, all in Summit League play, before snapping the streak with a 63-60 win over UMKC on January 12.
SHOOTER!: While the Tommies defensive identity has taken a hit this season, their offense has taken a step up. St. Thomas is averaging 69.4 points per game this season, up at least five points from 2022-23, and is shooting .439 as a team. Those numbers are some of the top in the Summit League after the first month of 2023-24. Entering Thursday's game, the Tommies rank second in the Summit League in field goal percentage (.439) and rank top-5 in three-point shooting and scoring for the first time in the DI era. St. Thomas also leads the conference in team free throw shooting percentage, having made 95 of 123 attempts (.772).
TERRIBLE TRIO: Scalia, Jade Hill and Jo Langbehn once again scored in double digits for St. Thomas on Saturday. However, that doesn't always spell success for the Tommies. The trio has scored 10+ points in the same game five times this season, and St. Thomas is 1-4 in those games. The Tommies victory over Saint Mary's (Calif.) in November is their only win in a game where Scalia, Hill and Langbehn have all scored 10+ points. However, at least three student-athletes have scored in double-digits in all three of St. Thomas' wins this season, and at least two of those three student-athletes are Scalia and Hill.
CAREER DAY: Junior guard Phoebe Frentzel put together a career performance in the Tommies loss to Western Illinois on Saturday. Frentzel scored a career-high 15 points on 6-7 shooting, including a 3-4 clip from three-point range. She becomes the first St. Thomas student-athlete to shoot .750 from three-point range in a game and joins Langbehn as the only two players with near-perfect shooting performances this season. Langbehn was 9-10 from the floor in the Tommies win over Saint Mary's (Calif.) earlier this season, though she did not attempt a single three in the victory.
