University of St. Thomas Athletics
Purdue Fort Wayne
Tommies travel to Purdue Fort Wayne for Saturday tilt
12/8/2023 1:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. PAUL, MINN. – Wisconsin week is treating the University of St. Thomas women's basketball well. The Tommies snapped their four game losing streak on Thursday, as clutch free throws led them to a 67-65 road victory over Milwaukee. With the team's first win of December behind it, St. Thomas continues its road trip, as the Tommies head to Fort Wayne, Indiana for a Saturday afternoon tilt with Purdue Fort Wayne.
St. Thomas will look to extend its win streak against a red hot Purdue Fort Wayne team, which has rattled off seven wins in its last eight games. The Mastodons are 7-2 overall and 2-0 in Horizon League, and their only two losses of 2023-24 were to Michigan and #5 Iowa. Since losing to the Hawkeyes on November 24, Purdue Fort Wayne has won five consecutive games, including a 57-46 win over Bellarmine this past Wednesday. The Mastodons are also 2-0 at home in 2023-24 with wins over Great Lakes Christian (124-41) and Wright State (71-60).
Tip off between St. Thomas and Purdue Fort Wayne is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Tickets are still available for purchase through the Mastodons official athletic website, and fans can also follow the team on ESPN+.
Tommie Tidbits:
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas snapped its four-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, pulling off a 67-65 victory over Milwaukee Thursday evening. The Tommies led from start to finish, as they opened Thursday's match up with a 7-0 run to set the tone for the remainder of the game. However, despite jumping out to a 34-24 lead two minutes into the third quarter, St. Thomas saw its double-digit lead slowly slip away, as the Panthers used a 12-4 run to whittle it down to 38-36. The Tommies, though, never saw their lead slip away entirely, as clutch free throws from Jordyn Glynn and Jade Hill secured the 67-65 victory in the end. Amber Scalia recorded her third 20+ point performance of the season, leading the team with 24 points on 7-17 shooting.
THE OPPOSITION: The Mastodons may be one of the hottest teams in women's basketball you haven't heard of. Since losing its season opener at Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne has rattled off seven wins in eight games, and the team's only other loss this season has come at the hands of #5 Iowa. In fact, the Mastodons 7-2 record is one of the best for a St. Thomas opponent this season, and Purdue Fort-Wayne also got off to a 2-0 start in Horizon League play. The Tommies defense will have their hands full with the Mastodons offense as well. The team is a scoring machine, averaging 84.9 points in seven wins this season, and has scored 70+ points in six of their seven wins this season. Purdue Fort Wayne's most recent win over Bellarmine is the team's lowest scoring win of the season, as the Mastodons eked out a 57-46 win on Wednesday.
FEELING THE "BER"N: Amber Scalia was red hot for St. Thomas on Thursday, propelling the Tommies to a 67-65 win over Milwaukee with her third 20+ point scoring performance of the season. Scalia scored 24 points against the Panthers, as St. Thomas improved to 3-0 when Scalia scores at least 20 points in a game. It also counted as Scalia's ninth double-digit performance of the season, as her sophomore year with the Tommies is off to a rip-roaring start.
LUCKY #9: The duo of 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 nine 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 span.
STEADY EDDIES: Purdue Fort Wayne does not have a single player averaging over 15 points per game this season. However, the Mastodons do have four different student-athletes averaging double-digit points. Amelia Bromenschenkel leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game on .484 shooting from the floor. Shayla Sellers (11.0), Jazzlyn Linbo (10.3) and Renna Schwieterman (10.1) all average over 10 points as well.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Tommies have spent a lot of time on the road in recent weeks. St. Thomas has played six games since November 19 and all but one has been played away from home. Thanks to Thursday's win, the Tommies are 2-3 in that five game stretch with wins over Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Milwaukee. However, St. Thomas' overall road record now reads at 2-2, as two of those games were played at neutral site venues. Currently this season, the Tommies are 2-1 at home, 2-2 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 Saturday's contest, Hill owns 856 career points, averaging 12.8 per game throughout her Tommie career, and now has 109 steals. She additionally looks to eclipse the 300 career assists milestone this season with 241 total to her name.
NEED A FREE THROW?: Clutch free throws secured the victory for St. Thomas on Thursday, as Jordyn Glynn and Jade Hill made three free shots in the closing seconds to clinch the Tommies two point victory. Despite going 17-23 from the line on Thursday, St. Thomas still owns the best free throw shooting percentage in the Summit League. The Tommies have converted 85 of 123 chances from the charity stripe, owning a .772 percentage from the line. They are one of five teams in the conference shooting over 70% from the free throw line this season and the only one making over 75% of their chances.
STREAK SNAPPERS: St. Thomas snapped its four game losing skid on Thursday, the Tommies longest losing streak since the 2022-23 season. St. Thomas lost six consecutive games from December 19 to January 7 that year, all in Summit League play, before snapping the streak with a 63-60 win over UMKC on January 12. Before breaking the streak against Milwaukee on Thursday, the Tommies lost to UC Irvine, Butler, Iowa State and former conference foe Western Illinois in nonconference play.
SHOOTER!: While the Tommies defensive identity has taken a hit this season, their offense has taken a step up. St. Thomas is averaging 68.9 points per game this season, up nearly five points from 2022-23, and is shooting .440 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, Hill and Jo Langbehn once again scored in double digits for St. Thomas on Thursday. However, that doesn't always spell success for the Tommies. The trio has scored 10+ points in the same game six times this season, and St. Thomas is 2-4 in those games. Before Thursday's win over the Panthers, the Tommies lone victory when Scalia, Hill and Langbehn all scored in double-digits came against Saint Mary's (Calif.) on November 21. However, at least three student-athletes have scored in double-digits in all four of St. Thomas' wins this season, and at least two of those three student-athletes have always been are Scalia and Hill.
BLOCK PARTY: Graduate transfer Angelina Hammond hosted a block party all on her own in Thursday's win, recording a career-high four blocks in the Tommies win over the Panthers. It was not only a career high for Hammond, who transferred to St. Thomas from the University of Minnesota last spring, but tied the Division I record for single-game blocks. Current Tommie Jordyn Lamker recorded four blocks in a game twice in 2022-23 in games against Denver and South Dakota. Hammond is the first student-athlete to register four blocks in a single-game this year.
HEALTH REPORT: Two key players returned to St. Thomas' line up in recent weeks. Jordyn Lamker, a key contributor to the Tommies in 2022-23, played nearly 18 minutes in Thursday's game at Milwaukee, providing St. Thomas some much needed depth under the basket, while Sammy Opichka made her much anticipated debut for the 2023-24 season. Opichka, a regular starter in 2022-23, scored four points in nine minutes on Thursday.
