Women’s Basketball battles for Summit League position with home games against Omaha and Denver

St. Paul, Minn. -- The St. Thomas Women's Basketball team is gearing up for two crucial Summit matchups against Omaha on Feb. 2 and Denver on Feb. 4 at Schoenecker Arena. The Tommies host the Mavericks at 7 p.m. Thursday before closing the weekend against the Pioneers at 1 p.m. Saturday.

St. Thomas is hosting Beach Night against Omaha on Thursday, as the first 200 students to arrive will receive a bucket hat and the first 100 will receive sunglasses. On Saturday, the excitement continues as the team takes on Denver, with a rally towel giveaway for all fans and a halftime show featuring the Fairly Odd Dogs dog-performing show.

Recapping the South Dakota State Game
Sophomore guard Jade Hill recorded her third straight double-digit scoring night Thursday as St. Thomas Women's Basketball fell at South Dakota State, 99-57. Hill led the Tommies with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, 1-of-2 from 3-point range, and 4-of-8 from the free throw line. She added three steals and two rebounds.

The game started with a 3-pointer from the Jackrabbits, which was countered by Jo Langbehn's layup. However, South Dakota State went on a 10-0 run for a 13-2 lead after forcing St. Thomas to miss four field goals and four turnovers.

The Jackrabbits continued to dominate the game by sinking 10-of-15 shots in the first quarter and 11-of-16 in the second. The Tommies converted just 10 field goals in the first half while allowing the Jackrabbits to score 15 points off 10 turnovers.

St. Thomas' deficit was extended to a game-high 43 points, 71-28, nearly five minutes into the second half. Hill finished the game with 15 points in the second half, including nine in the third quarter. The Tommies were outrebounded 29-19, leading to 10 second-chance points for the Jackrabbits. Langbehn and Jordyn Lamker each followed Hill in scoring with nine points each, while Amber Scalia had eight points and a team-high three rebounds.

Recapping the South Dakota Game
St. Thomas Women's Basketball secured a 70-64 win over South Dakota on Saturday in Vermillion, S.D. The Tommies built a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter and held off a late surge by the Coyotes, earning its first road win of the Summit League season.

Jo Langbehn was the top scorer for the Tommies, contributing 15 points in the game with 8 of them in the first 10 minutes. After leading by 4 points in the first quarter, St. Thomas used balanced scoring and strong defense to extend its lead to 14 points at halftime. The Purple continued its shooting success in the third quarter, increasing its lead to a game-high 22 points.

However, St. Thomas went cold from the floor in the fourth quarter, allowing South Dakota to make a comeback with a 15-0 run. Langbehn came through with a second-chance layup with 31 seconds to play, which was confirmed after a review by referees. The Tommies made 3-of-6 free throws to secure the win and their first victory over South Dakota.

Jordyn Lamker and Sammy Opichka also contributed to the Tommies' victory, with Lamker adding 12 points, 8 rebounds and a career-high 4 blocks, and Opichka contributing 13 points with 2-of-2 from 3-point range. The Tommies shot 48.2 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 8-of-11 from the free throw line while the Coyotes went 43.6 percent from the floor, 36.8 percent from 3-point range, and 81.8 percent from the free throw line.

Scouting Omaha
Omaha is 9-13 overall and 4-7 in the Summit League following back-to-back losses to Kansas City on Jan. 26 and Oral Roberts on Jan. 28 in Omaha, Neb. The Mavericks fell to the Ros, 64-55, and the Golden Eagles, 94-90, as part of a four-game losing streak. UNO has lost six of its last seven games, with the lone win coming against Denver, 75-64.

Elena Pilakouta is seventh in the Summit League and leads UNO with 14.3 points per game on 61.9 percent shooting, which is second in the conference and 10th in the country. She also leads the team and is seventh in the Summit with 6.7 rebounds per game.

The Mavericks are seventh in the Summit scoring 67.9 points per game and allowing 70.9 points. UNO holds the best free throw percentage in the conference and the 25th best in the nation shooting 77.6 percent from the charity stripe. Omaha pulls down 34.8 rebounds per game compared to allowing 38.8 per game.

Series History vs. Omaha
St. Thomas and University of Nebraska at Omaha have played three times, with Omaha winning two of those games. The most recent matchup was on January 7, 2023, where Omaha won 80-77 in overtime.

Maggie Negaard, the top scorer for St. Thomas during the first meeting of the 2022-23 series, played 41 minutes and had 19 points in the game, which had set a career high at the time. She shot 6-of-17 from the field, 3-of-7 from three-point range and made 4-of-4 from the free throw line. She also contributed seven rebounds while Jade Hill followed with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting with six assists.

Scouting Denver
Denver is 8-14 overall and 4-7 in the Summit League, snapping a six-game losing streak with a win over Kansas City on Jan. 28. DU took a 69-60 win over the Roos after a 93-83 loss to Oral Roberts in Denver.

Emma Smith leads the Pioneers and is 12th in the Summit League with 12.2 points per game on 35.8 percent shooting from the field and 34.1 percent from 3-point range. Her 2.1 3-pointers per game is fifth in the conference, just behind the Tommies' Maggie Negaard with 2.3. Ally Hair is the only other Pioneer scoring in double digits with 10.2 points per game while she ranks third in the conference with 4.3 assists per game. Makayla Minett leads the Summit with 2.3 blocks per game and 3.6 offensive rebounds per game, and is second with 9.2 total rebounds per game.

The Pioneers average 65.1 points per game and allow 69.6 points on 39.5 percent shooting from the field. DU leads the Summit and is 12th in the country with 8.7 3-pointers per game while ranking third in the league shooting 32.1 percent from long range.

Series History vs. Denver
St. Thomas and Denver have played three times as DU holds the series lead, 2-1. The Tommie's first ever Summit League win came Dec. 22, 2021 in a 56-48 victory over the Pioneers in St. Paul, Minn. Denver has won the past two meetings, including the first meeting of the 2022-23 series, a 66-60 decision Jan. 5 in Denver.

Maggie Negaard led all Tommies with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long range. Sammy Opichka added 12 points while going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Jordyn Lamker recorded a team-high nine rebounds with eight points.

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 seven games, including five of the last seven. She set a career-high with 18 points Dec. 8 against Purdue-Fort Wayne before scoring 19 on Jan. 7 at Omaha, 24 on Jan. 12 against Kansas City, and 28 on Jan. 21 against Western Illinois. She added another 19-point performance during the win over Oral Roberts.

Through Jan. 28, Negaard joined North Dakota's Kacie Borowicz (seven-game streak) and Kansas City's E'Lease Stafford (six-game streak) as the only Summit League players to score at least 17 points through at least five consecutive games at any point this season.

Negaard is tied for 10th in the country and leads the Summit League shooting 45.0 percent from 3-point range. She also leads the Tommies and is 13th in the league with 12.2 points per game. Negaard's six-game streak with at least three 3-pointers was snapped Jan. 26 at South Dakota State.

Running Point
Sophomore Jade Hill scored in double digits during eight of the first nine games this season and led the Tommies in scoring three times. She scored a season-high 24 points during the Nov. 19 win over Presbyterian and set a season-high seven assists Dec. 8 versus Purdue Fort Wayne. Hill scored 16 points Jan. 7 at Omaha to snap a six-game streak failing to reach double digits. Before that streak, she had never recorded back-to-back single digit scoring games in her Tommie career. Hill is averaging 12.5 points per game over the last six outings, scoring 16 points Jan. 7 at Omaha, 15 Jan. 14 against Oral Roberts, 13 Jan. 21 against Western Illinois, and 17 on Jan. 26 at South Dakota State.

Hill is tied for fourth in the Summit League with a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, tied for fourth with 1.8 steals, seventh with 3.4 assists, and is 17th with 11.0 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 10.1 points per game, averaging 14.3 over the last three games.

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 8.8 points.

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 five of its last seven 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.

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Women’s Basketball battles for Summit League position with home games against Omaha and Denver

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Players Mentioned

Jade Hill

Jordyn Lamker

Jo Langbehn

Maggie Negaard

Sammy Opichka

Amber Scalia

University of St. Thomas Athletics