University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, February 18
Macomb, Ill.
1:00 p.m. Central
at
Western Illinois
Photo by: Collin Boyles
Women’s Basketball makes final road appearance Feb. 18 at Western Illinois
2/17/2023 8:31:00 AM | Women's Basketball
St. Paul, Minn. -- St. Thomas Women's Basketball is gearing up for its final road game of the season on Saturday, February 18 with a trip to face Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill. The Tommies and Leathernecks tip-off at 1 p.m. from Western Hall as the Purple look to even the season series.
Recapping the Oral Roberts Game
St. Thomas Women's Basketball earned a 75-70 win against Oral Roberts on Feb. 9, securing the first season sweep in the NCAA Division I era.
After falling behind early, St. Thomas regained the lead with a layup from Jade Hill and extended their lead to three points multiple times before ending the first half behind 39-37. The Tommies tied the game in the second half, thanks to Jo Langbehn's opening bucket.
After trailing by as much as five points, they took control with a 3-pointer from Faith Feuerbach to grab the first lead since the first quarter. Maggie Negaard scored seven of her 10 points in the final quarter, as St. Thomas led by at least three points for the rest of the way, securing their victory.
Langbehn led the team with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Hill and Feuerbach each contributed 12 points. Hill nearly had a double-double with nine assists and six rebounds.
St. Thomas shot 46.8 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from 3-point range, while Oral Roberts shot 40.3 percent from the floor and 18.2 percent from long range. St. Thomas won the rebound margin for the 18th time this season, earning its eighth win in such games.
Recapping the Kansas City Game
St. Thomas Women's Basketball put up another first for the NCAA Division I era following an 80-57 win at Kansas City on Saturday, marking the first road weekend sweep in Summit League play. Sophomore Jo Langbehn scored a career-high 29 points to help the Tommies complete a second straight season sweep.
The Summit League's second-best scoring defense came to play in the first quarter while allowing Kansas City to just four points through the first eight minutes of action. UMKC scored 12 of the next 15 points to cut the St. Thomas lead to two, 18-16, on the first basket of the second quarter. Jade Hill sank a pull-up jumper near the end of the quarter to take a 32-26 lead into the halftime break.
The Tommies continued to put the pressure on the Roos' offense while extending the lead to 12, 52-40, heading into the final quarter. St. Thomas limited Kansas City to just three field goals, and forced six turnovers, as Langbehn scored another eight points in the third quarter.
Langbehn shot 12-of-16 from the field to finish as the game's leading scorer while Hill added 11 of her 17 points in the second half. Hill led the Tommies with seven assists, her 16th game leading the team in assists.
The Tommies shot a conference-season-best 52.3 percent from the field (34-65) while limiting the Roos to 34.5 percent (20-58). St. Thomas gave the ball away just nine times compared to 16 for Kansas City, leading to 23 points for the Purple.
Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois is 10-16 overall and 5-10 in the Summit League after a road weekend sweep over Kansas City on Feb. 9 and Oral Roberts on Feb. 11. The Leathernecks came away with a 72-52 win over the Roos before a 91-85 win over the Golden Eagles.
Anna Deets leads WIU and is 11th in the Summit League with 12.5 points per game while Jada Thorpe follows and is tied for 18th in the conference with 11.1 points. Alissa Dins is fourth in the league with 7.5 rebounds per game and is tied for fourth with 1.2 blocks per game. Elizabeth Lutz leads the team and is tied for fourth in the Summit with 1.8 steals per game.
The Leathernecks average 68.2 points per game and allow 72.9 points, which rank sixth and eighth in the Summit League, respectively. WIU leads the conference and is third in the country with 17.2 free throws made per game and also lead the Summit with 9.4 steals per game and a 3.38 turnover margin.
Series History vs. Western Illinois
St. Thomas and Western Illinois have met three times in the series, two wins going to WIU. The Leathernecks won the first meeting of the 2022-23 series, 77-75 on Jan. 21 in St. Paul.
Maggie Negaard recorded a career high 28 points, one of three 20-point games this season, during the first meeting of the season, shooting 9-of-12 from the field with a career high six 3-pointers. She also tied a career high nine rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. Jo Langbehn chipped in 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
Jade Hill has scored in double figures in all three career games against Western Illinois, averaging 15.0 points per game. She scored 20 points during the final meeting of the 2021-22 season. Negaard's 28-point performance has helped her to average 14.7 points per game against WIU.
The Tommies won the first game of the all-time series, 66-64 in double overtime, on Jan. 1, 2022 in Macomb, Ill.
A First at the Peak
Jo Langbehn was named the TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week following her career-best performance against Oral Roberts and Kansas City. The weekly honor is the first ever for the St. Thomas Women's Basketball program.
The Elk River, Minn., native set a career high in scoring, averaged 24.0 points per game, and shot 74.1 percent from the field as the Tommies earned their first road weekend sweep in the NCAA Division I era. The wins also solidified the first two season sweeps for St. Thomas since joining NCAA DI.
Langbehn opened the weekend with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with five rebounds and one assist. She followed up with a career high 29 points, topping her previous high of 21, on 12-of-16 shooting. Langbehn's 29 points were the most for a Tommie in a single game since Erin Norling scored 34 points Jan. 13, 2022 against North Dakota State.
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 eight games, including six of the last 11. 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 19th in the country and leads the Summit League shooting 42.4 percent from 3-point range. She also leads the Tommies and is 13th in the league with 12.2 points per game. Negaard has made at least three 3-pointers in seven of the last 12 games, including a career-high six Jan. 21 against Western Illinois.
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. Previous to that streak, she had never recorded back-to-back single digit scoring games in her Tommie career. Hill is averaging 12.9 points per game over the last 10 outings, scoring 16 points Jan. 7 at Omaha, 15 Jan. 14 against Oral Roberts, 13 Jan. 21 against Western Illinois, 17 on Jan. 26 at South Dakota State, and 17 on Feb. 11 at Kansas City.
Hill is tied for second in the Summit League with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio, tied for fourth with 1.8 steals, fifth with 3.9 assists, and is tied for 15th with 11.4 points per game.
Go Hard in the Paint
Sophomore Jo Langbehn recorded a previous 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. She followed up the next game with 20 points against Chicago State and set her current career high of 29 points Feb. 11 in a win at Kansas City.
After entering the 2022-23 season with a single-game career-high of 12 points, Langbehn has topped that mark seven times, including four of the last seven games. She is averaging 13.8 points per game over her last 10 outings.
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 seven opponents over an eight-game stretch to shoot at least 36.8 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.
The Tommies have held its last three opponents to just two 3-pointers each, as they've all shot 18.2 percent or worse from 3-point range.
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.
Chase for the Summit
With three games left before the Summit League Championships, St. Thomas is jockeying for seeding position and currently rank eighth in the league. The Tommies' and Western Illinois' wins over Kansas City last weekend moved the Roos from eighth to 10th.
The opening round of the Summit League Championship on Friday, March 3 will feature games involving the No. 7 vs. No. 10 seeds and No. 8 vs. No. 9 seeds at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The winners of those respective games will take on the top two seeds Saturday in quarterfinal action.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Women's Basketball, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWBBall
Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2022 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
Recapping the Oral Roberts Game
St. Thomas Women's Basketball earned a 75-70 win against Oral Roberts on Feb. 9, securing the first season sweep in the NCAA Division I era.
After falling behind early, St. Thomas regained the lead with a layup from Jade Hill and extended their lead to three points multiple times before ending the first half behind 39-37. The Tommies tied the game in the second half, thanks to Jo Langbehn's opening bucket.
After trailing by as much as five points, they took control with a 3-pointer from Faith Feuerbach to grab the first lead since the first quarter. Maggie Negaard scored seven of her 10 points in the final quarter, as St. Thomas led by at least three points for the rest of the way, securing their victory.
Langbehn led the team with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Hill and Feuerbach each contributed 12 points. Hill nearly had a double-double with nine assists and six rebounds.
St. Thomas shot 46.8 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from 3-point range, while Oral Roberts shot 40.3 percent from the floor and 18.2 percent from long range. St. Thomas won the rebound margin for the 18th time this season, earning its eighth win in such games.
Recapping the Kansas City Game
St. Thomas Women's Basketball put up another first for the NCAA Division I era following an 80-57 win at Kansas City on Saturday, marking the first road weekend sweep in Summit League play. Sophomore Jo Langbehn scored a career-high 29 points to help the Tommies complete a second straight season sweep.
The Summit League's second-best scoring defense came to play in the first quarter while allowing Kansas City to just four points through the first eight minutes of action. UMKC scored 12 of the next 15 points to cut the St. Thomas lead to two, 18-16, on the first basket of the second quarter. Jade Hill sank a pull-up jumper near the end of the quarter to take a 32-26 lead into the halftime break.
The Tommies continued to put the pressure on the Roos' offense while extending the lead to 12, 52-40, heading into the final quarter. St. Thomas limited Kansas City to just three field goals, and forced six turnovers, as Langbehn scored another eight points in the third quarter.
Langbehn shot 12-of-16 from the field to finish as the game's leading scorer while Hill added 11 of her 17 points in the second half. Hill led the Tommies with seven assists, her 16th game leading the team in assists.
The Tommies shot a conference-season-best 52.3 percent from the field (34-65) while limiting the Roos to 34.5 percent (20-58). St. Thomas gave the ball away just nine times compared to 16 for Kansas City, leading to 23 points for the Purple.
Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois is 10-16 overall and 5-10 in the Summit League after a road weekend sweep over Kansas City on Feb. 9 and Oral Roberts on Feb. 11. The Leathernecks came away with a 72-52 win over the Roos before a 91-85 win over the Golden Eagles.
Anna Deets leads WIU and is 11th in the Summit League with 12.5 points per game while Jada Thorpe follows and is tied for 18th in the conference with 11.1 points. Alissa Dins is fourth in the league with 7.5 rebounds per game and is tied for fourth with 1.2 blocks per game. Elizabeth Lutz leads the team and is tied for fourth in the Summit with 1.8 steals per game.
The Leathernecks average 68.2 points per game and allow 72.9 points, which rank sixth and eighth in the Summit League, respectively. WIU leads the conference and is third in the country with 17.2 free throws made per game and also lead the Summit with 9.4 steals per game and a 3.38 turnover margin.
Series History vs. Western Illinois
St. Thomas and Western Illinois have met three times in the series, two wins going to WIU. The Leathernecks won the first meeting of the 2022-23 series, 77-75 on Jan. 21 in St. Paul.
Maggie Negaard recorded a career high 28 points, one of three 20-point games this season, during the first meeting of the season, shooting 9-of-12 from the field with a career high six 3-pointers. She also tied a career high nine rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. Jo Langbehn chipped in 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
Jade Hill has scored in double figures in all three career games against Western Illinois, averaging 15.0 points per game. She scored 20 points during the final meeting of the 2021-22 season. Negaard's 28-point performance has helped her to average 14.7 points per game against WIU.
The Tommies won the first game of the all-time series, 66-64 in double overtime, on Jan. 1, 2022 in Macomb, Ill.
A First at the Peak
Jo Langbehn was named the TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week following her career-best performance against Oral Roberts and Kansas City. The weekly honor is the first ever for the St. Thomas Women's Basketball program.
The Elk River, Minn., native set a career high in scoring, averaged 24.0 points per game, and shot 74.1 percent from the field as the Tommies earned their first road weekend sweep in the NCAA Division I era. The wins also solidified the first two season sweeps for St. Thomas since joining NCAA DI.
Langbehn opened the weekend with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with five rebounds and one assist. She followed up with a career high 29 points, topping her previous high of 21, on 12-of-16 shooting. Langbehn's 29 points were the most for a Tommie in a single game since Erin Norling scored 34 points Jan. 13, 2022 against North Dakota State.
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 eight games, including six of the last 11. 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 19th in the country and leads the Summit League shooting 42.4 percent from 3-point range. She also leads the Tommies and is 13th in the league with 12.2 points per game. Negaard has made at least three 3-pointers in seven of the last 12 games, including a career-high six Jan. 21 against Western Illinois.
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. Previous to that streak, she had never recorded back-to-back single digit scoring games in her Tommie career. Hill is averaging 12.9 points per game over the last 10 outings, scoring 16 points Jan. 7 at Omaha, 15 Jan. 14 against Oral Roberts, 13 Jan. 21 against Western Illinois, 17 on Jan. 26 at South Dakota State, and 17 on Feb. 11 at Kansas City.
Hill is tied for second in the Summit League with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio, tied for fourth with 1.8 steals, fifth with 3.9 assists, and is tied for 15th with 11.4 points per game.
Go Hard in the Paint
Sophomore Jo Langbehn recorded a previous 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. She followed up the next game with 20 points against Chicago State and set her current career high of 29 points Feb. 11 in a win at Kansas City.
After entering the 2022-23 season with a single-game career-high of 12 points, Langbehn has topped that mark seven times, including four of the last seven games. She is averaging 13.8 points per game over her last 10 outings.
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 seven opponents over an eight-game stretch to shoot at least 36.8 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.
The Tommies have held its last three opponents to just two 3-pointers each, as they've all shot 18.2 percent or worse from 3-point range.
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.
Chase for the Summit
With three games left before the Summit League Championships, St. Thomas is jockeying for seeding position and currently rank eighth in the league. The Tommies' and Western Illinois' wins over Kansas City last weekend moved the Roos from eighth to 10th.
The opening round of the Summit League Championship on Friday, March 3 will feature games involving the No. 7 vs. No. 10 seeds and No. 8 vs. No. 9 seeds at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The winners of those respective games will take on the top two seeds Saturday in quarterfinal action.
Follow Along
For more information on St. Thomas Women's Basketball, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWBBall
Join Us
To reserve your seat to be a part of the Tommies' 2022 season, click HERE to view ticketing information and purchase options.
Players Mentioned
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