Tommies open season hosting Milwaukee, Crown

ST. PAUL, MINN. – It's November, which means it is officially college basketball season for the University of St. Thomas women's basketball team. After a record-breaking 2023-24, St. Thomas will turn the page to 2024-25, as the team hosts Milwaukee in its first game of the new season. The Tommies will also host Crown College during the first week of the regular season on Thursday, November 7.

Monday's game against Milwaukee is the first of 29 total games in 2024-25 for St. Thomas, including 15 that will be played in the comforts of Schoenecker Arena. The first 200 students in attendance at Monday's contest will receive FREE pizza and a fan banner, courtesy of Tommie Athletics. The team will also honor faculty with Professor Night on Thursday.

Fans can still purchase season and single game tickets at www.tommiesports.com/tickets. Fans who are unable to attend in person can now watch St. Thomas women's basketball through the Summit League Network and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas football games along with exclusive Tommie and Pioneer Football League (PFL) content, including replays, highlights, interviews, and special feature stories. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and the Varsity Network App and follow Live Stats on TommieSports.com.

LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas concluded its 2023-24 season at the Summit League Tournament, falling to South Dakota in the quarterfinal round by a final score of 70-57. However, the Tommies look to be a force in the Summit League in 2024-25, retuning four of five starters from that quarterfinal game, including top scorers Jade Hill, Amber Scalia and Jo Langbehn. Hill and Langbehn are also joined by four other seniors, Gabby Johnson, Jordyn Lamker, Phoebe Frentzel and Sammy Opichka, who look to cement their legacies in their final season with the Purple.

THE OPPOSITION: The Panthers put together a resume eerily similar to St. Thomas in 2023-24. Milwaukee closed the year with a 16-16 record and a 10-10 mark in Horizon League play. Like the Tommies, the Panthers earned the No. 5 seed in their conference tournament and fell to No. 4 Wright State 70-60 in Dayton, Ohio. Milwaukee also returns three of its starters from last season in Anna Lutz, Kamy Pepper and Jada Donaldson, though the Panthers did lose leading scorer Kendall Nead to graduation (insert sigh of relief by Tommie fans).

TOP-5 FINISH: St. Thomas was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released on Tuesday, October 8. The Tommies made strides during the 2023-24 season, earning their highest finish in the Summit League standings since joining the conference in 2021. St. Thomas finished fifth in the conference standings last year thanks to an overall record of 15-15 during the regular season and a 7-9 mark in Summit League play. It marked the first 15+ win season for the Purple in the Division I era, and St. Thomas also tied its DI era record for single-season conference wins (7) last year.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES: Both Jade Hill and Amber Scalia were named Preseason All-Conference by the Summit League coaches, becoming the first Tommie duo to garner preseason honors in the DI era. Anchors of the St. Thomas backcourt, Hill and Scalia were both named Preseason Second Team All-Conference after earning All-Conference nods last season. Hill was named Second Team All-Conference in 2023-24 after appearing and starting all 31 games for the Tommies, while Scalia garnered All-Conference Honorable Mention accolades after an impressive campaign last year.

CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE?: The last meeting between the Tommies and Panthers was dramatic, to say the least. St. Thomas snapped its four-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, pulling off a 67-65 victory over Milwaukee. The Tommies led from start to finish, as they opened 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 consecutive 20+ point performance in the victory, leading the team with 24 points on 7-17 shooting.

TIPPING THE SCALES: As indicated above, Amber Scalia made several headlines during her sophomore season and looks to continue that trend in 2024-25. As a sophomore, Scalia earned an All-Conference Honorable Mention nod after ranking top-5 in the Summit League in scoring and three-point shooting percentage throughout 2023-24. She scored a DI era record 520 points during the season, averaging a career-high 16.8, and shot .416 from the floor, including a .349 clip from three. In addition to her impressive numbers, Scalia became the first player in the DI era to score 30+ points in back-to-back games and set the overall program record for single-game field goals made (16).

CUPPA JO: Current senior center Jo Langbehn was a force for St. Thomas and one of the team's top offensive weapons in 2023-24. From start to finish, Langbehn ranked top-5 in both the Summit League and nation in field goal percentage and lead the conference in the statistical category for the majority of the year. At the conclusion of the regular season, Langbehn's .679 field goal percentage was the top in all of Division I, as she converted 165 of 243 shots in 2023-24. Langbehn also led the Tommies in total rebounds (163) and ranked second in defensive rebounds (101) at the conclusion of the Summit League Tournament.

SENIOR SALUTE: The first ever Division I recruit class is officially seniors and look to leave their mark and legacy on the St. Thomas women's basketball program in their fourth and final year with the Purple. In addition to Jade Hill and Jo Langbehn, Gabby Johnson, Jordyn Lamker, Phoebe Frentzel and Sammy Opichka are ready to suite up for their final seasons after signing with the Tommies back in 2020. In four years, these six seniors have led St. Thomas to new heights, helping the Tommies set DI era records for overall (15) and conference (7) wins by their junior season. They also helped their team qualify for the Summit League Tournament quarterfinal in back-to-back seasons.

FIRST YEAR PHENOMS?: Head coach Ruth Sinn's 2024 recruit class could have a big impact for St. Thomas in 2024-25. The highly touted recruit class includes Albany's Alyssa Sand, St. Croix Lutheran's Laura Hauge, Eastview's Savanah Gardner and Hortonville's Mikayla Werner, all of whom were standouts during their prep careers. Hauge broke the state of Minnesota's three-pointers made record, while Sand made headlines after scoring 29 points and tallying 21 rebounds in a state tournament loss to Providence Academy as a junior. Gardner and Werner look to add depth to the Tommies roster as well, as both earned multiple accolades both with their high school and AAU programs.

LEE AND PENNY ANDERSON ARENA: Construction is well underway for the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, the future home of Tommie Basketball. In January 2023, St. Thomas announced that it had received a $75 million gift from Lee and Penny Anderson to construct a multiuse on-campus arena in St. Paul. With a total project cost estimated to be $175 million, the arena would be home to St. Thomas' basketball and hockey teams. The arena would also host commencement, speakers, career fairs, and other events for the broader community, such as concerts.

RUNNING UP THAT HILL: There will be plenty of milestones to watch out for in 2024-25, starting with senior guard Jade Hill. Last year, Hill became the first Tommie to score 1000+ career points in the DI era and enters the 2024-25 season with 1128 to her name. She additionally eclipsed the 300+ assists milestone, another first in the DI era for the senior. She currently ranks fourth all-time in career assists (335) and tenth in scoring entering the 2024-25 season.

COUNTDOWN TO 400: Sinn won her 390th game as St. Thomas' head coach against Denver in early March last season, bringing her closer to the 400 career wins mark. Already the winningest coach in program history, Sinn surpassed Ted Riverso's previous record of 337 career wins in 2019-20 and looks to become the first coach in Tommie women's basketball history to win 400 games with the program.

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Players Mentioned

Phoebe Frentzel

Savanah Gardner

Jordyn Glynn

Laura Hauge

Jade Hill

Gabby Johnson

Jordyn Lamker

Jo Langbehn

Sammy Opichka

Alyssa Sand

Amber Scalia

Mikayla Werner

University of St. Thomas Athletics