University of St. Thomas Athletics
6-2,0-0Summit League
UIC
1-4,0-0MVC
Tommies extinguish Flames in 75-71 victory
12/1/2024 3:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team is quite good at putting out fires. At least, that's what the Tommies proved Sunday afternoon in Schoenecker Arena. Perhaps its best team win of the season, St. Thomas extinguished the University of Illinois-Chicago on Sunday, earning a 75-71 victory over the Flames. Senior forward Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) scored her 1000th career points in the victory, and the Tommies saw five student-athletes score in double-digits, as they improved to 6-2 through eight games this season.
RECAP:
St. Thomas did not necessarily play poorly in the first and second quarter. In fact, the Tommies were blistering hot to open the game, as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead thanks to baskets from Langbehn and Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame Academy). However, the first quarter proved to be a series of runs by both teams. As soon as St. Thomas took a 7-0 lead, UIC scored six unanswered points, cutting the advantage to 7-6. The Tommies answered with a 5-0 run, then there was a 4-0 run by the Flames, and so on and so forth until it was 17-15 St. Thomas after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Though the Tommies had the lead, it was UIC that seemingly held the momentum, as the Flames defense held St. Thomas to zero points in the final 3:34 of the first quarter. That allowed UIC to whittle the lead to 17-15 and then tie things up at 17-17 26 seconds into the second quarter. In fact, the Flames scored nine unanswered points from the first to second quarter, allowing them to take a 21-17 lead over the Tommies.
St. Thomas was not deterred, as baskets from Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) and Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) kept the Tommies within striking distance, always just one or two points behind leading UIC. Alyssa Sand (Albany, Minn. / Albany) also played a hand in St. Thomas' second quarter surge. With Langbehn on the bench in foul trouble, the first year came up with several clutch rebounds and baskets, pulling the Tommies within one entering the locker room at half.
Down 33-32, St. Thomas went to work making up the deficit in the third. Langbehn returned to action and gave the Tommies their first lead of the quarter at 34-33, scoring her 1000th career point in the process. However, UIC continued to hold the advantage. Despite strong shooting by St. Thomas, the Flames continued to hold a two-possession lead, extending their advantage to 45-40 by the media timeout. The Tommies, though, continued to hang around, as Opichka, Sand and Langbehn continued to pound the lane and score baskets for St. Thomas.
After a Hill free throw gave the team a 55-54 third quarter lead, the Tommies watched as the Flames opened the fourth quarter with a 10-3 run, taking a 64-58 lead with 5:48 remaining in regulation. After one minute of scoreless play, things seemed to turn in St. Thomas' favor. It started with a single free throw from Langbehn and a huge defensive play from Jordyn Lamker (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove). The senior forward blocked Makiyah Williams' layup, and the ball fell into the waiting hands of Hill. The senior guard pushed the ball up the court and found a wide open Scalia for three, cutting the lead to 64-62. After another defensive stop, Langbehn tied the game at 64-64 with 3:46 remaining in the game.
From that point on, the two teams traded points and baskets until Scalia banked another wide open three to give the Tommies a 69-67 advantage with 2:29 on the clock. From that moment on, St. Thomas never trailed. Though the Flames tried to snuff out the Tommies momentum, their hopes of a late comeback never aligned, as Hill cemented the 75-71 victory with two free throws in the closing seconds.
TOP TOMMIES
- Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame Academy) led the team with 22 points on 10-15 shooting, including a 2-5 clip from three-point range, and also tallied a team-leading seven rebounds in the victory. It's the first time she's scored 20 points this season, and her first 20+ point performance since March 2, 2024.
- Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) and Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) scored 15 points apiece for St. Thomas and made a little history along the way. Hill recorded the second double-double of her career and set the DI era record for single-season assists, as she was credited with 11 apples in Sunday's victory. Langbehn became the second Tommie in the DI era to score 1000 career points thanks to her 6-6 shooting performance.
- Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) closed the game with 13 points, while Alyssa Sand (Albany, Minn. / Albany) added 10.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will play its third consecutive home game on Wednesday when the team hosts Northern Colorado in the first round of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota.
