University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, December 14
St. Paul, Minn.
1:00 p.m. CT
vs
Western Illinois
Tommies welcome Leathernecks for Fa-la-la-la Days
12/11/2024 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team is feeling festive. The Tommies are set to host two games before Christmas, including Saturday's contest against Western Illinois University. St. Thomas will welcome its old Summit League travel partner to Schoenecker Arena in its second to last home game of 2024, and tip off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.
It's not simply just another home game for the Tommies. St. Thomas will celebrate Fa-la-la-la Days before and throughout Saturday's contest, and the first 250 fans through the door will receive a FREE holiday themed t-shirt. Tommie fans and students will also have a chance to win a variety of prizes and participate in holiday themed contests while watching St. Thomas take on the Leathernecks. Tickets are available at www.tommesports.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 women's basketball games along with exclusive Tommie and Summit League 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 is in a rut through the first three games of December. After opening the month with an impressive 75-71 win over UIC, the Tommies have dropped two straight, falling to both Northern Colorado and Idaho in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. After a disappointing 62-54 loss at home to the Bears, St. Thomas hoped to rebound with a road win over Idaho. That was not in the cards for the Tommies, as they fell by a final score of 76-54. Leading scorer Jo Langbehn played just 14 minutes, while Amber Scalia was limited to 25 minutes of playing time in the loss, as St. Thomas' offense was limited to under 60 points for the second consecutive game.
THE OPPOSITION: A newish/oldish friend and foe, Western Illinois enters Saturday's contest in Schoenecker Arena with a 5-2 overall record and have won two of its last three contests. However, the Leathernecks most recently lost to Cincinnati on December 6, falling to the Bearcats by a final score of 95-62. That is Western Illinois lone contest so far this December, for good reason. The Leathernecks played four games in eight days, including three in five, to open the 2024-25 season. Western Illinois opened the season on November 5 then played Omaha, Kansas City and Missouri in a five day stretch from November 10-15, winning three of four games to open the season with a 4-1 record. Since then, the Leathernecks have played three games, meaning they will be well rested for Saturday's contest.
HOME SCHWEET HOME?: St. Thomas is 3-3 all-time against Western Illinois. Prior to leaving for the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), the Leathernecks were the ninth member of the Summit League, and the Tommies were 3-2 all-time against their former conference foes. After last season's nonconference in Macomb, Illinois, the two teams are deadlocked at 3-3. However, St. Thomas has never defeated Western Illinois at home. That's right. The Leathernecks are 2-0 at Schoenecker Arena, and the Tommies are 2-1 all-time in Western Hall. St. Thomas also earned one neutral site win, defeating Western Illinois in the 2022-23 Summit League Tournament.
SECOND QUARTER STRUGGLES: It's been no secret that St. Thomas has royally struggled during the second quarter of games this season. The Tommies are outscoring opponents 570-468 in the first, third and fourth quarter, but the second is a completely different story. After scoring just four points against Idaho on Saturday, St. Thomas is being outscored 163-122 in the second and have yet to outscore a DI opponent in the quarter this season. In fact, the Tommies are averaging just 9.8 points in the second quarter this year (vs. DI opponents), and their two point performance against Northern Colorado is the fewest points the team has scored in a quarter this season.
CUPPA JO: Jo Langbehn is not only the newest member of the 1000 points club. She is, perhaps, the most important cog in the wheel of the Tommies offense this season. Langbehn was on the court for just 24 minutes in St. Thomas' loss to Northern Colorado on Wednesday and still put together a +/- of 12 during the game. She played just 13 minutes in Saturday's loss to Idaho, her lowest minute total against a DI opponent this season. Staying on the court has been a slight issue for Langbehn this season. She's played 30+ minutes just twice all season, against NIU and Oakland, both of which were wins for the Tommies. She's also only been in the minus twice all-season, against Iowa State (-19) and Idaho (-10).
BIG THINGS COME IN THREES: In addition to Langbehn, Jade Hill and Amber Scalia have played big roles in St. Thomas' offensive success this season. At least one of the big three (more often two) has scored in double-digits in nine of the Tommies 10 games this season. The first time all three were held to less than 10 points in the same game occurred on Saturday. Langbehn, Scalia and Hill scored a combined 24 points in the loss, their lowest combined point total of the 2024-25 season. It's the trio's lowest point total since February 22, 2024 when they scored a combined 23 points in a loss to North Dakota State. Langbehn, at least, still scored 12 points in the loss.
WHO'S NEXT? : So who will score when the Tommies big three is not? Well, on Saturday it was Jordyn Lamker and Sammy Opichka. The senior duo were the lone St. Thomas student-athletes to score in double-digits, as Lamker tied her career-high in points with 14 in the loss. Opichka has scored double-digit points in four games this season, but the Tommies will look for more consistency from their bench and role players if they want to win on Saturday.
NO SO CHARITOUS: The charity stripe has not been kind to St. Thomas during the month of December. The Tommies have consistently been one of the top free throw shooting teams in the Summit League since joining the conference in 2021. However, the team struggled at the line last week, converting just 23 of 36 attempts for a percentage of .639. It's the worst three-game stretch of the season for St. Thomas, which traditionally shoots .700+ from the free throw line.
REACH FOR THE SUMMIT: St. Thomas will be the third Summit League team Western Illinois has faced this season. Entering Saturday's contest, the Leathernecks are 2-0 against their old conference foes, earning wins over Omaha (89-83) and Kansas City (62-43). In two games against Summit League opponents, Western Illinois is averaging 75.5 points while holding opponents to just 63.0 points in two games. St. Thomas has yet to face an opponent from the OVC in 2024-25.
BLOCK PARTY: The Tommies once again saw two student-athletes record multiple blocks in a game Saturday afternoon, as Jordyn Lamker and Sammy Opichka were credited with two apiece. It helped St. Thomas boost its block total to 46 this season, as the Tommies continue to lead the Summit League in both total blocks (46) and blocks per game (4.60) this season. Opichka continues to lead the conference in both categories as well thanks to her 12 blocks in 10 games this season. Jordyn Lamker now ranks third in the conference in total blocks (9) and fifth in blocks per game (0.9), while Faith Feuerbach ranks fourth in the conference with eight total blocks in 2024-25. Entering Saturday's contest, St. Thomas is the only school with three student-athletes ranked in the top-10 in both categories in the Summit League.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: Ruth Sinn won her 396th game as St. Thomas' head women's basketball coach, bringing her one step closer to 400 career wins. 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. Additionally, Sinn would join former St. Thomas men's basketball coach and athletic director Steve Fritz, current volleyball coach Thanh Pham, former baseball coach Dennis Denning and former softball coach John Tschida as the only head coaches in St. Thomas history with over 400 wins with their respective programs.
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team is feeling festive. The Tommies are set to host two games before Christmas, including Saturday's contest against Western Illinois University. St. Thomas will welcome its old Summit League travel partner to Schoenecker Arena in its second to last home game of 2024, and tip off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.
It's not simply just another home game for the Tommies. St. Thomas will celebrate Fa-la-la-la Days before and throughout Saturday's contest, and the first 250 fans through the door will receive a FREE holiday themed t-shirt. Tommie fans and students will also have a chance to win a variety of prizes and participate in holiday themed contests while watching St. Thomas take on the Leathernecks. Tickets are available at www.tommesports.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 women's basketball games along with exclusive Tommie and Summit League 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 is in a rut through the first three games of December. After opening the month with an impressive 75-71 win over UIC, the Tommies have dropped two straight, falling to both Northern Colorado and Idaho in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. After a disappointing 62-54 loss at home to the Bears, St. Thomas hoped to rebound with a road win over Idaho. That was not in the cards for the Tommies, as they fell by a final score of 76-54. Leading scorer Jo Langbehn played just 14 minutes, while Amber Scalia was limited to 25 minutes of playing time in the loss, as St. Thomas' offense was limited to under 60 points for the second consecutive game.
THE OPPOSITION: A newish/oldish friend and foe, Western Illinois enters Saturday's contest in Schoenecker Arena with a 5-2 overall record and have won two of its last three contests. However, the Leathernecks most recently lost to Cincinnati on December 6, falling to the Bearcats by a final score of 95-62. That is Western Illinois lone contest so far this December, for good reason. The Leathernecks played four games in eight days, including three in five, to open the 2024-25 season. Western Illinois opened the season on November 5 then played Omaha, Kansas City and Missouri in a five day stretch from November 10-15, winning three of four games to open the season with a 4-1 record. Since then, the Leathernecks have played three games, meaning they will be well rested for Saturday's contest.
HOME SCHWEET HOME?: St. Thomas is 3-3 all-time against Western Illinois. Prior to leaving for the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), the Leathernecks were the ninth member of the Summit League, and the Tommies were 3-2 all-time against their former conference foes. After last season's nonconference in Macomb, Illinois, the two teams are deadlocked at 3-3. However, St. Thomas has never defeated Western Illinois at home. That's right. The Leathernecks are 2-0 at Schoenecker Arena, and the Tommies are 2-1 all-time in Western Hall. St. Thomas also earned one neutral site win, defeating Western Illinois in the 2022-23 Summit League Tournament.
SECOND QUARTER STRUGGLES: It's been no secret that St. Thomas has royally struggled during the second quarter of games this season. The Tommies are outscoring opponents 570-468 in the first, third and fourth quarter, but the second is a completely different story. After scoring just four points against Idaho on Saturday, St. Thomas is being outscored 163-122 in the second and have yet to outscore a DI opponent in the quarter this season. In fact, the Tommies are averaging just 9.8 points in the second quarter this year (vs. DI opponents), and their two point performance against Northern Colorado is the fewest points the team has scored in a quarter this season.
CUPPA JO: Jo Langbehn is not only the newest member of the 1000 points club. She is, perhaps, the most important cog in the wheel of the Tommies offense this season. Langbehn was on the court for just 24 minutes in St. Thomas' loss to Northern Colorado on Wednesday and still put together a +/- of 12 during the game. She played just 13 minutes in Saturday's loss to Idaho, her lowest minute total against a DI opponent this season. Staying on the court has been a slight issue for Langbehn this season. She's played 30+ minutes just twice all season, against NIU and Oakland, both of which were wins for the Tommies. She's also only been in the minus twice all-season, against Iowa State (-19) and Idaho (-10).
BIG THINGS COME IN THREES: In addition to Langbehn, Jade Hill and Amber Scalia have played big roles in St. Thomas' offensive success this season. At least one of the big three (more often two) has scored in double-digits in nine of the Tommies 10 games this season. The first time all three were held to less than 10 points in the same game occurred on Saturday. Langbehn, Scalia and Hill scored a combined 24 points in the loss, their lowest combined point total of the 2024-25 season. It's the trio's lowest point total since February 22, 2024 when they scored a combined 23 points in a loss to North Dakota State. Langbehn, at least, still scored 12 points in the loss.
WHO'S NEXT? : So who will score when the Tommies big three is not? Well, on Saturday it was Jordyn Lamker and Sammy Opichka. The senior duo were the lone St. Thomas student-athletes to score in double-digits, as Lamker tied her career-high in points with 14 in the loss. Opichka has scored double-digit points in four games this season, but the Tommies will look for more consistency from their bench and role players if they want to win on Saturday.
NO SO CHARITOUS: The charity stripe has not been kind to St. Thomas during the month of December. The Tommies have consistently been one of the top free throw shooting teams in the Summit League since joining the conference in 2021. However, the team struggled at the line last week, converting just 23 of 36 attempts for a percentage of .639. It's the worst three-game stretch of the season for St. Thomas, which traditionally shoots .700+ from the free throw line.
REACH FOR THE SUMMIT: St. Thomas will be the third Summit League team Western Illinois has faced this season. Entering Saturday's contest, the Leathernecks are 2-0 against their old conference foes, earning wins over Omaha (89-83) and Kansas City (62-43). In two games against Summit League opponents, Western Illinois is averaging 75.5 points while holding opponents to just 63.0 points in two games. St. Thomas has yet to face an opponent from the OVC in 2024-25.
BLOCK PARTY: The Tommies once again saw two student-athletes record multiple blocks in a game Saturday afternoon, as Jordyn Lamker and Sammy Opichka were credited with two apiece. It helped St. Thomas boost its block total to 46 this season, as the Tommies continue to lead the Summit League in both total blocks (46) and blocks per game (4.60) this season. Opichka continues to lead the conference in both categories as well thanks to her 12 blocks in 10 games this season. Jordyn Lamker now ranks third in the conference in total blocks (9) and fifth in blocks per game (0.9), while Faith Feuerbach ranks fourth in the conference with eight total blocks in 2024-25. Entering Saturday's contest, St. Thomas is the only school with three student-athletes ranked in the top-10 in both categories in the Summit League.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: Ruth Sinn won her 396th game as St. Thomas' head women's basketball coach, bringing her one step closer to 400 career wins. 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. Additionally, Sinn would join former St. Thomas men's basketball coach and athletic director Steve Fritz, current volleyball coach Thanh Pham, former baseball coach Dennis Denning and former softball coach John Tschida as the only head coaches in St. Thomas history with over 400 wins with their respective programs.
Players Mentioned
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