University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, December 28
Ypsilanti, Mich.
1:00 p.m. CT
at
Eastern Michigan
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Tommies to close 2024 at Eastern Michigan
12/23/2024 8:47:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It's been quite the start to the 2024-25 season for the St. Thomas University women's basketball team. The Tommies are off to a 7-5 start, their best in the Division I era, and look to win one final game between opening Summit League play in January. St. Thomas' final nonconference game will take place in Ypsilanti, Michigan, as the Tommies are set to take on Eastern Michigan in their final game of 2024.
This will be the first ever meeting between St. Thomas and the Eagles, though it's not the first time the Tommies have traveled to Michigan this season. The Big Lake State treated St. Thomas kindly when the team visited back in November. The Tommies earned a 73-62 win over Oakland University, closing out their four-game road trip with a much needed victory. St. Thomas is hoping history repeats itself on Saturday, as Eastern Michigan enters the contest with a 1-8 record, having lost three of its last four games.
Fans who are unable to attend in person can watch the 1:00 p.m. CT game on ESPN+ this upcoming Saturday. Subscriptions start at $10.99/month for just ESPN, with the price set to increase on October 17, 2024. Fans can also follow the live stats on the Eagles' official athletics website, emueagles.com and follow the Tommies on social media (@tommiewbball) for live updates.
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas came up just short in a pre-Christmas thriller against Drake University. The Tommies welcomed the Bulldogs to Schoenecker Arena and led the reigning Mo Valley conference champions after the first quarter of play. A series of runs for both teams resulted in a 40-39 halftime lead for Drake, and the Bulldogs seemingly pulled away 65-58 by the end of the third quarter. However, St. Thomas continued to hang around, pulling within 10 with under two minutes to play. However, Drake proved to have too much power, cementing its 92-81 win at the free throw line.
THE IION: Eastern Michigan is off to a slow start in 2024-25, the first of Sahar Nusseibeh's tenure with the program. The Eagles are 1-8 to open the season with their lone win on the season coming on December 1 against Xavier. However, Eastern Michigan is battle tested, playing some of the top programs in the nation. The Eagles have taken on Michigan State and Notre Dame this season, two household names in women's college basketball. Eastern Michigan is also looking to snap its three-game losing streak. Since beating Xavier to open December, the Eagles lost three consecutive games to the #8 Fighting Irish, UTRGV and Texas A&M Corpus Christi by a combined score of 258-167.
WE'LL HAVE A BLUE DECEMBER: Since making the jump to Division I in 2021, St. Thomas has played 27 games during the month of December, facing both nonconference and Summit League foes. In four seasons, the Tommies have compiled a 13-14 record during the month, including a 3-5 record against Summit League opponents. In fact, St. Thomas went 0-4 in December 2022 against its conference foes and 2-0 in 2023. This will mark the first time in the DI era that the Tommies won't play a conference opponent during the month of December. That's right. St. Thomas won't open Summit League play until 2025 when the team hosts Kansas City and North Dakota State in its first conference series of 2024-25.
RUNNING UP THAT HILL: Jade Hill recorded her second straight 20+ point performance against Drake on Saturday, scoring 24 points in the Tommies loss to the Bulldogs. It was the 15th 20+ point scoring performance of her career, something that usually results in victory for St. Thomas. Since joining the squad in 2021, the Tommies are 9-6 when Hill scores 20+ points in a game and 1-0 when she scores over 30. However, she's only put together back-to-back 20+ point performances once in her career. As a first year, Hill scored 20+ in three consecutive Summit League games, scoring 69 points over a three-game stretch against Western Illinois, Kansas City and Oral Roberts.
MONKEY OFF THEIR BACKS?: St. Thomas' second quarter scoring woes are not, in fact, over. The Tommies were unable to reproduce a productive second quarter after scoring 22 in a win over Western Illinois on December 14. While St. Thomas scored 15 points in the second quarter, its defense surrendered 26 to Drake, allowing the Bulldogs to surge ahead 40-39 at the half. After Saturday, the Tommies are now being outscored 200-159 by their opponents in the second quarter of play, and prior to the win over the Leathernecks, they had yet to outscore a Division I opponent in the second quarter of play.
THE BIG LAKE STATE: This will be St. Thomas' second trip to Michigan this season. The Tommies traveled to Rochester, Michigan in mid-November to take on the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. It turns out Michigan treated St. Thomas well, as the Tommies earned a 73-62 win and snapped a two-game losing streak. Jo Langbehn and Amber Scalia both scored 22 points in the victory while Jade Hill added 12, improving to 5-0 when the Big Three all score 10+ points this season. Since then, St. Thomas' Big Three have scored 10+ points in the same game three times: vs. Macalester (win), UIC (win) and Drake (loss).
YOU GET A BASKET AND YOU GET A BASKET!: Scoring was not an issue for any of the Tommies on Saturday, as all five St. Thomas starters scored in double-digits against the Bulldogs. While Hill led the way with 25, Scalia added 19, Langbehn and Sammy Opichka scored 11 and Jordyn Lamker tallied 10. It marks the first time this season all five Tommie starters scored 10+ points against an opponent, which might be why St. Thomas put together its best regulation scoring performance against a DI opponent. Prior to Saturday's game, the Tommies had yet to score 80+ points in regulation against a Division I opponent, though they did score 84 in an overtime win against Milwaukee to open the season.
BENCH PRODUCTION: While scoring has not been an issue for the St. Thomas starters, it has been a slight problem for the bench. Through 12 games this season, the Tommies bench is averaging just 8.5 points in 10 games against Division I opponents this season and 13.5 overall. That number is boosted by two 20+ scoring performances against Division III opponents Macalester and Crown. St. Thomas' bench scored a season high 50 points in its win over the Polars in early November and 27 against the Scots but have not scored more than 15 against a DI opponent.
SUPER SENIORS: After starting the season on the bench, senior forward Jordyn Lamker has officially moved into the Tommies starting lineup. Lamker has started the last three games against Idaho, Western Illinois and Drake and made a start against UIC on December 1. With Lamker now a staple in the lineup, head coach Ruth Sinn is starting four of her six seniors, the first ever Division I signing class for St. Thomas women's basketball. Fellow seniors Phoebe Frentzel and Gabby Johnson both play key roles on the bench, and Frentzel leads the team and ranks top-15 in the Summit League with 17 steals this season.
BLOCK PARTY: Despite giving up 92 points on Saturday, St. Thomas' defense continues to rank toward the top of the Summit League in several statistical categories. Entering Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan, the Tommies lead the Summit League in total blocks (52) and blocks per game (4.33), while Opichka continues to lead the League with 14 total blocks. In fact, Opichka has been credited with at least one block in five consecutive and 10 of St. Thomas' 12 games this season. Lamker has also been credited with double-digit blocks this season, ranking second on the team and third in the Summit League in total blocks.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: Ruth Sinn won her 397th 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.
This will be the first ever meeting between St. Thomas and the Eagles, though it's not the first time the Tommies have traveled to Michigan this season. The Big Lake State treated St. Thomas kindly when the team visited back in November. The Tommies earned a 73-62 win over Oakland University, closing out their four-game road trip with a much needed victory. St. Thomas is hoping history repeats itself on Saturday, as Eastern Michigan enters the contest with a 1-8 record, having lost three of its last four games.
Fans who are unable to attend in person can watch the 1:00 p.m. CT game on ESPN+ this upcoming Saturday. Subscriptions start at $10.99/month for just ESPN, with the price set to increase on October 17, 2024. Fans can also follow the live stats on the Eagles' official athletics website, emueagles.com and follow the Tommies on social media (@tommiewbball) for live updates.
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas came up just short in a pre-Christmas thriller against Drake University. The Tommies welcomed the Bulldogs to Schoenecker Arena and led the reigning Mo Valley conference champions after the first quarter of play. A series of runs for both teams resulted in a 40-39 halftime lead for Drake, and the Bulldogs seemingly pulled away 65-58 by the end of the third quarter. However, St. Thomas continued to hang around, pulling within 10 with under two minutes to play. However, Drake proved to have too much power, cementing its 92-81 win at the free throw line.
THE IION: Eastern Michigan is off to a slow start in 2024-25, the first of Sahar Nusseibeh's tenure with the program. The Eagles are 1-8 to open the season with their lone win on the season coming on December 1 against Xavier. However, Eastern Michigan is battle tested, playing some of the top programs in the nation. The Eagles have taken on Michigan State and Notre Dame this season, two household names in women's college basketball. Eastern Michigan is also looking to snap its three-game losing streak. Since beating Xavier to open December, the Eagles lost three consecutive games to the #8 Fighting Irish, UTRGV and Texas A&M Corpus Christi by a combined score of 258-167.
WE'LL HAVE A BLUE DECEMBER: Since making the jump to Division I in 2021, St. Thomas has played 27 games during the month of December, facing both nonconference and Summit League foes. In four seasons, the Tommies have compiled a 13-14 record during the month, including a 3-5 record against Summit League opponents. In fact, St. Thomas went 0-4 in December 2022 against its conference foes and 2-0 in 2023. This will mark the first time in the DI era that the Tommies won't play a conference opponent during the month of December. That's right. St. Thomas won't open Summit League play until 2025 when the team hosts Kansas City and North Dakota State in its first conference series of 2024-25.
RUNNING UP THAT HILL: Jade Hill recorded her second straight 20+ point performance against Drake on Saturday, scoring 24 points in the Tommies loss to the Bulldogs. It was the 15th 20+ point scoring performance of her career, something that usually results in victory for St. Thomas. Since joining the squad in 2021, the Tommies are 9-6 when Hill scores 20+ points in a game and 1-0 when she scores over 30. However, she's only put together back-to-back 20+ point performances once in her career. As a first year, Hill scored 20+ in three consecutive Summit League games, scoring 69 points over a three-game stretch against Western Illinois, Kansas City and Oral Roberts.
MONKEY OFF THEIR BACKS?: St. Thomas' second quarter scoring woes are not, in fact, over. The Tommies were unable to reproduce a productive second quarter after scoring 22 in a win over Western Illinois on December 14. While St. Thomas scored 15 points in the second quarter, its defense surrendered 26 to Drake, allowing the Bulldogs to surge ahead 40-39 at the half. After Saturday, the Tommies are now being outscored 200-159 by their opponents in the second quarter of play, and prior to the win over the Leathernecks, they had yet to outscore a Division I opponent in the second quarter of play.
THE BIG LAKE STATE: This will be St. Thomas' second trip to Michigan this season. The Tommies traveled to Rochester, Michigan in mid-November to take on the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. It turns out Michigan treated St. Thomas well, as the Tommies earned a 73-62 win and snapped a two-game losing streak. Jo Langbehn and Amber Scalia both scored 22 points in the victory while Jade Hill added 12, improving to 5-0 when the Big Three all score 10+ points this season. Since then, St. Thomas' Big Three have scored 10+ points in the same game three times: vs. Macalester (win), UIC (win) and Drake (loss).
YOU GET A BASKET AND YOU GET A BASKET!: Scoring was not an issue for any of the Tommies on Saturday, as all five St. Thomas starters scored in double-digits against the Bulldogs. While Hill led the way with 25, Scalia added 19, Langbehn and Sammy Opichka scored 11 and Jordyn Lamker tallied 10. It marks the first time this season all five Tommie starters scored 10+ points against an opponent, which might be why St. Thomas put together its best regulation scoring performance against a DI opponent. Prior to Saturday's game, the Tommies had yet to score 80+ points in regulation against a Division I opponent, though they did score 84 in an overtime win against Milwaukee to open the season.
BENCH PRODUCTION: While scoring has not been an issue for the St. Thomas starters, it has been a slight problem for the bench. Through 12 games this season, the Tommies bench is averaging just 8.5 points in 10 games against Division I opponents this season and 13.5 overall. That number is boosted by two 20+ scoring performances against Division III opponents Macalester and Crown. St. Thomas' bench scored a season high 50 points in its win over the Polars in early November and 27 against the Scots but have not scored more than 15 against a DI opponent.
SUPER SENIORS: After starting the season on the bench, senior forward Jordyn Lamker has officially moved into the Tommies starting lineup. Lamker has started the last three games against Idaho, Western Illinois and Drake and made a start against UIC on December 1. With Lamker now a staple in the lineup, head coach Ruth Sinn is starting four of her six seniors, the first ever Division I signing class for St. Thomas women's basketball. Fellow seniors Phoebe Frentzel and Gabby Johnson both play key roles on the bench, and Frentzel leads the team and ranks top-15 in the Summit League with 17 steals this season.
BLOCK PARTY: Despite giving up 92 points on Saturday, St. Thomas' defense continues to rank toward the top of the Summit League in several statistical categories. Entering Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan, the Tommies lead the Summit League in total blocks (52) and blocks per game (4.33), while Opichka continues to lead the League with 14 total blocks. In fact, Opichka has been credited with at least one block in five consecutive and 10 of St. Thomas' 12 games this season. Lamker has also been credited with double-digit blocks this season, ranking second on the team and third in the Summit League in total blocks.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: Ruth Sinn won her 397th 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.
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