University of St. Thomas Athletics
14-11,6-5Summit League
Denver
7-17,4-7Summit League
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Tommies fall short against Denver
2/10/2024 4:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Thomas outscored 19-11 in the fourth quarter
ST. PAUL, Minn., - In what was a back-and-forth game until the end, the University of St. Thomas women's basketball team dropped a close one against the University of Denver Saturday afternoon. Despite a strong defensive performance throughout the game, the shots did not fall for the Tommies, as they fell to the Pioneers 67-61. Following the loss, St. Thomas moves to 14-11 overall and 6-5 in Summit League play.
RECAP
After facing a 7-0 deficit to open the first quarter, the Tommie offense got the ball rolling thanks to a quick five points from both Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) and Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South). Hill was unstoppable in the first, scoring nine points thanks to a 7-7 performance from the free throw line. Her scoring helped St. Thomas tie it up at 18 to end the first quarter.
St. Thomas picked up right where they left off to start the second quarter, as Angelina Hammond (Hopkins, Minn. / Hopkins) dropped a dime to Scalia to give the Tommies their first lead to 20-18. The ball movement continued to flow, as Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) delivered a nice pass in transition to Sammy Opchika (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame) to make it 26-22 in favor of St. Thomas. Opchika did it all in the second quarter, recording a pair of key blocks on the defensive end, helping the Tommies maintain a 30-27 lead heading into halftime.
The offense came out firing to start the third quarter as Hill converted an and-one to put her in double-digits, and Scalia added five points of her own to start the half. With a 6-8 start from the floor, St. Thomas stretched the lead to eight, making it a 46-38 game with five minutes to play in the quarter. However, Denver would score with nine unanswered points to put them back on top, but Opichka netted a pair of baskets to put the Tommies up 50-48 heading to the final 10 minutes.
It remained a back-and-forth game to start the final quarter. After a pair of baskets from Denver, Opichka knocked down a three to put them back in front 55-54. Following a Denver basket, Langbehn would make a pair of free throws to give St. Thomas another lead. Unfortunately, the shots stopped falling as the Tommies would shoot just 2-16 from the floor in the fourth quarter, as they fell to Denver 67-61.
TOP TOMMIES
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Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) and Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) tied for a team-leading 14 points. Scalia also added seven rebounds and four assists, and both players were a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.
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Sammy Opichka (Greeb Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame) played well on both ends. Offensively, she recorded 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Defensively, she added a pair of blocks as well.
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Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) finished the game with 13 points, along with three rebounds and three assists.
QUOTABLES
Sophomore Guard Amber Scalia on the Summit League schedule:
"Every single game is going to be a battle. There's never a game in the Summit League that's not a battle. Denver had a worse record than us but that doesn't matter. It's always going to battle."
UP NEXT
The women's basketball team is back in action next Saturday, February 17 as they take on the Coyotes of South Dakota in another Summit League battle. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. CT in Vermillion, South Dakota.
