University of St. Thomas Athletics
14-12,6-6Summit League
South Dakota
18-9,7-5Summit League
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Tommies fall to South Dakota 75-61
2/17/2024 8:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Jade Hill leads with 22 points for St. Thomas
VERMILLION, S.D. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team has hit a bit of a speed bump these last few games. After back-to-back losses in Summit League play, the Tommies were hoping to rewrite the ship with a road win at the University of South Dakota. St. Thomas was unable to leave Vermillion, South Dakota with a win, falling to the home team by a final score of 75-61 With the loss, St. Thomas is now 14-12 overall and 6-6 in Summit League play.
RECAP:
It was a closely contested contest between the Tommies and Coyotes, as neither could really gain an advantage over the other. At one point, St. Thomas held all the momentum, as the Tommies went on a 7-0 run midway through the quarter to hold a 13-6 lead. A three-pointer and coast-to-coast steal by Jordyn Glynn (Grand Meadow, Minn. / Grand Meadow) fueled St. Thomas' first quarter run, but the Tommies quickly went cold, scoring just five points over the final five minutes of the first. That allowed South Dakota to play catch up, knotting things up 18-18 by the end of the quarter.
St. Thomas looked to pull away in the second, as Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) went on a six point scoring run to bolster the Tommies lead to 23-18 just minutes in. Like in the first, though, St. Thomas could not close out the Coyotes. Using offensive rebounds, South Dakota managed to tie things up at 27-27 out of the media time out. The Tommies were also forced to play without one of their leading scorers, Jo Langbehn (Elk River), for the entire second quarter after she was dealt two fouls early in the first. As St. Thomas struggled to find an inside presence, the Coyotes took advantage, jumping out to a 37-34 halftime lead despite a last second basket from Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater).
Still, the Tommies had plenty of positives going for them headed into the third quarter. As a team, St. Thomas shot .625 (15-24) from the floor in the first half, and that was without Langbehn playing for the entire second quarter. Still, the Tommies struggled to penetrate the lane early in the third and trailed 44-39 despite a five point scoring burst from Hill. Langbehn's presence inside helped St. Thomas with rebounds and points, but the Tommies still trailed South Dakota 53-43 entering the fourth and final quarter.
St. Thomas tried to make up the 10-point deficit in the fourth, but a 4-0 run by the Coyotes put the game just out of reach. However, the Tommies still had life in the closing seconds. After back-to-back layups from Langbehn pulled St. Thomas within striking distance, the Tommies opted to foul, giving themselves a chance to get the ball back late in the game. South Dakota, though, converted all but one of its free throw attempts, securing its 75-61 victory from the free throw line.
TOP TOMMIES
- Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) led St. Thomas' scoring efforts Saturday evening, as she scored a team and game-leading 22 points on 8-18 shooting. Hill also added four assists and two steals to her stat line.
- Jo Langbehn (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) was the only other Tommie to score in double figures, tallying 12 points despite only playing 17 minutes of the game. She also tallied five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
- Jordyn Glynn (Grand Meadow, Minn. / Grand Meadow) closed the game with a team-leading six rebounds and scored nine points.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will look to course correct next weekend, as the team returns to Schoenecker Arena for key match ups with North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The Tommies will host the Bison for their annual Play4Kay game on Thursday, February 22, with tip off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota. St. Thomas will close out its home schedule on Saturday, February 24, looking to upset the Jackrabbits on Country Night.
