University of St. Thomas Athletics
14-13,6-7Summit League
North Dakota State
17-9,11-2Summit League
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Langbehn, Feuerbach shine in loss to NDSU
2/22/2024 9:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Jo Langbehn goes 6-10 from the floor in loss
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team faced a tough opponent in the North Dakota State University Bison Thursday evening. One of the best road teams in the Summit League this season, the Tommies were tasked with upending the No. 2 team in the conference in their second to last home game of 2023-24. While St. Thomas gave it a valiant attempt, NDSU proved to have too much firepower, as the Bison ran away with a 96-53 victory. With the loss, the Tommies are now 14-13 overall and 6-7 in Summit League play.
RECAP
St. Thomas hung with offensively charged NDSU to open the game. Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) was a one woman show for the Tommies, scoring their first four points before Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) joined the party, knotting things up at 6-6 by the first media timeout. In fact, it was St. Thomas' inside presence that allowed the Tommies to keep pace with the Bison, as NDSU continued to make contested shots in the lane. Angelina Hammond (Hopkins, Minn. / Hopkins) and Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame) both got in on the scoring efforts, but the Bison got hot from three in the closing minute of the first, jumping out to a 22-13 lead by the end of the quarter.
The Tommies were able to generate some offense in the second quarter, but they could not keep pace with red hot NDSU. For every basket St. Thomas made, the Bison seemed to make two more, as NDSU opened the second with a 10-2 run. However, the Tommies slowly but surely chipped away at the Bison lead. Pesky defense by St. Thomas helped the team go 3-4 in a two minute spurt, allowing the Tommies to cut the lead to 34-24 on baskets from Faith Feuerbach (Sycamore, Ill. / Sycamore) and Langbehn. NDSU, though, took advantage of St. Thomas fouls late in the quarter, allowing the Bison to pull out to a 44-27 halftime lead.
It was off to the races in the third quarter, as the Tommies worked to whittle away at the NDSU deficit. However, foul trouble continued to plague St. Thomas in the third quarter as the team struggled to generate offense. Langbehn eventually broke through the scoring drought, tallying the Tommies first basket of the quarter at 6:29, but NDSU's defense was stifling. The Bison limited St. Thomas' top scorers, Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) and Scalia to just four combined points in the first half and seven in the third quarter, as the Tommies fell into a 70-40 deficit after 30 minutes of play.
The St. Thomas offense finally seemed to find its groove in the fourth quarter, as Opichka and Feuerbach hit two threes for the Tommies in the early minutes. It was not enough, though, to overcome NDSU's 26 point third quarter. Despite St. Thomas' best attempts, the team did not make a dramatic comeback, falling by a final score of 96-53.
TOP TOMMIES
- Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) led St. Thomas in scoring, tallying 12 points on 6-10 shooting. She also led with two steals for the Tommies.
- Faith Feuerbach (Sycamore, Ill. / Sycamore) added 10 points in the loss, going 2-6 from three-point land, while recorded three assists.
- Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame) led with six rebounds and four assists for St. Thomas, while Angelina Hammond (Hopkins, Minn. / Hopkins) recorded three blocks.
NOTEABLES
St. Thomas athletics and the women's basketball team recognized the Sanneh Foundation during the second quarter of Thursday's contest. The mission of The Sanneh Foundation is to Empower youth, Improve lives and Unite communities. Sanneh empowers youth by supporting and promoting educational attainment through in-school and after-school support, improves lives by providing programs that strengthen physical health and social and emotional development, and unites communities by advancing diversity, equity and community well-being. The Sanneh Foundation will be the featured nonprofit at a yet to be announced St. Thomas home athletic game and will have a presence at the event on February 20. To learn more about The Sanneh Foundation, visit https://thesannehfoundation.org/.
BLOCKAGE
The Tommies were credited with seven blocks in Thursday's game, the team's season high in 2023-24. Angelina Hammond (Hopkins, Minn. / Hopkins) recorded three blocks before the end of the third quarter, her ninth multi-block game of the season. Following Thursday's contest, Hammond leads the team with 31 total blocks and ranks third in the conference in total blocks and blocks per game.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will host South Dakota State in its final home game of the 2023-24 season. It will be Country Day in Schoenecker Arena, and the first 250 fans in the stands will receive a free Roll Toms cowboy hat. There will also be postgame autographs following the contest. Tip off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.
