University of St. Thomas Athletics
Omaha
Tommies head west for final games of 2023-24
2/27/2024 3:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
St. Thomas to face Omaha, Denver in regular season finale
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It all comes down to this. After four full months of practices, lifts and games, the University of St. Thomas women's basketball is set to play in the final weekend of the 2023-24 regular season. With seeding in the Summit League Tournament on the line, the Tommies will travel west for their final games of the regular season, as they are set to take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha and the University of Denver this upcoming Thursday and Saturday.
There's still plenty on the line for St. Thomas, as the Tommies look to secure a top-5 seed in the conference tournament next week. St. Thomas will also look to snap its five game losing streak against Omaha on Thursday, with tip off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. The Tommies will then travel to Colorado for their final game of the season, with tipoff against the Pioneers scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 2.
Both games will air on the Summit League Network, and live stats will be available on the Omaha and Denver athletic websites. The home of all Summit League action, the Summit League Network is a subscription-based platform with costs $9.99 per most or $79.99 for an annual plan. The fee provides fans and alumni with the opportunity to watch St. Thomas from a variety of devices through the Midco Sports Plus app, including phones, tablets, TVs, and web-based browser interference. Additionally, the app and its exclusive Summit League content will be available on AppleTV, Fire TV and Roku, allowing fans to sign in and watch through their account on multiple devices. Fans can subscribe at www.midcosportsplus.com.
Tommie Tidbits:
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas did not close out the home schedule like it wanted too. After a tough loss to NDSU on Thursday, February 22, the Tommies were hoping to upend the No. 1 team in the conference, South Dakota State, in the final home game at Schoenecker Arena. That outcome did not come to pass, as the Jackrabbits upended St. Thomas 97-63. SDSU was aided by a .679 shooting percentage for the game, as the Jackrabbits shot 38-56 from the floor, including a 9-14 clip from three-point range. They also had three players score double-digit points, including Brooklyn Meyer (26), Paige Meyer (23) and Madison Mathiowetz (20). The Tommies also had three student-athlete score 10+ points, but only Sammy Opichka scored more than that. The junior forward led the team with a 15 point effort, while Jade Hill and Jo Langbehn each added 10.
THE OPPOSITION: Omaha has struggled as of late, winning just two of its last 10 games. However, the Mavericks did get a much needed win over South Dakota on February 15, as they upet the Coyotes 77-67 in Vermillion, South Dakota. Since then, Omaha has lost three straight, falling at South Dakota State, at Oral Roberts and at home against Kansas City. A win over the Tommies could help the Mavericks move into a tie for eighth place in the Summit League standings, but they are locked in as the No. 9 seed in the conference tournament, as the Roos hold the tie breaker over Omaha after sweeping the season series.
TOURNEY TIME: This weekend could have big implications for St. Thomas in regard to the Summit League standings. With the conference tournament looming, the Tommies sit in fifth in the Summit standings with a 6-8 record in conference play. A sweep of Omaha and Denver would not only secure St. Thomas' first .500+ win record of the DI era, but it would also cement the Tommies as the No. 5 seed in the tournament. However, with two losses and a weekend sweep by North Dakota, St. Thomas could fall to the No. 6 seed in the tournament. The Tommies could also fall to No. 7 with a weekend loss, a Fighting Hawks sweep and a Denver sweep over the final weekend.
OH MAV!: St. Thomas opened February with an 88-83 win over the Mavericks, improving to 2-3 all-time against the program. The Tommies shot .542 from the floor against Omaha, fueled by a 30 point performance from sophomore guard Amber Scalia. However, St. Thomas had to fend off a surging Mavericks team in the fourth quarter. After outscoring Omaha 34-16 in the third, it looked like the Tommies would cruise to victory. The Mavericks would outscore St. Thomas 20-12 in the final 10 minutes, making it a four point game with 13 seconds in regulation. A free throw from Scalia and steal by Hill secured the victory for the Tommies.
REMEMBER WHEN...: St. Thomas has won just one game since beating Omaha on February 1, defeating Kansas City 75-55 before losing five straight, the longest losing streak in the Summit League. In that five game span, the Tommies have been outscored 415-311, surrendering an average of 83.0 points per game. This past week, St. Thomas gave up 90+ points in back-to-back games for the first time this season, something that had not yet happened in the Division I era. Prior to last week's games, the Tommies only allowed opponents to score 90+ points in a game two other times. Last season, St. Thomas gave up 99 in a January loss to SDSU, and the Tommies surrendered 102 to Northern Iowa in December 2021.
SINNFULLY GOOD: Ruth Sinn's teams have been known for their defensive mindset since she took over as head coach in 2005. In 19 years as head coach, Sinn's programs had never given up 90+ points in back-to-back games until last week, a streak that lasted 528 games. In fact. St. Thomas never surrendered 90+ points in a regular season game during the DIII era, and the Tommies gave up 90+ points just once from 2005-2021. That occurred in the 2010 NCAA tournament, when St. Thomas lost to UW-Whitewater 91-73.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: Sinn won her 380th game as St. Thomas' head coach against Purdue Fort Wayne in early December, bringing her closer to the 400 career wins mark. 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.
THE PHOEBE EFFECT: Junior guard Phoebe Frentzel has been out of the line up since the Tommies January 27 game at North Dakota. Since then, St. Thomas is just 2-5 against Summit League opponents and averaging just 67.7 points per game. That percentage is aided by the Tommies wins over Omaha and Kansas City. In the last five games, St. Thomas is averaging just 62.2 points per game and has yet to score over 63 points against a Summit League opponent since defeating the Roos 75-55.
HELPING HAND: Assists are the name of the game when it comes to the St. Thomas offense. The Tommies are 10-4 this season when recording at least 15 assists in a game and are 4-10 when recording less than 14. In fact, St. Thomas is 2-6 in Summit League play this season when recording fewer than 14 assists in a game,but tallied a season-high 22 in its win over Omaha in early February.
OF NOTE: St. Thomas was credited with 20 assists in Saturday's loss to SDSU. It's not only the most assists for the Tommies in a conference loss this season, but also the most for the team in any loss in 2023-24. St. Thomas also recorded 16 assists in the February 22 loss to NDSU and December 13 loss to Wisconsin, both at home.
SCALING BACK?: Since scoring 30+ points in back-to-back games, sophomore guard Amber Scalia has been limited on the offensive side of the ball. The sophomore has scored just 64 combined points in the last five games, including 21 in the last three. However, Scalia already owns the Division I record for single-season scoring, as her 458 points well surpass Erin Norling's 392 from 2021-22. Now, Scalia will have one weekend to try and catch Laurie Trow, who scored 699 points in 31 games in 1990-91.
CRACKING THE TOP-10: If she scored 15 points this weekend, Jade Hill will officially crack the St. Thomas top-10 for all-time scoring, surpassing Paige Olson with 1119 career points. If she were to accomplish the feat, Hill would become the first Tommie in the DI era to crack the program's top-10 in scoring and would do it in just three full years with the program. Entering Thursday's contest, Hill sits at 1104 career points and is averaging 13.8 points per game this season.
