University of St. Thomas Athletics
Oral Roberts
Tommeis face Oral Roberts, Denver in key Summit League matchups
2/8/2024 11:37:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It's a big weekend for the University of St. Thomas women's basketball team. Currently tied for third in the Summit League standings, the Tommies will look to cement their place as a top-3 team in the conference, as they face Oral Robert and Denver this upcoming weekend.
St. Thomas weekend will begin in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the team is set for a rematch with the Golden Eagles. The first meeting between the two teams was memorable, courtesy of a buzzer beater by junior Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South). Another dramatic Tommie win would be significant, as it would move St. Thomas ahead of Oral Roberts in the Summit League standings, as the team would sit alone in third place behind South Dakota State and North Dakota State.
The Tommies will return to Schoenecker Arena on Saturday, where they will host Denver and honor seniors Jordyn Glynn (Grand Meadow, Minn. / Grand Meadow) and Angelina Hammond (Hopkins, Minn. / Hopkins) in a pre-game ceremony. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:02 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Saturday's game will air on FOX9+ in the Metro area.
In addition to airing on FOX9+, both games will air on the Summit League Network. 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: The month of February is treating St. Thomas well. The Tommies opened the month with a 2-0 record, beating Omaha and Kansas City to improve to 6-3 in Summit League play. In its last outing against the Roos, St. Thomas used stingy defense and an explosive second half of offensive to secure the 75-55 victory. Jo Langbehn scored 20+ points against the Roos for the second time in her career, tallying a team-leading 22 in the victory. Jordyn Glynn put up big numbers on the boards, pulling in eight rebounds, seven of which were on the defensive end of the court, while Jade Hill dished out a season-high eight assists on the night. While Amber Scalia didn't quite score 30+ points, she did score 10+ for the 11th straight game, closing the night with 15.
TUNE IN: Basketball fans can follow the Tommies on their new streaming home, the Summit League Network, fueled by Midco Sports and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas basketball games along with exclusive Tommie and Summit League content. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Live stats will also be available on oruathletics.com.
THE OPPOSITION: The Golden Eagles continue to take the Summit League by storm. Oral Roberts owns the No. 1 offense in the conference, as the team averages 81.4 points per game overall and 83.2 points in Summit League games. The Golden Eagles are also unbeatable at home. Oral Roberts is 10-0 in home games this season compared to a 5-7 record on the road. In those 10 victories, the Golden Eagles have scored 900 total points, scoring over 80 points in all but two games at home this season. However, while Oral Roberts excels at scoring, defense has been an issue for the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts ranks eighth in the Summit League in overall scoring defense, surrendering an average of 75.6 points per game. In their last two losses, the Golden Eagles surrendered 96 points to Summit League leader South Dakota State and 112 to Denver.
AT THE BUZZER: St. Thomas and Oral Roberts met up in Schoenecker Arena back in early January, and it was certainly a game to remember. The Tommies then stunned the Golden Eagles 73-72 thanks to a buzzer beater by junior guard Jade Hill. With 3.6 seconds remaining on the clock, head coach Ruth Sinn called timeout, advancing the ball into St. Thomas territory, and drew up a play. With Hill as the inbounder, the Tommies strategy seemed obvious: get the ball to Amber Scalia around the arch. That was, initially, what happened. Hill inbounded the ball to Scalia, who was immediately swarmed by Oral Roberts' defense, leaving Hill wide open and unattended. The sophomore kicked the ball to her teammate, and Hill wasted no time sending the ball to the basket and securing the 73-72 victory for her team.
LUCKY #14: There's still plenty of games remaining, but St. Thomas already has something to celebrate. With their win over UMKC on Saturday, the Tommies secured their 14th win of 2023-24, surpassing last year's win total of 13. Already, St. Thomas has secured the most wins in the DI era and looks to add more over the weekend.
SCALDING HOT!: Amber Scalia's sharp shooting and impressive offensive production is no longer a surprise to Tommie fans or the Summit League as a whole. Against Omaha, the sophomore continued to make headlines and set records, as she became the first women's basketball player in the Division I era with back-to-back 30+ point performances. After scoring a career-high 32 points against North Dakota on January 27, Scalia led the team with 30 points in the win over the Mavericks, becoming the first DI basketball player to score 30+ points in back-to-back games. In fact, Scalia is the first St. Thomas women's basketball player to score 30+ points multiple times in one season since Kaitlin Langer accomplished the feat in 2016-17. Langer scored 32 points against Juniata on November 18, 2016 and then again against Gustavus on February 1, 2017. However, no player has done it in that span in back-to-back games other than Scalia, according to available records.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: Head coach Ruth 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.
LUCKY #20: The Tommies have put together a well-balanced offense this season, with three players averaging double-digit points through January. However, two student-athletes have stood above the rest: Amber Scalia and Jade Hill. Either Scalia or Hill has scored 20+ points in 10 games this season, and the duo both scored over 20 points against UW-River Falls and North Dakota. St. Thomas is 8-2 this season when Scalia or Hill scores at least 20 points and 2-0 when both score 20+ in the same game.
RUNNING UP THAT HILL: Jade Hill really enjoys playing the Golden Eagles. In five career meetings against the Golden Eagles, the junior has scored 10+ points in four games and scored 20+ points in two. In fact, Hill scored a career-high 27 points against the Golden Eagles as a first year in 2022 and scored 24 points in January's victory. She also set the program record for single-game assists in the February 9, 2023 meeting between the two teams, recording nine assists in the Tommies victory. For her career, Hill is averaging 16.8 points and 4.8 assists per game against Oral Roberts.
TOP-3 STANDING: Thursday's meeting between St. Thomas and the Golden Eagles will have huge implications for the Summit League standings. As of Monday, the Tommies and Golden Eagles were deadlocked in a tie for third place in the conference thanks to their identical records of 6-3. Additionally, the two teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games, though St. Thomas enters riding a three-game win streak, the second longest in the Summit League. Oral Roberts, meanwhile, is 1-2 in its last three games, though both losses occurred on the road at South Dakota State and Denver.
CLUB 100: Fifth year senior Jordyn Glynn played in her 100th career game in Saturday's win over UMKC. In five years with the Tommies, Glynn has scored 353 points, averaging 3.53 points per game over her five year career. She additionally has tallied 373 rebounds, 162 assists, 75 steals and 16 blocks. As a true senior, Glynn scored a career-high 18 points in a loss to South Dakota State at the Summit League Tournament and recorded two blocks in a conference tournament win over Western Illinois that same season
ROAD WARRIORS: St. Thomas is 6-4 in road games this season, but only one of those wins has come in Summit League play. Of the Tommies three conference losses this season, two happened on the road. After opening with a 3-0 record, St. Thomas lost its first conference game at South Dakota State and dropped a contest at North Dakota State two weeks ago. If the Tommies were to win on Thursday, it would their second road conference win of 2023-24. It would also secure St. Thomas' third sweep of the season, as the Tommies already secured the season sweep against UND and UMKC.
