University of St. Thomas Athletics
Hill, Scalia garner All-Summit League honors
3/7/2024 1:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball
First Tommie pair named to First, Second or HM team in DI era
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team received good news Thursday afternoon. As the team prepares for the Summit League Tournament Quarterfinal, two Tommies were named to the All-Summit League teams Thursday afternoon. Junior guard Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) was voted Second Team All-League by the conference coaches, athletic communications professionals, and media, while sophomore guard Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) was named All-League Honorable Mention.
The Summit League's All-Conference teams and end of season awards are voted on by conference coaches, sports information/athletic communication professionals and media members at the conclusion of the regular season and released the Thursday prior to the conference tournament. Hill and Scalia were two of 16 student-athletes named to the All-Summit League teams and the first St. Thomas duo to earn All-Conference honors in the same season in the Division I era. The additionally join for Tommie Maggie Negaard as the only St. Thomas Division I women's basketball players to earn a spot on the Summit League's First, Second or Honorable Mention teams.
Meet the Tommies 2023-24 All-League honorees:
Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South)
Hill put up career numbers in her third season with the Tommies and was awarded with Second Team All-League honors for her performance during the 2023-24 season. As the team's starting point guard, Hill started all 30 games for St. Thomas, including the 16 conference games, and played 1056 total minutes during the regular season. She averaged 13.5 points per game, scoring a career-high 406 total, with 96 rebounds, 126 assists and 57 steals. In addition to leading the team in minutes played and minutes per game, Hill led the Tommies in total assists (126), assists per game (4.2), total steals (57) and steals per game (1.9) and ranked top five in the conference in assists, assist per game, assist/turnover ratio, steals and steals per game.
However, it wasn't just her overall numbers that impressed Summit League personnel. In conference games, Hill scored 209 points with 44 rebounds, 66 assists and 27 steals, ranking top-20 in the conference in all categories except rebounding. She additionally piloted the St. Thomas offense, which ranked fourth in the conference in team field goal percentage at .426. The Tommies also ranked second in the Summit League in total assists (236), assists/game (14.75), total steals (123) and steals/game (7.69) at the conclusion of the regular season.
Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater)
Scalia took the Summit League by storm in 2023-24, ranking top-5 in the conference in points per game from start to finish. As a sophomore, Scalia broke the DI program record for single-season points, scoring a team-leading 498 during the regular season to average 16.6 per game. She did this thanks to a .407 shooting percentage from the floor, including a .333 clip from three-point range, and shot .842 from the charity stripe. In addition to breaking the Division I single-season scoring mark, Scalia also broke the all-time program record for free throws made in a game (16) and tied the all-time record for single-game free throws attempts (16) against Utah Valley on November 18. Her other numbers weren't too shabby either. Scalia closed the regular season with 85 total rebounds, 85 assists, 33 steals and four blocks.
In addition to her overall numbers, Scalia's numbers against conference opponents were just as staggering. Of her 498 total points scored, the sophomore scored 266 against Summit League foes, averaging 16.6 points per game in conference play. She also racked up 53 rebounds, 52 assists and 19 steals in Summit League play and closed the regular season ranking sixth in the conference in scoring. Scalia additionally ranked fifth in the Summit League in minutes played and ninth total assists (52) and tenth in assists/turnover ratio.
