University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, January 9
Vermillion, S.D.
7:00 p.m. CT
at
South Dakota
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Tommies travel to South Dakota for first conference road trip
1/6/2025 1:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team did not get off to the start it was hoping for in Summit League play. The Tommies went 0-2 in the opening weekend of conference play, dropping games to Kansas City and North Dakota State at Schoenecker Arena. St. Thomas will now look for its first Summit League win of 2024-25 on the road as the team travels to Vermillion, South Dakota for a Thursday tilt with the University of South Dakota.
The Tommies are looking for more than just their first conference win of the season on Thursday. Head coach Ruth Sinn still sits at 398 career victories with St. Thomas, two away from No. 400. In 20 seasons at the helm, Sinn has compiled an overall record of 398-149 with the Tommies and would become the first female coach in the department's history to reach the 400 career wins milestone. Former softball coach John Tschida was the first coach of a St. Thomas women's team to eclipse the 400 wins marker, while current volleyball coach Thanh Pham joined the club in 2023.
Additionally, Jade Hill inches closer and closer to the program's career assists record. Thanks to her seven assist performance on Saturday, Hill now owns 400 assists as a Tommie, the most of any player in the DI era. She is just six away from tying Teri Witcraft's all-time career record of 406.
Tipoff for Thursday's game in Vermillion, South Dakota is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
Fans who are unable to attend in person can watch both games on The Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus and the Midco Sports Plus App. Saturday's game against the Bison will also air on FOX9+, and live stats will be available on tommiesports.com. Fans can additionally follow the Tommies on social media (@tommiewbball) for live updates.
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas is out to a slow start in Summit League play. After a disappointing loss to Kansas City on Thursday, the Tommies were hoping to rebound with a victory over NDSU on Saturday. Despite a strong first half, in which St. Thomas led the Bison after the first quarter and trailed by three after the second, NDSU left Schoenecker Arena victorious, handing the Tommies a 73-59 loss. As aforementioned, St. Thomas played well in the opening 20 minutes of play. The defense held the Bison to a .272 shooting percentage in the first quarter, then the offense matched NDSU shot for shot in the second. Unfortunately, the Tommies were unable make key adjustments in the third and fourth quarters, resulting in their second straight Summit League loss to open conference play.
THE OPPOSITION: South Dakota looks like a very different team from 2023-24. Despite the return of All-League point guard Grace Larkins, the rest of the roster is relatively unknown, including head coach Carrie Eighmey. First year head coach Eighmey took over the program in April after Kayla Karius accepted the head coaching position at Green Bay. When Karius left, so did much of South Dakota's 2023-24 roster, including key players Nicole Avila-Ambrosi, Tori DePerry, Natalie Mazurek, Walker Demers and Kendall Holmes. With a new coach and new roster, Larkins has taken on a large roll, leading the Coyotes in several statistical categories, including scoring and rebounding.
AN APPLE A DAY: Keeps the doctor away. According to the stats and that old adage, Jade Hill hasn't visited the doctor in a long time. Thanks to her seven assist performance on Saturday, Hill recorded her 14th multi-assist game this season and 12th consecutive, dishing out a total of 19 apples in the past three games. Thanks to her strong performance, the senior became just the second Tommie in program history to reach 400 career assists and is seven away from breaking Teri Witcraft's record of 406. That record, set in the early 1980s, is one of the longest standing in St. Thomas women's basketball history, dating back to the programs DIII days.
THE LARKINS EFFECT: The Tommie defense will have its hands full on Thursday when they try to contain the Summit League's leading scorer Grace Larkins. A true Jill of all trades, Larkins is currently leading the league in scoring (22.9), rebounding (9.0), assists (5.5), assist/turnover ratio (1.7) and minutes (36.7) through the first two months of play and ranks top-10 in field goal percentage (.486) and steals (1.5) entering Thursday's contest. There are only two stat categories where she doesn't show up in the top-25, blocks and three-point shooting percentage, and she ranks a "distant" 17th in the league in free throw percentage of .718.
GOTTA HAVE FAITH: Senior Sammy Opichka suffered a lower body injury in St. Thomas' conference opener vs. Kansas City, and head coach Ruth Sinn called on junior Faith Feuerbach to fill Opichka's roll in the starting line up. A junior guard, Feuerbach opened the season as a starter and has played in all 15 games during the 2024-25 season. With Feuerbach in the starting line up, the Tommies are 5-4 this season with wins over Milwaukee, Crown, NIU, Macalester and Oakland. While she adds depth beyond the arc, Feuerbach's defense has truly elevated her this season, as she recorded two blocks and led the team with a +1 plus/minus in the loss to NDSU. She currently ranks sixth in the Summit League in total blocks (12) and blocks per game (0.8) and is one of three Tommies to rank in the top-10 in the conference in both categories.
VERMILLION BLUES: St. Thomas has not found much success against South Dakota in the DI era. The Tommies are 1-6 all-time against the Coyotes, including last year's Summit League Tournament quarterfinal loss. However, St. Thomas' single win against South Dakota did come on the road. The Tommies upended the Coyotes 70-64 in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday, January 28, 2023 thanks to double-digit scoring efforts from Jo Langbehn, Opichka and Jordyn Lamker. Despite the record, the games between St. Thomas and South Dakota have been some of the most thrilling of the season. Three of the last five games have been determined on the final possession, including last season's heartbreaker in Schoenecker Arena. Tied 61-61 with three second remaining in regulation, the Coyotes Tori DePerry made an improbable last second shot to secure the 63-61 win for South Dakota.
MONKEY OFF THEIR BACKS?: St. Thomas' second quarter scoring woes are over. Maybe? Question mark? The Tommies outscored Eastern Michigan 26-18 in the second frame in their final nonconference game of the season before being held to just five points in the loss to Kansas City. St. Thomas then rebounded with a 21-point second quarter performance against NDSU but surrendered 26 points to the Bison in the process. However, the Tommies did score 20+ points in the quarter, marking the third time this season they've eclipsed the 20-point mark in the second frame against a DI opponent. Entering Thursday's game in Vermillion, St. Thomas has outscored a Division I opponent just twice in the second quarter and never in back-to-back games. Thanks to the 21-point performance, though, the Tommies are only being outscored 255-211 by their opponents in the second.
ELEMENTARY MY DEAR WATSON: The St. Thomas defense did a fairly good job of containing Grace Larkins in two regular season games last season. The Tommies allowed Larkins to score just 22 total points in two meetings, including a 10 point performance at Schoenecker Arena earlier in the season. However, Kendall Holmes three-point shooting prowess proved detrimental to St. Thomas' success. Holmes scored 34 points in two regular season meetings thanks to 7-13 shooting from the arc, including a 19 point performance in that comeback win in Schoenecker Arena. Fortunately for the Tommies, Holmes transferred to Belmont during the off season.
TIP THE SCALES: Amber Scalia will be key to St. Thomas' success against South Dakota this week. After suffering a head laceration in the first half of the Summit League quarterfinal, Scalia went off against the Coyotes, scoring a team-leading 22 points on 9-14 shooting and was a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. In fact, Scalia single-handedly led the Tommies near comeback, though she and Jordyn Glynn were the only St. Thomas student-athletes to score 10+ points in the quarterfinal loss. That 22 point performance, though, marked just the second time Scalia scored 10+ points against South Dakota. In five games, the junior has scored just 48 points against the Coyotes and was held to under 10 points three times, twice as a first year and once as a sophomore.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: Ruth Sinn won her 398th game as St. Thomas' head women's basketball coach against Eastern Michigan, bringing her one step closer to 400 career wins. 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 Tommies are looking for more than just their first conference win of the season on Thursday. Head coach Ruth Sinn still sits at 398 career victories with St. Thomas, two away from No. 400. In 20 seasons at the helm, Sinn has compiled an overall record of 398-149 with the Tommies and would become the first female coach in the department's history to reach the 400 career wins milestone. Former softball coach John Tschida was the first coach of a St. Thomas women's team to eclipse the 400 wins marker, while current volleyball coach Thanh Pham joined the club in 2023.
Additionally, Jade Hill inches closer and closer to the program's career assists record. Thanks to her seven assist performance on Saturday, Hill now owns 400 assists as a Tommie, the most of any player in the DI era. She is just six away from tying Teri Witcraft's all-time career record of 406.
Tipoff for Thursday's game in Vermillion, South Dakota is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
Fans who are unable to attend in person can watch both games on The Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus and the Midco Sports Plus App. Saturday's game against the Bison will also air on FOX9+, and live stats will be available on tommiesports.com. Fans can additionally follow the Tommies on social media (@tommiewbball) for live updates.
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas is out to a slow start in Summit League play. After a disappointing loss to Kansas City on Thursday, the Tommies were hoping to rebound with a victory over NDSU on Saturday. Despite a strong first half, in which St. Thomas led the Bison after the first quarter and trailed by three after the second, NDSU left Schoenecker Arena victorious, handing the Tommies a 73-59 loss. As aforementioned, St. Thomas played well in the opening 20 minutes of play. The defense held the Bison to a .272 shooting percentage in the first quarter, then the offense matched NDSU shot for shot in the second. Unfortunately, the Tommies were unable make key adjustments in the third and fourth quarters, resulting in their second straight Summit League loss to open conference play.
THE OPPOSITION: South Dakota looks like a very different team from 2023-24. Despite the return of All-League point guard Grace Larkins, the rest of the roster is relatively unknown, including head coach Carrie Eighmey. First year head coach Eighmey took over the program in April after Kayla Karius accepted the head coaching position at Green Bay. When Karius left, so did much of South Dakota's 2023-24 roster, including key players Nicole Avila-Ambrosi, Tori DePerry, Natalie Mazurek, Walker Demers and Kendall Holmes. With a new coach and new roster, Larkins has taken on a large roll, leading the Coyotes in several statistical categories, including scoring and rebounding.
AN APPLE A DAY: Keeps the doctor away. According to the stats and that old adage, Jade Hill hasn't visited the doctor in a long time. Thanks to her seven assist performance on Saturday, Hill recorded her 14th multi-assist game this season and 12th consecutive, dishing out a total of 19 apples in the past three games. Thanks to her strong performance, the senior became just the second Tommie in program history to reach 400 career assists and is seven away from breaking Teri Witcraft's record of 406. That record, set in the early 1980s, is one of the longest standing in St. Thomas women's basketball history, dating back to the programs DIII days.
THE LARKINS EFFECT: The Tommie defense will have its hands full on Thursday when they try to contain the Summit League's leading scorer Grace Larkins. A true Jill of all trades, Larkins is currently leading the league in scoring (22.9), rebounding (9.0), assists (5.5), assist/turnover ratio (1.7) and minutes (36.7) through the first two months of play and ranks top-10 in field goal percentage (.486) and steals (1.5) entering Thursday's contest. There are only two stat categories where she doesn't show up in the top-25, blocks and three-point shooting percentage, and she ranks a "distant" 17th in the league in free throw percentage of .718.
GOTTA HAVE FAITH: Senior Sammy Opichka suffered a lower body injury in St. Thomas' conference opener vs. Kansas City, and head coach Ruth Sinn called on junior Faith Feuerbach to fill Opichka's roll in the starting line up. A junior guard, Feuerbach opened the season as a starter and has played in all 15 games during the 2024-25 season. With Feuerbach in the starting line up, the Tommies are 5-4 this season with wins over Milwaukee, Crown, NIU, Macalester and Oakland. While she adds depth beyond the arc, Feuerbach's defense has truly elevated her this season, as she recorded two blocks and led the team with a +1 plus/minus in the loss to NDSU. She currently ranks sixth in the Summit League in total blocks (12) and blocks per game (0.8) and is one of three Tommies to rank in the top-10 in the conference in both categories.
VERMILLION BLUES: St. Thomas has not found much success against South Dakota in the DI era. The Tommies are 1-6 all-time against the Coyotes, including last year's Summit League Tournament quarterfinal loss. However, St. Thomas' single win against South Dakota did come on the road. The Tommies upended the Coyotes 70-64 in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday, January 28, 2023 thanks to double-digit scoring efforts from Jo Langbehn, Opichka and Jordyn Lamker. Despite the record, the games between St. Thomas and South Dakota have been some of the most thrilling of the season. Three of the last five games have been determined on the final possession, including last season's heartbreaker in Schoenecker Arena. Tied 61-61 with three second remaining in regulation, the Coyotes Tori DePerry made an improbable last second shot to secure the 63-61 win for South Dakota.
MONKEY OFF THEIR BACKS?: St. Thomas' second quarter scoring woes are over. Maybe? Question mark? The Tommies outscored Eastern Michigan 26-18 in the second frame in their final nonconference game of the season before being held to just five points in the loss to Kansas City. St. Thomas then rebounded with a 21-point second quarter performance against NDSU but surrendered 26 points to the Bison in the process. However, the Tommies did score 20+ points in the quarter, marking the third time this season they've eclipsed the 20-point mark in the second frame against a DI opponent. Entering Thursday's game in Vermillion, St. Thomas has outscored a Division I opponent just twice in the second quarter and never in back-to-back games. Thanks to the 21-point performance, though, the Tommies are only being outscored 255-211 by their opponents in the second.
ELEMENTARY MY DEAR WATSON: The St. Thomas defense did a fairly good job of containing Grace Larkins in two regular season games last season. The Tommies allowed Larkins to score just 22 total points in two meetings, including a 10 point performance at Schoenecker Arena earlier in the season. However, Kendall Holmes three-point shooting prowess proved detrimental to St. Thomas' success. Holmes scored 34 points in two regular season meetings thanks to 7-13 shooting from the arc, including a 19 point performance in that comeback win in Schoenecker Arena. Fortunately for the Tommies, Holmes transferred to Belmont during the off season.
TIP THE SCALES: Amber Scalia will be key to St. Thomas' success against South Dakota this week. After suffering a head laceration in the first half of the Summit League quarterfinal, Scalia went off against the Coyotes, scoring a team-leading 22 points on 9-14 shooting and was a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. In fact, Scalia single-handedly led the Tommies near comeback, though she and Jordyn Glynn were the only St. Thomas student-athletes to score 10+ points in the quarterfinal loss. That 22 point performance, though, marked just the second time Scalia scored 10+ points against South Dakota. In five games, the junior has scored just 48 points against the Coyotes and was held to under 10 points three times, twice as a first year and once as a sophomore.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: Ruth Sinn won her 398th game as St. Thomas' head women's basketball coach against Eastern Michigan, bringing her one step closer to 400 career wins. 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.
Players Mentioned
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