University of St. Thomas Athletics
8-8,0-3Summit League
South Dakota
8-9,2-1Summit League
Sand, Scalia not enough in loss to South Dakota
1/9/2025 8:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
VERMILLION, S.D. – It has not been the Summit League start the University of St. Thomas women's basketball team was looking for. The Tommies opened with an 0-2 start and were hoping to turn their fortunes at the University of South Dakota on Thursday. Vermillion, though, was not kind to St. Thomas. Despite strong play from several Tommies, including first year Alyssa Sand (Albany, Minn. / Albany), St. Thomas was unable to depart the state of South Dakota with its first conference win of the season, as the team fell by a final score of 77-60. With the loss, the Tommies are now 8-8 overall and 0-3 in Summit League play.
RECAP:
It was a low scoring affair through the first five minutes of play, as neither St. Thomas nor South Dakota were making shots. In fact, the two teams scored a combined 17 points in the first five minutes of play, though the Coyotes did hold a 9-8 lead over the Tommies. Despite strong efforts from St. Thomas, the defense simply could not contain Grace Larkins in the final five minutes of the first. South Dakota's start player scored 11 points along in the opening 10 minutes of play, allowing the Coyotes to hold a 22-14 lead over the Tommies after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) answered in kind for St. Thomas in the second. The junior was St. Thomas' No. 1 offensive weapon in the first half, scoring 12 points by 4:41 in the second quarter on 4-5 shooting. Phoebe Frentzel (Pewaukee, Wis. / Arrowhead) was the Tommies second leading scorer, added seven points to Scalia's 12; however, the rest of St. Thomas' offense struggled to convert open baskets, as the Tommies fell into a 43-27 halftime deficit.
St. Thomas kept pace with South Dakota in the third quarter, matching the Coyotes shot for shot, but the Tommies were unable to cut into the double-digit deficit. Sand played a huge role in St. Thomas' offensive production in the third quarter, eclipsing double-digit points for the third time in her career. The first year scored 10 points before the end of the quarter, helping the Tommies cut the deficit to 59-45 entering the fourth and final quarter of play.
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for St. Thomas to catch South Dakota in the fourth quarter. While the Tommies continued to chip away at the Coyotes lead, with Scalia and Sand leading much of the charge, they never fully whittled down the lead. Not even career highs from Sand could fuel a St. Thomas comeback, as the Tommies fell in Vermillion by a final score of 77-60.
TOP TOMMIES
- Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) led St. Thomas in scoring for the second straight Summit League contest, closing Thursday's game with 22 points on 7-18 shooting. She additionally tallied six rebounds and one steal in the loss.
- Alyssa Sand (Albany, Minn. / Albany) scored a career-high 15 points on 7-10 shooting from the floor, including a 1-2 clip from three-point range. The first year also recorded a career-high and team-leading nine rebounds while making the first start of her collegiate career.
- Phoebe Frentzel (Pewaukee, Wis. / Arrowhead) closed the game with 10 points, her first 10+ point performance of 2024-25.
NOTEABLES
While senior guard Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) was limited to four points, she was credited with four assists. She is now three away from breaking Teri Witcraft's all-time record of 406 career assists and could easily do so in the Tommies game against Oral Roberts on January 16.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will return to action on Thursday, January 16 as the team travels to Tulsa, Oklahoma, still in search of its first Summit League win of 2024-25. The Tommies will square off against Oral Roberts at 7:00 p.m. CT that evening.
