University of St. Thomas Athletics
15-12,7-7Summit League
South Dakota
11-18,5-10Summit League
Seniors lead Tommies to comeback win over South Dakota
2/22/2025 3:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas women's basketball team could not have scripted it any better. Senior Day. Summit League rival. A 10 point halftime deficit. Dominant second half defense, and a nine point win. That was how things went for the Tommies Saturday afternoon. In what was the final Saturday home game in Schoenecker Arena, St. Thomas rallied for a 66-57 victory over the University of South Dakota on the backs of its first ever Division I signing class. The Tommies also secured the #4 seed in the Summit League Tournament, improving to 16-11 overall and 8-6 in Summit League play.
RECAP:
Based on the final score, one would think St. Thomas had the upper hand early and often against South Dakota. In way, that was true. The Tommies raced out to a 6-5 lead thanks to buckets from Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame) and Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River), but a stifling defense from the Coyotes resulted in an ice cold offense for St. Thomas. The drought not only allowed South Dakota to gain a 7-6 advantage, but allowed Grace Larkins and Co. to go on an 11-0 run, eventually taking a 16-6 lead over the Tommies with 5:45 remaining in regulation. Even a layup from Langbehn could not ignite the St. Thomas offense, as the team trailed the Coyotes 24-14 after the opening 10 minutes of play.
The Tommies made things interesting to open the second, whittling the South Dakota lead to 27-24 thanks to baskets from Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater), Opichka and Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South). However, three was the closest St. Thomas would come to catching the Coyotes. Larkins and Gabby Wilke were forces to be reckoned with, cross in the 10 point threshold just minutes into the second quarter. The Tommies, though, managed to stay within striking distance, matching South Dakota point for point to enter the locker room down 41-31 at the half.
Down 10, St. Thomas sent four of its six seniors to the court, but Opichka was noticeably absent, having been pulled due to injury in the second quarter. With Opichka on the bench, Hill was tasked with guarding Larkins, who scored 15 points alone in the first half. The senior proved up to the task, limiting the Coyotes star player to just six points in the final 20 minutes of play. Hill also put together a monster second half herself, scoring 15 of her team-leading 22 points in the third and fourth quarters, helping mount the Tommies impressive second half comeback.
In addition to Hill, the St. Thomas defense shut down South Dakota in the final 20 minutes of play. Thanks to the Tommies efforts, the Coyotes were limited to a combined 16 points in the second half, scoring just nine total in the third quarter and seven in the fourth. That nine-point third allowed Faith Feuerbach (Sycamore, Ill. / Sycamore) to tie the game at 50-50 with a last second three-pointer from the top of the key. Scalia then gave St. Thomas its first lead since the first quarter mere seconds into the fourth, a lead the Tommies would never relinquish. Though South Dakota tied the game at 52-52, St. Thomas and its seniors proved to be too much, as free throws from Phoebe Frentzel (Pewaukee, Wis. / Arrowhead) secured the 66-57 victory for the Tommies.
TOP TOMMIES
- Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) led all scorers with 22 points Saturday afternoon and added six assists and four rebounds to her stat line. She became the first player in the DI era and just the fourth in program history to eclipse the 1500 points threshold, and perhaps more impressively, limited the Summit League's leading scorer Grace Larkins to just six second half points.
- Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) closed the game with 18 points on 9-12 shooting with four rebounds and one block. Fellow senior Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame) was credited with three blocks in the first half alone and was 2-3 from the floor before leaving the game in the second quarter.
- Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) recorded her first double-double of the season, pulling in a career-high 13 rebounds and scoring 12 points for St. Thomas. Scalia is the third player to record 13 rebounds in a game this season, joining Opichka and Langbehn as the only others to do so.
NOTEABLES
St. Thomas locked up the #4 seed in the Summit League Tournament. The Tommies are guaranteed to play Friday, March 7 in either the 3/6 or 4/5 contest in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. More information on the Summit League Tournament will be released in the upcoming days and weeks.
ONE LAST TIME
St. Thomas will play its final game in Schoenecker Arena on Wednesday, February 26, when the Tommies host Oral Roberts at 7:00 p.m. With the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena set to open in fall 2025, Wednesday will not only be the final home game of the season, but the Schoenecker Arena finale (for the women) as well. Tickets are still available for purchase at www.tommiesports.com/tickets, and all fans will attendance will receive a commemorate ticket to celebrate the moment.
