University of St. Thomas Athletics
13-11,5-6Summit League
Denver
8-16,1-10Summit League
Tommies stick landing, earn season sweep at Denver
2/8/2025 2:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DENVER, COLO. – It may be fair to say the University of St. Thomas women's basketball team is officially on a role. The Tommies clinched yet another Summit League sweep on Saturday, defeating the Denver Pioneers for the second time in 2024-25. Fueled by a strong offensive performance and sharp shooting, St. Thomas downed Denver on its own home court by a final score of 81-68. Thanks to the victory, the Tommies are now 14-10 overall and 6-5 in Summit League play.
RECAP:
It was a tightly contested first quarter between St. Thomas and Denver, as neither team led by more than four points in the opening 10 minutes of play. The Tommies initially gained the early advantage, going up 11-7 on a layup from Alyssa Sand (Albany, Minn. / Albany), but the Pioneers defense stepped up big in the closing minutes of the first quarter. Denver forced five St. Thomas turnovers in the closing five minutes of the first, allowing the Pioneers to jump out to a 15-13 lead with 1:11 remaining on the clock before extending it to 17-13. A late three by Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame Academy) pulled the Tommies back within one, as they trailed 17-16 after the opening 10 minutes of play.
St. Thomas' offense came out firing to open the second, as a 5-0 run gave the Tommies a 21-17 lead two minutes into the quarter. In fact, St. Thomas won the second quarter, outscoring Denver 24-16 thanks to a barrage of threes. Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South), Riley Wright (Marion, Iowa / Marion) and Jordyn Lamker (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) all connected from beyond the arc, bolstering the Tommies lead thanks to a .556 first half shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
With a 40-33 lead at the half, St. Thomas looked to put the game away in the third quarter. Thanks to efforts of several Tommies, St. Thomas led by as many as 11, as free throws by Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) gave the Tommies a 49-38 advantage with 6:03 remaining. Twice, Denver managed to cut the lead to nine, but that was the closest the Pioneers would come to catching St. Thomas. Thanks to another impressive offensive efforts, the Tommies led Denver 59-49 after the third quarter and simply dominated in the fourth. Hill and Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) both eclipsed 10 points in the final 10 minutes of play, and Opichka simply could not miss, leading St. Thomas to an impressive 81-68 victory in Denver.
TOP TOMMIES
- Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame) put together a nearly perfect Saturday, scoring 18 points on 6-8 shooting, including a 3-4 clip from the three-point range. In fact, Opihcka did not miss a single shot until the fourth quarter, going 5-5 from the floor through the first three quarters of play. Opichka also added seven rebounds and two assists to her stat line.
- Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South) put together one of her best scoring performances of the season, scoring 18 points on 8-11 shooting with three rebounds and three assists.
- Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) closed the game with 17 points thanks to 12-14 shooting from the charity stripe. The junior guard also led the team with six assists in Saturday's victory.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will be back in action at home, as the Tommies kick off Early Spring Break by hosting the University of North Dakota on Wednesday, February 12. The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a FREE St. Thomas Hawaiian shirt, as St. Thomas looks to kick off a huge week in Schoenecker Arena in style. Wednesday's tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.
