University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, March 7
Sioux Falls, S.D.
12:00 p.m. CT
vs
University of North Dakota
Photo by: Wesley Dean
St. Thomas opens Summit League Tournament with No. 5 North Dakota
3/5/2025 11:14:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It's finally time for a little March Madness. After playing 29 games in the regular season, it's time for the University of St. Thomas women's basketball team to compete in the Summit League Tournament. The Tommies clinched the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament and will face No. 5 North Dakota at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, March 7.
All games of the Summit League Tournament will take place at the Danny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Should St. Thomas win its quarterfinal game against the Fighting Hawks, the team will advance to Saturday's semifinal, which will also take place at noon, and will face either top-seeded South Dakota State, Omaha or Denver. Sunday's championship game is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m.
Tickets for the entire Summit League Tournament can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or in person at the Danny Sanford PREMIER Center. Fans can also watch the Tommies tournament run on The Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus. Should St. Thomas play in Sunday's championship, the game will air on CBSSports Network.
LAST TIME OUT: It wasn't necessarily the end of the season St. Thomas was hoping for. After earning a thrilling and dramatic win over Oral Roberts to open the week, the Tommies had upset on the brain when they traveled to Brookings for the season finale against #25 South Dakota State. Unfortunately for St. Thomas, an upset just was not in the cards. Despite hanging tough for the first half, the Jackrabbits offense overpowered the Tommies in the second, running away with a 79-46 victory to close out 2024-25. A large factor may have been the lack of post presence for St. Thomas, as starting forward Jo Langbehn played just eight minutes on Saturday due to foul trouble. Amber Scalia led the team in scoring, tallying 16 points against the Summit League's top defense, while Jade Hill and Alyssa Sand each added 10.
THE OPPOSITION: The last time St. Thomas and North Dakota squared off, The Fighting Hawks were seemingly in a downhill spiral. They were in the midst of a six-game losing streak, averaging just 62.5 points per game compared to opponents 75.3. However, North Dakota has turned it around these last two weeks, posting a 5-2 record and earning wins over NDSU, Denver and Kansas City. Even the losses were close, as the Fighting Hawks lost to Oral Roberts by just three points and Omaha by six, rising from seventh to fifth in the Summit League standings. Jocelyn Schiller, Kiera Pemberton, and Fatima Ibrahim have played key roles in North Dakota's recent surge, leading the team in scoring and rebounding in all five contests.
THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM: Hopefully not if you're a Tommie fan. St. Thomas swept the Fighting Hawks in their regular season series for the second straight season, outscoring North Dakota 153-125 in those two meetings. The Tommies won a thriller in Grand Forks, holding off a furious fourth quarter rally from the Fighting Hawks en route to a 76-71 victory. St. Thomas was then dominant in the next meeting, downing North Dakota 77-54 in Schoenecker Arena. Langbehn was a force to be reckoned with in both meetings, scoring a combined 42 points, including 23 in that road win in late January, with seven rebounds.
ARTIST IN THE PAINT: Just how good was Langbehn down the stretch? The Paint Master averaged 18.0 points in the last five games of the regular season, scoring 90 total, all in the paint. Yes, that's right. Langbehn has attempted just one three in the final five games of 2024-25 and shot .791 (38-48) from the floor in that stretch. Her hot shooting hand has brought Langbehn's season field goal percentage to .639, which ranks seventh in the nation and second in the Summit League. In the same stretch, Langbehn scored 20+ points twice, including 28 in the win over Oral Roberts.
THREE HEADED MONSTER: It's no secret offense has been key to St. Thomas' success down the stretch, as the team averaged 76.6 points in the final month of the regular season. The Tommies, though, may have one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the Summit League thanks to Jade Hill, Jo Langbehn and Amber Scalia. The trio led St. Thomas in scoring in 26 of 29 games this season, including 15 of 16 Summit League contests. In conference play only, Scalia led the team in scoring seven times, but the Tommies went just 3-4 in that stretch. Langbehn and Hill led the team in scoring in four games apiece against Summit League foes, with St. Thomas posting a 6-2 record in those eight games. Sammy Opichka was the lone Tommie to lead the Tommies in scoring not Amber, Jade or Jo, leading the team with 23 points in their loss to Kansas City on February 20.
ALL GOOD THINGS...: Must come to an end. Jade Hill saw her multi-assist streak snapped on Saturday, as she was credited with zero assists in St. Thomas loss to South Dakota State. It was the first time Hill was not credited with an assist since January 26, 2023, when she recorded zero in a Tommie loss at SDSU. Since then, the senior recorded at least one assist in 69 consecutive games, which included 67 multi-assist performances. Hill is the all-time assist leader with 469 helpers in her career with the Purple and ranks fourth all-time with 1554 career points. If Hill scores four points against North Dakota on Friday, she will move to third all-time in career scoring, surpassing Missy Pederson's mark of 1557.
20/20 VISION: Hill and Langbehn both scored over 20+ points for the Tommies in the win over Oral Roberts last week. That marked just the fourth time this season two Tommies have scored 20+ points in the same game. It was the first time it happened at home, however, in 2024-25. The previous three occurrences all happened on the road. Langbehn (21) and Opichka (23) scored 20+ at Kansas City on February 20. Scalia (21) and Hill (20) both scored over 20 at Eastern Michigan in late December, and it was Langbehn and Scalia that both scored 22 in a win over Oakland in November. When two players score 20+ points for St. Thomas, the team is 3-1, with the lone loss coming in Kansas City (yes, the loss that counted). Langbehn and Hill combined for the highest point total scored by two individual players this season, scoring 53 of the Tommies 79 points.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: The Tommies have made history often in the last four years, and the 2024-25 season was no different. As a team, St. Thomas set Division I era records for total and conference wins, closing the season with a 17-12 record, including a 9-7 mark in Summit League play. The 17 single-season wins are the most for the Tommies since their last full season of Division III play where they went 21-6, which included a 16-4 record in conference play. In addition to its overall wins, St. Thomas posted its best home-court record against Division I opponents, winning nine of its DI contests in Schoenecker Arena in 2024-25. The Tommies were 11-4 at home, which included two wins over Macalester (DIII) and Crown (DIII).
TOURNEY HISTORY: Yes, St. Thomas was an extremely successful playoff team under head coach Ruth Sinn during its Division III era. The Tommies won nine Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) titles, including eight straight from 2011-12 to 2018-19, and posted a 26-10 conference tournament record during its DIII era. St. Thomas also made 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament in Sinn's tenure prior to the department's leap to Division I in 2021 and will make its third trip to the Summit League Tournament this week. The Tommies are 1-2 all-time in three Summit League Tournament games, winning their conference tournament debut back in 2022-23. St. Thomas beat Western Illinois 61-50 in the play-in game that season before falling to top-seeded SDSU 87-59 in the quarterfinal. As the No. 5 seed, the Tommies lost to No. 4 South Dakota 70-57 last season.
FEELING HOT HOT HOT!: Don't let the final score fool you. Last year's Summit League Tournament quarterfinal between St. Thomas and South Dakota was extremely memorable for a variety of reasons. The Tommies trailed 48-32 after three quarters of play where they struggled to generate any sort of offense against the Coyote defense. Then, Amber Scalia happened. The then-sophomore went off in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 of St. Thomas' 25 points to lead the Tommies near comeback against South Dakota. Her scoring performance wasn't the only thing that left an impression. Scalia missed most of the second and third quarters after a Game-of-Thrones-esc collision required mid-game stitches by the St. Thomas medical staff. She led the team with 22 points in the loss, 91% of which were scored in that fourth quarter.
All games of the Summit League Tournament will take place at the Danny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Should St. Thomas win its quarterfinal game against the Fighting Hawks, the team will advance to Saturday's semifinal, which will also take place at noon, and will face either top-seeded South Dakota State, Omaha or Denver. Sunday's championship game is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m.
Tickets for the entire Summit League Tournament can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or in person at the Danny Sanford PREMIER Center. Fans can also watch the Tommies tournament run on The Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus. Should St. Thomas play in Sunday's championship, the game will air on CBSSports Network.
LAST TIME OUT: It wasn't necessarily the end of the season St. Thomas was hoping for. After earning a thrilling and dramatic win over Oral Roberts to open the week, the Tommies had upset on the brain when they traveled to Brookings for the season finale against #25 South Dakota State. Unfortunately for St. Thomas, an upset just was not in the cards. Despite hanging tough for the first half, the Jackrabbits offense overpowered the Tommies in the second, running away with a 79-46 victory to close out 2024-25. A large factor may have been the lack of post presence for St. Thomas, as starting forward Jo Langbehn played just eight minutes on Saturday due to foul trouble. Amber Scalia led the team in scoring, tallying 16 points against the Summit League's top defense, while Jade Hill and Alyssa Sand each added 10.
THE OPPOSITION: The last time St. Thomas and North Dakota squared off, The Fighting Hawks were seemingly in a downhill spiral. They were in the midst of a six-game losing streak, averaging just 62.5 points per game compared to opponents 75.3. However, North Dakota has turned it around these last two weeks, posting a 5-2 record and earning wins over NDSU, Denver and Kansas City. Even the losses were close, as the Fighting Hawks lost to Oral Roberts by just three points and Omaha by six, rising from seventh to fifth in the Summit League standings. Jocelyn Schiller, Kiera Pemberton, and Fatima Ibrahim have played key roles in North Dakota's recent surge, leading the team in scoring and rebounding in all five contests.
THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM: Hopefully not if you're a Tommie fan. St. Thomas swept the Fighting Hawks in their regular season series for the second straight season, outscoring North Dakota 153-125 in those two meetings. The Tommies won a thriller in Grand Forks, holding off a furious fourth quarter rally from the Fighting Hawks en route to a 76-71 victory. St. Thomas was then dominant in the next meeting, downing North Dakota 77-54 in Schoenecker Arena. Langbehn was a force to be reckoned with in both meetings, scoring a combined 42 points, including 23 in that road win in late January, with seven rebounds.
ARTIST IN THE PAINT: Just how good was Langbehn down the stretch? The Paint Master averaged 18.0 points in the last five games of the regular season, scoring 90 total, all in the paint. Yes, that's right. Langbehn has attempted just one three in the final five games of 2024-25 and shot .791 (38-48) from the floor in that stretch. Her hot shooting hand has brought Langbehn's season field goal percentage to .639, which ranks seventh in the nation and second in the Summit League. In the same stretch, Langbehn scored 20+ points twice, including 28 in the win over Oral Roberts.
THREE HEADED MONSTER: It's no secret offense has been key to St. Thomas' success down the stretch, as the team averaged 76.6 points in the final month of the regular season. The Tommies, though, may have one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the Summit League thanks to Jade Hill, Jo Langbehn and Amber Scalia. The trio led St. Thomas in scoring in 26 of 29 games this season, including 15 of 16 Summit League contests. In conference play only, Scalia led the team in scoring seven times, but the Tommies went just 3-4 in that stretch. Langbehn and Hill led the team in scoring in four games apiece against Summit League foes, with St. Thomas posting a 6-2 record in those eight games. Sammy Opichka was the lone Tommie to lead the Tommies in scoring not Amber, Jade or Jo, leading the team with 23 points in their loss to Kansas City on February 20.
ALL GOOD THINGS...: Must come to an end. Jade Hill saw her multi-assist streak snapped on Saturday, as she was credited with zero assists in St. Thomas loss to South Dakota State. It was the first time Hill was not credited with an assist since January 26, 2023, when she recorded zero in a Tommie loss at SDSU. Since then, the senior recorded at least one assist in 69 consecutive games, which included 67 multi-assist performances. Hill is the all-time assist leader with 469 helpers in her career with the Purple and ranks fourth all-time with 1554 career points. If Hill scores four points against North Dakota on Friday, she will move to third all-time in career scoring, surpassing Missy Pederson's mark of 1557.
20/20 VISION: Hill and Langbehn both scored over 20+ points for the Tommies in the win over Oral Roberts last week. That marked just the fourth time this season two Tommies have scored 20+ points in the same game. It was the first time it happened at home, however, in 2024-25. The previous three occurrences all happened on the road. Langbehn (21) and Opichka (23) scored 20+ at Kansas City on February 20. Scalia (21) and Hill (20) both scored over 20 at Eastern Michigan in late December, and it was Langbehn and Scalia that both scored 22 in a win over Oakland in November. When two players score 20+ points for St. Thomas, the team is 3-1, with the lone loss coming in Kansas City (yes, the loss that counted). Langbehn and Hill combined for the highest point total scored by two individual players this season, scoring 53 of the Tommies 79 points.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: The Tommies have made history often in the last four years, and the 2024-25 season was no different. As a team, St. Thomas set Division I era records for total and conference wins, closing the season with a 17-12 record, including a 9-7 mark in Summit League play. The 17 single-season wins are the most for the Tommies since their last full season of Division III play where they went 21-6, which included a 16-4 record in conference play. In addition to its overall wins, St. Thomas posted its best home-court record against Division I opponents, winning nine of its DI contests in Schoenecker Arena in 2024-25. The Tommies were 11-4 at home, which included two wins over Macalester (DIII) and Crown (DIII).
TOURNEY HISTORY: Yes, St. Thomas was an extremely successful playoff team under head coach Ruth Sinn during its Division III era. The Tommies won nine Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) titles, including eight straight from 2011-12 to 2018-19, and posted a 26-10 conference tournament record during its DIII era. St. Thomas also made 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament in Sinn's tenure prior to the department's leap to Division I in 2021 and will make its third trip to the Summit League Tournament this week. The Tommies are 1-2 all-time in three Summit League Tournament games, winning their conference tournament debut back in 2022-23. St. Thomas beat Western Illinois 61-50 in the play-in game that season before falling to top-seeded SDSU 87-59 in the quarterfinal. As the No. 5 seed, the Tommies lost to No. 4 South Dakota 70-57 last season.
FEELING HOT HOT HOT!: Don't let the final score fool you. Last year's Summit League Tournament quarterfinal between St. Thomas and South Dakota was extremely memorable for a variety of reasons. The Tommies trailed 48-32 after three quarters of play where they struggled to generate any sort of offense against the Coyote defense. Then, Amber Scalia happened. The then-sophomore went off in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 of St. Thomas' 25 points to lead the Tommies near comeback against South Dakota. Her scoring performance wasn't the only thing that left an impression. Scalia missed most of the second and third quarters after a Game-of-Thrones-esc collision required mid-game stitches by the St. Thomas medical staff. She led the team with 22 points in the loss, 91% of which were scored in that fourth quarter.
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