University of St. Thomas Athletics
16-14,8-8Summit League
University of North Dakota
12-18,6-10Summit League
Tommies season ends at Summit League Tournament
3/7/2025 4:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 2024-25 season has come to an end for the University of St. Thomas women's basketball team. After a historic season filled with ups and downs, the Tommies season came to an end in the quarterfinal round of the Summit League Championships. No. 4 seed St. Thomas fell to No. 5 seed North Dakota 80-67 in Friday's quarterfinal, closing the year with an overall record of 17-13 with a 9-7 mark in Summit League play. The Tommies close the season with a DI era record 17 wins with Jade Hill (Minneapolis, Minn. / South), Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) and Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) all cementing their place in the St. Thomas record books throughout the season.
RECAP:
It was a tightly contested match up early in the first quarter, as Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) and Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) went to work for the Tommies offensively. Thanks to the duo's efforts, St. Thomas held a slim 11-9 lead over North Dakota at the first media timeout of the game, with Langbehn and Scalia accounting for all 11 St. Thomas points. However, the Fighting Hawks continued to battle, and after a chaotic 10 minutes of basketball, trailed the Tommies 16-15 after the first quarter.
With a one point advantage, St. Thomas looked to extend its lead in the second quarter, but the Tommies old nemesis creeped up on them. St. Thomas struggled to score in the second 10 minutes of play. Despite early baskets from Langbehn and Sammy Opichka (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame Academy), the Tommies fell behind the Fighting Hawks 23-20, as a 5-0 scoring run seemingly swung the momentum in North Dakota's direction. St. Thomas especially struggled inside, as Fatima Ibrahim had six blocks before the five minute mark of the second quarter.
The Fighting Hawks continued to roll through the second quarter and led the Tommies 35-31 entering the third. However, St. Thomas had some momentum on its side entering the second half. A three from Scalia and last second layup from Langbehn gave the Tommies life, pulling them within four in the closing seconds. The momentum carried over to the third quarter, as St. Thomas pulled within one at 39-38. The Tommies, though, could not pull ahead or pull closer, as the Fighting Hawks entered the fourth quarter holding a 51-44 advantage thanks to a monster performance from top scorer Kiera Pemberton.
With a comeback on the team's mind, St. Thomas scored 23 points in the fourth quarter and slowly chipped away at North Dakota's lead. With 4:17 With 4:17 left in regulation, the Tommies managed to pull within seven, making it 65-58 on a three by Opichka. Another three by Opichka cut the lead 65-61, and St. Thomas was seemingly rolling. However, the Tommies simply had no answer for Pemberton and Ibrahim, as the All-Conference honorees put a stop to any hopes of a St. Thomas comeback. Despite their efforts, the Tommies came up short in the Summit League Tournament quarterfinal, falling to North Dakota by a final score of 80-67.
TOP TOMMIES
- Jo Langbehn (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) scored 26 points on 12-20 shooting in her final game with St. Thomas, leading the team in scoring. She additionally added seven rebounds and one assist in the finale.
- Amber Scalia (Stillwater, Minn. / Stillwater) closed the game with 18 points, four rebounds an two assists, while Sammy Opichka's (Green Bay, Wis. / Notre Dame Academy) blistering fourth quarter helped her to a double-double in her final game as a Tommie. The senior scored 11 points and pulled in a team-leading 10 rebounds in the loss.
ALL TIME GREATS
Hill and Langbehn certainly left their mark at St. Thomas and will graduate as two of the best players in program history. Thanks to her performance on Friday, Hill ranks third all-time in career scoring with 1558 points and continues to hold the program record in career assists with 474 career assists. Langbehn ranks eighth all-time with 1330 career points and closes her career with 531 rebounds.
