Sophomore forward Kaia Porter lead the No. 3 St. Thomas women’s basketball team to a blowout 90-49 conference victory over the St. Olaf Oles Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena.

Despite a slow start to the game, the Tommies (21-1 overall, 15-0 MIAC) hit their stride after head coach Ruth Sinn called her first timeout of the game midway through the first quarter, going on a 21-0 scoring run over the Oles (8-14 overall, 5-1- MIAC).

“I think they responded well,” Sinn said. “This group is very good about responding. When we talk about the adjustments, they do a great job of taking the message and then transfering what we are talking about and responding in a positive way.”

The Tommies shot 65 percent in the first half and 48 percent overall from the field, including a staggering 14-for-30 from the 3-point range. Porter lead the team going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.

“Everyone was on tonight,” Porter said. “That’s attributed to all the work we do like shooting outside of practice.”

The Tommies’ strong defense kept the Oles scoreless until junior guard Allyson Fuller ended the Tommies’ run with a steal and layup in the second quarter. The Tommies held the Oles to a mere 32 percent from the field and forced 20 turnovers.

Oles’ leading scorer first-year K’Lynn Lewis struggled from the floor by going 3-for-9 from the field and had six turnovers. Senior guard Kaylie Brazil lead the St. Thomas defense by forcing three steals.

“We do a really good job on preparing,” Brazil said. “Once the game came, we executed as a team and we knocked them down defensively.”

The Tommies will play No. 2 Augsburg (14-1 MIAC, 21-1 overall) Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.

Alex Panagiotopoulos can be reached at pana8391@stthomas.edu.