Sophomore guard Ellie Wolkow’s first quarter 3-pointers fueled the St. Thomas women’s basketball team through the first half, but the Tommies lost 65-49 to Bethel University at Schoenecker Arena Wednesday.
St. Thomas is officially eliminated from the conference title race following Wednesday night’s loss. The Tommies have won the title the last five seasons.
“They’ve (Bethel) got a good team and they played a great game,” coach Ruth Sinn said. “We’re going to have to learn from this opportunity and hopefully we can grow and get prepared for the next step.”
That next step could include another meeting with the No.11-ranked Royals in the conference tournament.
St. Thomas hasn’t lost to Bethel since 2016. Bethel (21-1, 16-1 MIAC) ended its six-game losing streak to the Tommies and continues to lead the conference. The Royals’ only loss of the season came from St. Mary’s, a team that has three wins this season.
The Tommies (17-5, 13-4 MIAC) had twice as many turnovers as Bethel, resulting in 36 of the Royals’ points.
“You can’t be giving free points to teams like that,” Sinn said.
St. Thomas heads into its last three regular season games tied for third with Gustavus. The Tommies are focused on learning from losses like this.
“I just think we need to slow down and play our game,” Wolkow said.
St. Thomas travels to St. Joseph to take on St. Ben’s at Claire Lynch Hall Saturday, with a 3 p.m. tipoff.
Kat Barrett can be reached at barr1289@stthomas.edu.