Senior guard Maggie Negaard scored 21 points on senior day and led her team to a 74-68 comeback victory over North Dakota Saturday afternoon.

The Tommies (12-16, 7-11 Summit) defeated the Fighting Hawks (18-10, 11-7 Summit) despite trailing by as many as 13 points during the third quarter.

“We had the ability to respond and chip away and chip away, and because of it we came out with a win, but it was a full team effort,” coach Ruth Sinn said.

After North Dakota scored first, St. Thomas quickly responded with a 10-0 run consisting of two Negaard 3-pointers, and a pair of baskets from sophomore center Jo Langbehn. The Fighting Hawks continued to battle back however, and tied the game at 15-15, undeterred by a third 3-pointer from Negaard.

“I came out and hit a couple three’s to start the game, then they had to start flying at me and that opened up the paint for Jo,” Negaard said.

Negaard’s shooting hand cooled in the second quarter, but the Tommies’ offense continued on. First-year guard Amber Scalia scored 11 of St. Thomas’ 14 points in the quarter. Her efforts gave the Tommies the lead back, and they closed out the first half with a 29-27 lead.

“It was fun to see her play the game and bring the gifts we know she has,” Sinn said of Scalia.

The third quarter started with North Dakota making four free throws in a row and seizing back their lead. Langbehn kept the Tommies in the game with back-to-back layups, but the Fighting Hawks did not let that stop their momentum, as they continued on with their 16-4 run. Langbehn scored nine points in the quarter, but was cut short when she was substituted after her fourth personal foul.

North Dakota continued to pile on points, amassing a 52-39 lead. St. Thomas was able to retaliate when a series of North Dakota fouls sent the Tommies to the free-throw line, where they went 8-9 the rest of the quarter. The St. Thomas run was capped by a fastbreak basket from sophomore guard Jade Hill, that put St. Thomas down 54-49 entering the final quarter.

“We’ve kind of struggled from the free throw line the past couple games, so it was really important that we came down and knocked those down at our home court and I think that sealed the game for us,” Negaard said. “We went into contact and got those foul calls that we deserved to have.”

Sophomore forward Jordyn Lamker started the quarter with a steal that turned into a fastbreak three for Scalia to put the Tommies within striking distance. Scalia returned the favor with a steal of her own that gave St. Thomas possession and allowed Lamker to tie the game.
A technical foul on the North Dakota bench sent Negaard to the free throw line where she connected on both, giving the Tommies the lead for the rest of the game. This momentum swing brought the crowd to their feet, and that energy persisted through the rest of the game.

“People continue to come to our games and we need more of that. It really does help, and when we felt that energy from the crowd it was so much fun,” Negaard said.

Although it was senior day, responsibility fell on the redshirt first-year guard Ellie Dague when three players fouled out, with just a few minutes remaining in the tight 68-65 matchup.

“Ellie Dague is just the ultimate teammate and she comes in and puts her head down and works every day,” Negaard said. “It’s really cool that we have people that are constantly ready off the bench.

The Tommies prevailed down the stretch and were able to defeat the Fighting Hawks, who were the second ranked team in the Summit League going into Saturday. St. Thomas proved they could compete against top teams in front of their home crowd for senior day.

Saturday was the last regular season game for St. Thomas’ three seniors: Maggie Negaard, Autam Mendez, and Jordyn Glynn, and Sinn believes they have left an indelible mark on St. Thomas.

“Maggie came from a school where she could have qualified for the postseason but she chose us. Jordyn Glynn… she stayed, Autam came. They’re building something special,” Sinn said.

St. Thomas will continue its season when they travel to the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the Summit League championship tournament March 3-7.

“We get to go to the conference tournament and we’re ready to make a statement. North Dakota is a great team and they’re at the top of the league, so we proved that we can play with anybody,” Negaard said.

Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.