St. Thomas women’s basketball is set to play South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Championships this Sunday, March 10, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

When the Tommies tip off at 12:30 p.m., it will be their second-ever year in the tournament after their loss to South Dakota State in the 2023 quarterfinals. Their 7-9 performance during their 2023-24 conference campaign has earned them the fifth seed after being ranked eighth in the preseason coaches’ poll.

“I felt like the girls really did respond. I’m very proud of them and their effort and the way they’ve represented themselves and the program,” coach Ruth Sinn said.

It came as no surprise to the team that it outplayed its preseason expectations. The Tommies finished 15-15 overall this season, their best record of the Division I era.

“We always knew what we were capable of,” junior guard Jade Hill said.

At one point, the Tommies sat at 6-3 in the Summit League and were tied for third place. However, a six-game losing streak in February caused the Tommies to drop in the standings.

“With everything in athletics, we’d love it to be a linear path, but it’s usually a little up and down, and we’ve had those,” Sinn said. “But through it all, this group has stuck together.”

The losing streak was marked by injuries to two Tommie contributors. Junior forward Jordyn Lamker averaged 15.7 minutes per game for St. Thomas this season but missed the latter half of January and the first half of February before returning for the third game of the February skid.

Junior guard Phoebe Frentzel didn’t play for almost the entire month of February before returning for the team’s final road trip, which included the sixth loss of the streak before snapping it with a victory over Denver.

“This game is about energy, and it’s about purpose, and it’s about relentlessness, and those two young ladies were two young ladies that really helped us in that area,” Sinn said.

February also included an unusually poor stretch for sophomore guard Amber Scalia. The leading scorer averaged 16.6 points per game this season on 40.7% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range. However, during their late-season losing streak, Scalia was averaging 10.7 points on just 29% shooting. She only made two three-pointers on 29 attempts.

A 25-point scoring explosion in their final win over Denver on March 2 suggests that Scalia is swinging back to her regular form in time for the conference tournament.

“Coming off of a six-game losing streak and getting this win going into the tournament is honestly so big for us just knowing that like we can bounce back,” Scalia said.

St. Thomas lost both games to South Dakota this season. The first was a tight 63-61 home loss on a last-second inbound play on Jan. 18; the second, a 75-61 loss in Vermillion. The constant in both of those losses was Hill, who scored a combined 39 points in the two games.

Hill was an offensive spark for the Tommies all season with 13.5 points per game and a team-high 4.2 assists while playing 35.2 minutes per game. Her impact was not one-sided, however. Hill also led the team with an average of 1.9 steals per game, including a six-steal game against Western Illinois on Dec. 2.

Sinn said that she finds relief in knowing Hill and Scalia are on the floor and will guide the team on both ends.

“It’s nice to know that you have two really solid, solid ball handlers and contributors; I mean they’re kind of our engines right now,” Sinn said. “We ask a lot of them, not only on the offensive end, but Jade on the defensive end. She’s always grabbing the top defensive assignment.”

The top assignment for this game will be Coyote junior guard Grace Larkins, who averaged 16 points per game this season. Larkins received a spot on the All-Summit League First Team.

Likewise, Hill earned second team All-Summit League and Scalia was named to the honorable mention team.

South Dakota presents a unique matchup for St. Thomas with their size and physicality. They outrebounded the Tommies by margins of 17 and nine in their two matchups.

“They have height on us I feel like. We’re not very tall as a team, but we’re very aggressive and so are they. So I just feel like we have to out-tough them on Sunday,” Hill said.

Larkins stands only at five-foot-nine but is fourth in the Summit League with 7.1 rebounds per game in conference play. Sophomore center Natalie Mazurek is ninth with 6.2.

“They’re a very physical team; they’re built different than us,” Sinn said.

Junior center Jo Langbehn is the next Tommie to appear in the rebounding standings with 5.5 per game. Langbehn will also have her work cut out for her on the defensive end, as the Coyotes’ offense relies on attacking the paint and scoring around the rim.

Sinn said that Langbehn has all the tools she needs to be a great player, but will need to maintain a positive mental state to play at a high level.

“You have all seen her: there’s times that she’s too hard on herself because she has everything she needs physically, athletically,” Sinn said. “She can run the floor like a deer, it’s just amazing, and so we’re going to have to continue to keep her in that mindset.”

Langbehn was top-five in field goal percentage across all of Division I for the entire season while averaging 12.5 points per game. She finished shooting at 67.9%, the highest in D-I.

This is only the Tommies’ second time competing in the Summit League Championships since the university’s transition to Division I, but for graduate guard Jordyn Gynn, it’s already her last.

“I’m just really embracing the moment and getting it to cherish it with my teammates,” Glynn said.

Glynn is the last remaining player from the Tommies’ Division III days and has led them through these first seasons of a new era. This season, she’s averaging 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

“Through it all there has been a constant about a work ethic, a determination, and a building of community,” Sinn said. “Jordyn has done that for us. She’s always been about team. She’s always been about, ‘How do I serve my team and how do I connect with these people?’”

Last season, Glynn became the shining star for St. Thomas when she had an 18-point double-double without missing a shot in its Summit League quarterfinal loss to South Dakota State.

Rounding out the starting five for St. Thomas is junior forward Sammy Opichka, who’s played an average of 18.2 minutes per game. Standing at 6-foot, she plays the forward spot in the Tommies’ three-guard lineup with Langbehn at center.

Opichka averages 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She was scoreless in the first matchup with South Dakota before she earned her starting spot. She only scored four in their last game in Vermillion.

However, Opichka caught fire in the Tommies’ final game of the season against Denver with 24 points on 15 attempts.

The Coyotes’ drive is five hours shorter than the trip from St. Paul, but Sinn is excited for her team to play in front of a packed arena, no matter who the fans cheer for.

“I don’t care if that place is packed and there’s not one person cheering for us. Being in front of a packed arena is phenomenal, it’s exciting,” Sinn said. “Women’s basketball is really moving to that, so, yeah, I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of red, but we’re going to have our purple as well.”

The Tommies tip off at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

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