Guard Jenna Dockter’s 20 points pushed St. Thomas past Carleton 69-35 Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena.

St. Thomas (14-5 overall, 12-4 MIAC) left Carleton (4-15 overall, 4-12 MIAC) in the dust by building a 34-9 lead at halftime.

The win pulled the Tommies out of a three-game losing slump while shooting 50 percent from the field. St. Thomas also forced 18 Knight turnovers.

Dockter said she is happy knowing the team was able to pull themselves out of the rut.

“It feels really good to get a solid win tonight,” Dockter said. “The last three practices we’ve really competed hard as a team and just gotten back to that solid, tough defensive team we were at the beginning of the year.”

The Tommies’ offense started brightly when Dockter sank a three after guard Kelly Brandenburg stole the ball, putting the Tommies on the board 3-0. Dockter went 4-for-4 from behind the arc and was 8-for-9 from the field.

It wasn’t until forward Taylor Young sank a 3-pointer from the straight on, pushing the Tommies lead to 8-0 over the Knights.

Young said the team was itching for the win.

“After the three losses we knew we had to change something,” Young said. “We just got back to the fundamentals and the basics and really just focused on that.”

With an assist by Dockter, Young was able to drive to the hoop for a layup and push her team forward, 20-5. Young posted nine points for the Tommies.

Dockter’s offense was on fire when she sank another 3-pointer, putting the Tommies ahead 32-5. Guard Kellie Ring helped secure a 34-7 lead when she swished a jumper from the paint with 1:02 remaining in the first half.

St. Thomas led by 25 heading into the second half.

Coach Ruth Sinn said the team is focusing on playing the game how they know best.

“We kind of focused the last few practices on just playing the game the way we know to play the game,” Sinn said. “The girls weren’t thinking about it, they were just going out and playing and taking what the ‘D’ gave them.”

Forward Anna Smith played strong offense when she swished a 3-pointer, giving the Tommies a 37-10 advantage.

After a turnover by guard Annessa Hicks, Hicks rolled her ankle with 3:35 remaining in the game. Hicks had three points and one assist on the night.

“We think that she just tweaked it,” Sinn said. “I think that she’ll be back, she’ll be good…we’re going to keep her healthy.”

Despite Hicks’ injury, the Tommies continued to fight. Forward Danielle Dreier gave the Tommies the last of their points, driving to the hoop to end the game with a 69-35 victory for the home team. Dreier added four points to the Tommie total.

The Tommies battle Augsburg in Minneapolis Saturday.

Dockter said the team will approach their next game with focus and drive.

“We’re going to take every game very seriously especially after the last three games,” Dockter said. “We know that every MIAC team is going to give us their best because we kind of have a target on our back.”

Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.