Guard Kelly Brandenburg racked up 14 points to push the St. Thomas women’s basketball team past Augsburg College 56-40 Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena.
The No. 10-ranked Tommies’ (3-1 overall, 1-0 MIAC) conference win was their first of the regular season.
The women are now on a three-game winning streak after losing their season opener against Whitman (Wash.).
Coach Ruth Sinn said the team’s victory is a great way to start the MIAC regular season.
“As a coach, you always want to build a good foundation and then continue to take steps,” Sinn said. “It’s really nice to start at this level because the exciting part is if we can continue to take those steps, we can get even further.”
Forward Taylor Young started the first half strong for the Tommies with an easy shot from the paint, giving her team a 6-0 lead over the Auggies (2-1 overall, 0-1 MIAC). Young shot 2-for-2 from the line and added six total points on the night. Center Anna Smith also contributed her share from the line when she widened the team’s lead to 16-9 after going 2-for-2 in the first half.
For Smith, the first half showcased the team’s resilience after losing the first game of the season.
“I think we’re off to a good start after our first loss. We had a lot that we needed to learn and focus on just to gain leads and keep those leads,” Smith said. “In the second half tonight, we did a really good job adjusting and pulling out a 16-point lead after only leading by two at the half.”
Forward Jessica Lillquist responded for the Auggies with a drive to the hoop, Augsburg trailing 16-11. Lillquist had 12 points on the night. Brandenburg didn’t let this affect the Tommies’ play, sinking two shots on the line to end the first half in St. Thomas’ advantage. The Tommies headed into halftime 22-20 over the Auggies.
Brandenburg said despite the win, Wednesday’s performance showed room for improvement.
“I think we played pretty well. There definitely were places we can continue to improve, but it’s a long season; we definitely have a lot of time to work on that,” Brandenburg said.
The Tommies were strong offensively in the second half with guard Katie Stone draining an early 3-pointer, pulling away from the Auggies 31-26. Stone contributed seven of the team’s 56 points.
For Sinn, the Tommies’ defense was also solid.
“We did a much better job in the second half taking care of the defensive end, getting opportunities to run off of their misses, as opposed to them getting two-foot shots and getting extra opportunities,” Sinn said.
Forward Carley Emery showed her offensive arsenal, sinking a three from the top of the arc, the Tommies surging ahead 41-28. Smith kept the trend going, making a 3-pointer of her own as the shot clock expired to widen the women’s lead to 51-34.
Smith said her shot at the buzzer was a happy surprise.
“It felt good. I didn’t really have a choice of whether or not I was going to shoot it,” Smith said. “It was a good clutch three, so that’s good.”
Auggie guard Abbey Luger gave her team a chance when she went in for an easy layup, Augsburg behind 53-40. Emery ended the game on a high note, drilling a 3-point shot for a final score of 56-40.
With an away game against St. Kate’s on the team’s agenda for Saturday, Smith said the team needs to build on its success by eliminating errors.
“We need to learn from what we accomplished tonight and make those adjustments and corrections and … go in thinking that we need to win by a margin and not just win,” Smith said.
Sean Crotty can be reached at crot0230@stthomas.edu.