WHITEWATER, Wis. — Guard Brittany Berry’s game-high 20 points sparked No. 2 Hope College’s 71-61 victory over unranked St. Thomas Friday in an NCAA tournament quarterfinal game.
Berry, who tops Division III in 3-point shooting percentage, lit up from beyond the arc, going 5-for-6. She wasn’t alone in hot shooting. The Flying Dutch (29-1) shot 57.1 percent from the field and 75 percent from 3-point land.
“Has a team ever shot 75 percent before?” guard Kellie Ring said about the Flying Dutch’s high shooting percentage.
Coach Ruth Sinn said that stat is unusual for St. Thomas’ opponents.
“We’re usually a team that teams shoot a low (3-point) percentage on,” Sinn said.
In her final game as a Tommie, senior Ring led her team with 16 points. The loss snapped St. Thomas’ (24-6) 11-game winning streak and ended its season.
Despite opening the game with a shot-clock violation, the Tommies held with the speedy Flying Dutch. Ring broke the game open with an old-fashioned 3-point play, giving St. Thomas a 12-9 edge. The Tommie lead swelled to 17-9 thanks to forward Taylor Young’s gliding layup through the lane and a deep Ring 3-pointer. Young finished with 10 points.
Hope was able to keep the score close with Berry’s back-to-back 3-pointers, cutting St. Thomas’ lead to 17-15.
The Tommies fought back to a commanding 31-26 lead with 43 seconds left in the half, but Berry struck again with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 31-29. Forward Anna Smith tacked on a final Tommie free throw and guard Liz Ellis made a layup to end the first half with St. Thomas up 32-31.
Berry opened the second half with a 3-pointer, giving Hope a 34-32 lead. After back-and-forth play, forward Courtney Kust lifted the Flying Dutch with a basket and two free throws, giving her team a 47-42 lead.
Kust, Hope’s regular season leading scorer, finished with 10 points after being held scoreless in the first half. Ellis finished with 11 points, two coming in the first half. Ring said stopping these two Flying Dutch players were key preparations for the game.
“We know (Hope) goes through (Ellis and Kust), but obviously other girls were stepping up and hitting shots,” Ring said.
In the first half, St. Thomas players were converting strong drives to the basket. Sinn credited Hope’s help-side defense in the second half in thwarting her team’s aggressive offense.
“Their help-side was real good and real quick,” Sinn said. “We had a hard time finding the open person. They did a good job shutting the lane down.”
Momentum appeared to swing in the Tommies’ favor after guard Melissa LaReau was called for an offensive charge. Smith took control with an easy drive to the basket, giving the Tommies a 50-49 lead with 8:52 remaining in the game.
That marked St. Thomas’ final lead. Berry sunk her fifth 3-pointer of the game and the Flying Dutch never looked back on a game-changing 12-2 run. Three-pointers from Ellis and Kussmaul extended Hope’s lead to 10 points and put the game out of reach.
“It was three after three after three,” Sinn said. “We were neck-and-neck, but we missed layups and they hit threes. That’s not a good combination.”
Guard Kelly Brandenburg’s putback ended St. Thomas’ dry spell and cut Hope’s lead to 66-56 with 2:45 remaining. Brandenburg finished with 12 points and five steals. Ring got the Tommies within nine after nailing a 3-pointer with 1:48 left, but it was too little, too late as the Flying Dutch finished with a double-digit victory.
Sinn said she expected a “battle of the defenses” with Hope.
“What surprises me is that it became a battle of the offenses,” Sinn said. “71-61 is an offensive battle.”
Hope will play No. 22 Wisconsin-Whitewater Saturday. The winner advances to the Final Four in Holland, Mich.
Hayley Schnell can be reached at schn3912@stthomas.edu.