The St. Thomas women’s basketball team traveled to Waverly, Iowa Thursday to make its fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament.

The No. 10-ranked Tommies (25-2 overall) will take on East Texas Baptist University (24-6 overall), the American Southwest Conference champions, at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Levick Arena. The Tigers will be making their Sweet 16 debut.

“The fun part of it is, our players know nothing different,” coach Ruth Sinn said. “We understand what it takes and the preparation that is needed and the focus that we have to (have.)”

Tiger forward Kim Childress was the seventh-ranked leading scorer in her conference this season, talling up 14 points per contest. Despite Childress being the only double-figure scorer, the team averages almost 70 points per game.

“It’s easier, in a sense, to prepare for a (high-scoring player) than it is to prepare for 10 players,” Sinn said. “We are going to be very well aware of Childress, but we also have to be very understanding of the other players.”

St. Thomas seniors Maddie Wolkow and Lauren Fischer feel prepared for their final Sweet 16 game.

“It definitely helps to have been there before,” Wolkow wrote in an email to TommieMedia. “Everyone has to leave it on the court and I think having the experience of Playoff basketball enables (us) to still bring up the energy level while at the same time keeping your poise and composure.”

Wolkow and Fischer’s record of 112-8 makes them best women’s basketball class to have ever played at St. Thomas.

“Each year as an underclassmen, I have been impressed with the Senior class and what they have done to lead the team to the type of success we have seen,” Wolkow wrote. “ I hope that Lauren and I have carried on that tradition and it passes on to the younger players.”

“Three weeks from now, we will really look back at this and just be like, ‘Dang! Look what we accomplished,’” Sinn said. “But right now, we (know) the importance of understanding that we’ve got to keep that chip on our shoulder, and we cannot get too comfortable about what we have achieved.”

The undefeated Wartburg Knights (29-0 overall) will play the Trine University Thunder (26-3 overall) following the Tommies’ game. The winners of Friday’s matchups play Saturday at 7 p.m.

“(We) can’t get to the next game until (we) complete all 40 minutes of (Friday’s) game,” Sinn said. “We are really keeping a narrow focus on what we have right now and really preparing diligently.”

Matthew Curry can be reached at curr1523@stthomas.edu.