As the St. Thomas women’s basketball team prepares for its season to tip-off Nov.16 at No. 10-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point, coach Ruth Sinn believes consistency and self-discovery will be the key to her team’s success.  

Last season, the Tommies won the regular season MIAC title with a 20-7 overall record but lost to Concordia-Moorhead in the conference championship game and did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Sinn said teams with good records and the conference title usually get an at-large bid. However, she thinks her team’s inconsistency cost the Tommies the opportunity to compete in the tournament.

“We had a couple losses to teams that were unacceptable,” Sinn said. “This year, we need to be a consistent team.”

The unfortunate end to last year’s season has given the team its sole goal for the season.

“Our goal is to make it to the NCAA Tournament,” sophomore forward Taylor Young said.

Loss of key seniors

The Tommies graduated two key players last spring, center Rachel Booth and forward Jazmin Townsend. Booth led the team in scoring last year (10.6 points per game) and was twice named to the All-MIAC first team.

Townsend was named to the MIAC’s All-Defensive team and was awarded All-MIAC honorable mention last season.

Young said the loss of a “scoring machine” in Booth and a “defensive spark” in Townsend will need to be addressed by the entire team.

“As a team, we will need to step up the leadership and energy,” Young said.

While these players will be missed, Sinn believes it gives new players the chance to discover their strengths and contribute to the team.

“You will never be able to replace someone but yet someone else will get their opportunity to shine and put their personality on the program,” she said.

Promising young players

The Tommies have a few talented underclassmen returning. Young led all MIAC freshmen in scoring at 10.6 points per game. She scored a season-high 22 points in the season-ending loss against Concordia-Moorhead and was named to the MIAC All-Conference team, a rare accomplishment for a freshman.

Another key returner is sophomore Maggie Weiers. Last season, Weiers was awarded the MIAC’s Sixth Player of the Year and NCAA West Region Rookie of the Year. She played in all 27 games and averaged more than eight points and five rebounds per game.

Young knows she and the other underclassmen returners will have to take on leadership roles with a large group of incoming freshmen players.

“The freshmen will be thrown into this long season, but all of the returners will help them adjust,” she said.

Winning qualities

In such a competitive conference, Young said her team will rely on its athleticism and speed to push the ball up the floor and play solid defense.

“We definitely have a speed advantage over other teams with our quick guards and posts,” she said.

Sinn believes her players have a lot of great qualities that can help them control the game.

“We are going to be a defensive threat,” she said. “Offensively, we’re going to be about control and knowing our strengths.”

Bonding abroad

The majority of St. Thomas students get to study abroad. Unfortunately, basketball players have a hard time going abroad since their season spans over fall semester, January term and spring semester.

Because of this, Sinn said she tries to give her players an abroad experience every four years. This past summer, the team traveled to Italy to experience a different culture together. Coaches and players got the chance to go sightseeing in cities like Rome and Florence and play in two exhibition games against local teams.

Sinn enjoyed seeing her players bond over Italian culture.

“It was great as a basketball coach to watch the players come together while seeing the new sights,” she said.

Young agrees that the Italy trip strengthened their friendships beyond just playing basketball together.

“It was a great bonding experience to be with my teammates off the court in an amazing country,” she said.

In addition to playing two games in Italy, the team also added ten practices before their trip. Sinn believes the extra practices and games benefited the team.

“When we started Oct. 15, you could tell we were leaps and bounds ahead of where we normally are because we had that opportunity,” she said.

Young is excited to see what the upcoming season holds for the young team.

“I’m looking forward to another great season,” she said.

Hayley Schnell can be reached at schn3912@stthomas.edu.