Women's Basketball

Tommies oust Oral Roberts to earn spot in semifinals

The Basics
Score: No. 5 St. Thomas 81, No. 4 Oral Roberts 54
Records: St Thomas (16-15, 8-8 SL), Oral Roberts (15-15, 8-8 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 5 seed St. Thomas opened up a large first-quarter lead to put away No. 4 seed Oral Roberts in Friday's opening quarterfinal of the Summit League Women's Basketball Championship at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The Tommies advanced to the semifinals for the first time in program history behind a trio of double-figure scorers.

Sophomore Makayla Warner paced that group, tallying 21 points to lead a hot-shooting Tommies' offense that churned out a season-best 58 percent field goal clip against a Division I opponent.  Warner went 9-for-10 from the field to lead those efforts, while Alysa Sand added 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

As a team, the Tommies finished the opening quarter 8-for-14 from the field and closed it on a 14-2 run that provided them with an 18-8 advantage after 10 minutes. UST's hot shooting only intensified in the second quarter as the Tommies put up 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting to push their lead to 44-19 at the break.  

Jalei Oglesby provided more than half of her team's points in the opening 20 minutes but the Golden Eagles could never get on track offensively as the Tommies held them to just 31 percent (18-for-59) for the game.

Sand also helped the Tommies dominate the glass as her 10 rebounds led her team to a 43-28 edge. Her double-digit effort helped record her ninth double-double of the season. She was also a menace on the defensive end, finishing with a career-high five blocks on the defensive end.

No. 5 seed St. Thomas will play top-seed North Dakota State in Saturday’s first women’s semifinal at 12 p.m. CT.

Turning Point
After trailing early 6-4, Feurebach put the Tommies ahead with a 3-pointer at the 6:45 and spark a 14-2 quarter-closing run. St. Thomas limited the Golden Eagles to just one field goal over that stretch.
 
Inside the Box Score 
  • Werner finished with her second 20-plus game of the season and seventh in double figures to pace the Tommies in scoring.
  • Oglesby closed out her ORU career with a team-high 18 points, on 7-of-17 shooting -- she hit double figures in four career Summit League Tournament games.  
  • ORU held a 12-11 advantage on the offensive glass but the Tommies dominated second-chance points, holding a 15-2 lead in the category.  
News & Notes
  • The Tommies won a quarterfinal game for the first time in four tries after falling in that round in their first three appearances.
  • UST’s 81 points were the program’s most in a Summit League Tournament game, exceeding the 67 scored in last year’s quarterfinal loss to North Dakota.
  • The Tommies will play NDSU for the first time in the postseason after being swept the Bison in the regular season. 
  • UST head coach Ruth Sinn announced that she will retire following the season in late February and has amassed more than 400 career wins in 21 seasons with the Tommies. 
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