RIVER FALLS, Wis. — An impressive late-game showing by guard Katie Stone helped the St. Thomas women’s basketball team win an overtime battle with Loras College 76-68 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Stone, who scored 20 of the Tommies’ last 29 points, connected on five of her 13 3-pointers in the contest and finished with a career-high 32 points. The senior was the cornerstone for the comeback, scoring 10 of the Tommies’ 13 overtime points. Coach Ruth Sinn said Stone thrives on big moments.
“If it’s one thing that you know, (Stone) has ice in her veins. She loves big moments, she always has,” Sinn said. “She just stepped up.”
Stone averaged 12.9 points per game and shot 37.4 from behind the arc during the regular season, and she set the conference record for three-pointers in a season. Against the Duhawks, Stone shot 11 for 23 from the field and connected on five of her nine free throws. Stone said she’s been working on driving and drawing contact in the paint the past couple weeks.
“I feel over the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten a lot better at that,” Stone said. “I just feel at that moment I had the best opportunity to get to the free throw line at the end of the game.”
Stone’s fourth-quarter showing was crucial after the Tommies (25-3 overall) lost MIAC Player of the Year center Kaitlin Langer, who received her fifth foul with 6:02 left in the fourth quarter.
Following a missed St. Thomas free throw, a Loras player scooped up the loose ball as she simultaneously landed on the floor. Langer got tangled up as she went for the jump ball opportunity but was called for the foul.
Not only did the Tommies lose their leading scorer, they were also trailing by 11 points when Langer exited the contest. Despite missing half of the fourth quarter and all of overtime, Langer chipped in 25 points with 11 rebounds on 10 of 22 shooting. Langer was frustrated that she couldn’t provide support for her team.
“Disappointment — you want to be there for your team during the game, especially this game,” Langer said.
On top of Langer’s and Stone’s contributions, guard Lauren Fischer added 15 points by shooting 4 of 6 from the field and connecting on five of her six free throws.
Guard Megan Jones lead the charge for Loras (19-9 overall), scoring 17 points and adding six rebounds. Guard Kaitlin Phillips and forward Lori Obendorf, who were both named to the All-Iowa Conference first team, had a quiet night against St. Thomas. Phillips, who averages 13.2 points, finished with eight points on 3 of 9 shooting. Obendorf scored seven and hauled in nine rebounds. She was also named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 11 points and 11.5 rebounds.
Even though the Tommies beat Loras, Langer said they still have a lot of preparation to do for the next round.
“We found a way to win today, even though we didn’t play our best in regulation,” Langer said. “Tomorrow’s a new game, so it’ll be a new game plan, new strategy.”
The Tommies, who are ranked No. 8 nationally, will face No. 13 River Falls in the second round of the playoffs at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Falcons’ offense features forward Taylor Karge, who averaged 14.9 points and received All-WIAC First Team honors.
Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.