The St. Thomas women’s basketball team is known for its strong starts, and today was no different as the women didn’t allow a point from the College of St. Benedict until there was 8:27 remaining in the first half.
Center Maggie Weiers’ 15 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks led No. 10-ranked St. Thomas to a 60-36 blowout over St. Ben’s (5-3, 2-3 MIAC) Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.
St. Thomas (7-1, 5-0 MIAC) controlled the tempo throughout the game and dominated on the glass, out-rebounding St. Ben’s 54-31. The Tommies forced turnovers and tough shots with intense defense early on and continued the pressure for the remainder the game. Guard Kelly Brandenburg said the beginning of the game is the most important part for her team.
“We always look at the first five minutes and evaluate how we’re doing in that,” Brandenburg said. “If we come out strong, that always means the rest of the game will probably be pretty strong.”
Following a 10 second half-court violation forced by the St. Thomas defense, forward Anna Smith drained a 3-pointer at the top of the key to give the Tommies a 9-0 lead with 15:15 left in the first half, forcing a Blazer timeout. Smith said the addition of the 10-second rule this year is an advantage for the Tommies.
“We have a really athletic team, and we have a lot of speed,” Smith said. “So we really have to utilize that in the full court and just pressure people.”
With 10:40 remaining in the first half, guard Katie Stone threaded the needle with a bounce pass through two defenders on a fast break, resulting in a Brandenburg layup and echoes of “ooh’s and ahh’s” throughout the gym.
Coach Ruth Sinn said the team emphasizes getting defensive rebounds to give them opportunities to push the ball with Brandenburg leading them in the open court.
“When (Brandenburg) runs, it’s like she glides,” Sinn said. “We’re always looking to see if we can push ahead, and hopefully we can keep that tempo going. That’s a fun tempo; we had a lot of fun, fun breaks.”
After two Tommie turnovers, Blazer guard Brianna Barrett’s sank a 3-pointer to put her team on the board for the first time. Forward Morgan Dale finished a layup to put the score at 21-5 with 8 minutes left in the first half. Sinn wasted no time in calling a timeout to stop the momentum.
“One of the areas we’ve got to improve in is our offensive efficiency,” Sinn said. “We’ve got to make sure that we value the ball, we turn down some tough passes and tough shots and we just keep executing.”
St. Thomas went on a 7-0 run after the timeout, finished by guard Annessa Hicks faking a jump shot and then dropping a dime to Weiers for a wide-open layup.
Late in the first half, forward Elaine Warner snagged a rebound and converted the layup as time expired, giving St. Thomas a comfortable, 36-10 lead at halftime. Smith said she was proud of her team’s defensive effort in the first half– not allowing a basket until midway through the half.
“I think we were just relentless with that,” Smith said. “I think in the second half we let up a little bit, but we kind of pulled ourselves back in and got it together for the end of the second half.”
The Blazers started the second half in a 2-3 zone, but Stone’s three-ball in the corner pocket quickly forced St. Ben’s back to man-to-man. Smith said they expected St. Ben’s to double them in the lane and they looked for the opposite skip pass to counter.
“We knocked down a couple outside shots that really opened up the lane for us,” Smith said. “I thought we had a really big post presence with Maggie.”
Late in the game, guard Hannah Hughes missed a 3-pointer but followed her shot and finished a layup to give the Tommies a 58-32 lead.
St. Thomas shot 37 percent from the field and forced 17 Blazer turnovers. Brandenburg went 5-for-8 from the field, finishing with 12 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Forward Taylor Young added 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals.
The women will take a break for the holidays and will be back in action Jan. 4 when they host Carleton College.
Kyle Jonas can be reached at jona7984@stthomas.edu.