CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – Despite game-ending injuries to forward Maggie Weiers and guard Hannah Hughes, guard Jenna Dockter’s team-high 19 points led the St. Thomas women’s basketball team to an Elite 8 berth in the NCAA tournament with 55-47 victory over Hope College Friday night at the Connor Convocation Center at Thomas More College.
The No. 2-ranked Tommies (30-0 overall, 18-0 MIAC) defeated the No. 14-ranked Flying Dutch in a defensive battle in the electric atmosphere of the Sweet 16. The low-scoring affair was characterized by pressure defense for both teams, but St. Thomas managed to prevail despite the injuries.
“Just excited about how tough our kids were. When you have (Weiers and Hughes) go down with knee injuries and you’re not able to play with them, it really shows a lot about the strength of your team,” coach Ruth Sinn said. “I think they focused on what they could control … they had a great game plan that tried to take the interior away from us.”
St. Thomas started the game shooting the ball well and managed a lead of 6 points out of the gate. Dockter took control in the early minutes and scored 5 of the team’s first 9 points.
“Definitely playing on the road in the Sweet 16, the tension and everything is a little bit higher, and I think we wanted to come in really focused, but definitely with an attack mentality,” Dockter said. “We know Hope was a great defensive team, and they apply really great ball pressure. As a team, we always do better when we come out being the team to strike versus taking the hit.”
Shortly after the Tommies’ quick start, Hughes went down with a knee injury during a 2-on-1 fast break. She left the game and returned to the bench on crutches.
When it looked like the Tommies could run away with the game in the early going, the Flying Dutch quickly responded with a 7-0 run that cut the St. Thomas lead to 2 points.
St. Thomas lost All-American forward Maggie Weiers toward the end of the first half to a knee injury. Weiers did not play the rest of the game, but returned to the bench with her right knee wrapped. Weiers’ status for Saturday’s game was described as “unknown.”
“We have backup post players, but it’s tough when you lose an All-American like that. I felt Anna (Smith) did a really nice job of stepping up in that role,” Sinn said.
Smith said the Tommies adjusted well after losing Weiers.
“We just had to constantly be finding solutions. They took us out of our game a little bit like denying our reversal passes and denying our passes in general,” Smith said. “That was my role, to step up and make sure we were having those conversations.”
The Flying Dutch made a few runs at the Tommies’ lead in the second half behind guard Brittany Berry’s 3-point shooting. Berry hit multiple deep threes and finished the game with a team-high 14 points.
St. Thomas managed extend its lead to 20 points with less than 10 minutes in the game, effectively withstanding Hope’s rally attempts. Sinn said the Tommies were able to curtail their opponents’ runs because of stout defense and the similarities between Hope and MIAC teams.
“That’s what we pride ourselves on, our defense. We’re a team that is going to make sure that every shot is contested and then hopefully it’s one and done,” Sinn said. “Our league, there are a lot of teams that we prepare for that are outside-in. They’ll attack by the outside and the three more than they do on the inside. We’re kind of used to it.”
St. Thomas will face Thomas More College Saturday night with a berth in the Final Four on the line.
Jordan Kruger can be reached at krug6172@stthomas.edu.