Senior center Hannah Spaulding’s 28 points and 18 rebounds led No. 3 St. Thomas to a 61-58 overtime victory over back-to-back defending national champion No. 6 Amherst in the NCAA Sweet 16 women’s basketball tournament Friday at Schoenecker Arena.
Spaulding was fouled nine times throughout the game and went 8-for-14 from the free throw line.
“You can’t control what other people do with it,” Spaulding said. “You can just control your response and keep trying to go up strong.”
The Tommies (29-1) advance to play No. 13 Wartburg, 70-51 winners over Wisconsin-Oshkosh, in the Elite Eight on Saturday at Schoenecker Arena. The winner will advance to the Final Four in Salem, Virginia.
Junior guard Madeline Eck led the Mammoths (25-4) with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
“It was an honor to play Amherst,” coach Ruth Sinn said. “Amherst has set the bar for women’s basketball in Division III.”
The two teams were tied 51-51 at the end of regulation. Tommie sophomore guard Kaia Porter scored two 3-pointers within the first two minutes of the overtime period. Porter finished with 15 points.
“Kaia’s been a rock for us,” Sinn said. “She can hit the outside shot, she can go inside and power up and she’s always taking a top defensive look.”
This was the fifth consecutive year that the Tommies played in the Sweet 16. For the past two seasons, Amherst went undefeated and won the national championship.
The Tommies will play Wartburg at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.