Behind guard Jenna Dockter’s team-high 15 points, the St. Thomas women’s basketball team (29-0 overall) punched its ticket to the “Sweet 16” by defeating Luther 60-57 Saturday night.

Despite a late rally by Luther, the St. Thomas was able to hold on. Dockter said the team’s defense was the reason for the Tommies’ success.

“(It) starts on defense every game for us,” Dockter said. “No matter what opponent it is, we’re going to play gap (defense) and be aggressive. I think that was a big thing for us tonight.”

Dockter has led the way for the senior-laden Tommies all season and said they knew they would have their hands full with the Norse coming into the game.

“We knew that this was going to be a game of runs,” Dockter said. “We were just trying to capitalize on ours and cut down on theirs. In the second half, definitely credit to Luther. They’re a great team. They hit some really good shots.”

Coach Ruth Sinn said there was a lot about the game that didn’t go well for the Tommies.

“Our shot selection was poor,” Sinn said. “We were taking way too many outside shots. When we built the lead we built it by – I always use this analogy – base hits. Just taking little, easy ones. We were 1 for 16 (on 3-pointers). We didn’t need to go for those shots.”

Although defense has arguably been St. Thomas’ biggest strength all year, the depth on its roster is also something that gets brought up repeatedly. No player represents that depth more than senior guard Laura Margarit. Sinn said the defensive specialist doesn’t get nearly as much credit as she deserves.

“That’s what makes it so difficult to guard us because we have so many people who do so many different things,” Sinn said. “They just bring what they can to the table. Laura’s a great example of that. She’s kind of the glue of our team. She’s got the toughest defensive assignment.”

Margarit’s style is gritty and much more subtle than the rest of the team. She has no problem doing the dirty work or making the hustle plays. In fact, she prefers it.

“I mean that’s the fun stuff, right?” Margarit said with a laugh. “I guess I just try to do whatever I can to help the team. As seniors, we’re playing for another week together.”

Margarit credited the team’s success late in the season to their training, saying that they are worked much harder in practice than in an actual game. That work ethic is something the Tommies will hold onto tightly as their postseason continues against Hope College next Friday.

“They play for the moment,” Sinn said. “And you see that. They’re doing everything they can to continue to make that moment what they want it to be.”

Andrew Frentz can be reached at fren2218@stthomas.edu.