Women’s basketball extends win streak to 13 with OT victory

 

Forward Lauren Fischer nailed a three-pointer to tie the game with three seconds left in regulation to send the No. 10-ranked St. Thomas women’s basketball team to a 70-66 overtime victory over Augsburg Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena.

The Auggies (7-8 MIAC, 11-12 overall) held their own throughout the game, making it exciting to the very last second; center Hannah Spaulding and guards Lucia Renikoff and Maddie Wolkow combined for 53 points to help the Tommies (15-0 MIAC, 20-2 overall) win.

“I think just that we found a way to win,” Fischer said. “Obviously this wasn’t our best performance and we have a lot to work on still, but we did find a way to win. And at the end of the day, that’s what’s most important.”

In a high-tension fourth quarter that saw a slew of St. Thomas fouls, it looked like the Auggies were going to be the ones to put the Tommies’ 13-game win streak to a halt. That is until Fischer provided the shot to send the game to overtime as the home crowd roared with excitement.

Though the team went on to outscore Augsburg in overtime, coach Ruth Sinn didn’t feel it was a flawless win.

“Coming into the game, we talked about making sure that we keep sharp,” Sinn said. “I felt like we weren’t there all the way. We just weren’t as sharp as we needed to be. You got to give Augsburg a lot of credit because they controlled the game.”

Even in the moments where it looked like the Auggies might take the victory, the Tommies never slowed and continued to fight.

“With every game you have highs and lows, and minimizing the lows is what we try to work on,” Spaulding said. “That’s going to happen in any game, but it’s just finding a way to win.”

Sinn agreed.

“The thing I was most pleased about was the way that we didn’t just give up,” Sinn said. “We kept finding a way to be successful. I give them a lot of credit for that.”

The Tommies will have a chance to the extend their win streak to 14 Saturday at St. Olaf.

Ignacio Garcia can be reached at garc3913@stthomas.edu.