The No. 3 ranked St. Thomas women’s basketball team beat Wisconsin-Lutheran 67-51 in the second round of NCAA Division III action Saturday night at Schoenecker Arena to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth straight year.

The Warriors (27-2) had the same record as the Tommies (28-1) going into tonight’s matchup, and although the Tommies came out on top, coach Ruth Sinn had nothing but positive words to say about Wisconsin-Lutheran.

“If you look at their team, you don’t get to be 27-1 unless you understand your identity,” Sinn said. “Their top six players were seniors. They played hard and they played with their heart. My hats off to them.”

The first quarter was a good challenge for the Tommies as they only led 14 to 12, but what set them apart was their defense. The Tommies made every shot tough for the Warriors in the first half of the game.

“We want to get better and I really do believe that was a great game for us, especially defensively,” Sinn said.

The Tommies pulled ahead 38-20 at the half.

The Warriors made a run, cutting the game to an 11-point deficit in the third quarter, but the Tommies changed the tempo of the game in the fourth and cruised to victory.

Senior center Hannah Spaulding led the team with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Guard Kaylie Brazil chipped in with 11 points and Kaia Porter and Kelsie Cox added 10 points each.

The team is looking forward to another week of practice preparing for their next opponent.

“Whatever adversity we are going to face, we will get through together so that excites us,” Porter said. “We will use this next week to prepare and just go out there and give it our best.”

The Tommies will play Amherst in the third round of the tournament. The date, location and time will be determined Sunday.

Carly Noble can be reached at nobl1781@stthomas.edu.