Mar 07, 2015
Senior guard Jenna Dockter finished 15 points and nine rebounds and the Tommies' nationally-ranked defense helped limit Luther to 31 percent shooting in Saturday night's 60-57 home victory at Schoenecker Arena in a second round NCAA Division III playoff game.
The Tommies are the first MIAC women's basketball team to start a season 29-0.
Luther (23-6) trailed 50-32 with 13:40 to go but used a 25-10 game-closing run to whittle the lead. St. Thomas blocked a 3-point try at the buzzer that could have forced overtime if successful.
St. Thomas advanced to the Sweet 16 round, March 13-14, and will face Hope (Mich.) at a site to be announced. It's the Tommies' third Sweet 16 trip in the last four seasons.
The Tommies had a 47-34 rebounding edge and survived 18 turnovers and 1-for-16 shooting from 3-point range.
Luther had only eight turnovers but made just 5-of-37 from behind the arc and was outscored 11-4 in bench points.
Meagan Koepnick scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half for the Norse. She made 8-of-10 shots and 16 points over the last 6:37.
The Tommies, who allow just 47.7 points per game, have allowed just 178 points in four postseason games. They held Augsburg, Bethel and Minnesota-Morris to season lows, and limited Luther to its second lowest output of the season.