Newly-appointed head coach Mandy Pearson speaks about preparing for her first season with the Tommies. The 2026-27 women’s basketball season will also be Pearson’s first year leading a Division I program. (Iman Mohamed/The Crest) 
Pearson addresses the St. Thomas women’s basketball team during practice. (Iman Mohamed/The Crest) 
Pearson stands on the sideline as she watches players work through practice drills. (Iman Mohamed/The Crest) 
Tommie junior guard Mikayla Werner and junior forward Savanah Gardner discuss their team’s preparation for a new season under Pearson. (Iman Mohamed/The Crest) 
Pearson works closely with players running drills during practice. (Iman Mohamed/The Crest)
St. Thomas women’s basketball is set to begin its season Monday, with coach Mandy Pearson making her Tommie debut.
Pearson previously coached at the Division II University of Minnesota Duluth for the past 11 seasons, leading UMD to four Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships. This season will begin Pearson’s Division I career.
The Tommies are projected to finish fourth in the Summit League after finishing fifth last season, which marked the end of coach Ruth Sinn’s 21 years coaching at St. Thomas. However, Pearson said that for her, success in the Summit League would mean both winning the championship and focusing on team improvement.
“I think just the improvement has been my favorite part of (coaching),” Pearson said. “We just have continuously gotten better, and I think for every coach in the country, that’s the goal, that you’re improving every day throughout the season.”
To reach these goals, Pearson has carried over her strong defensive focus from UMD into the Tommie mindset.
“I’m really big on defense because that’s something that you can control,” Pearson said. “You know, you can control how hard you work and how much you communicate, and your positioning on the floor.”
Pearson said that the groundwork for good communication can influence the overall game.
“Everything is about being unselfish — team defense, team offense, so that we can get the best shots that we can,” Pearson said.
This mindset has already influenced how Pearson’s players think about the team’s playing style. Junior guard Mikayla Werner said the momentum of a good defense can sway the team’s energy.
“I think it’s a huge energy booster for us,” Werner said. “If we get a good stop, get a block, get a steal, all those things I feel like give us energy the most.”
For returning players, Pearson’s focus in practice has been a major transformation from prior seasons. Junior forward Savanah Gardner said the team’s focus transitioned from mainly one-on-one offense to a full-team effort on both ends of the court.
“It’s like a complete 180 of what we focused on last year compared to this season,” Gardner said. “Last year was like, all offense. Now we just play.”
The Tommies will put Pearson’s new ideas to the test in their first game of the season against the Northern Iowa Panthers at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Jackson Geibig can be reached at geib3470@stthomas.edu.
Iman Mohamed can be reached at moha5348@stthomas.edu.
