St. Thomas sophomore forward Alyssa Sand shoots the ball to attempt a basket. UST lost 67-61 against Army in their first game at the new Lee and Penny Anderson Arena Saturday afternoon. (Milla Mirkovic/The Crest) 
Redshirt first-year guard Abbey Valance scored eight points Saturday afternoon. (Milla Mirkovic/ The Crest) 
The Tommies are now 0-2 after losing their first game of the season earlier this week to Iowa State. (Milla Mirkovic/ The Crest) 
Black Knights junior forward Kya Smith’s 20 points outdid Tommie junior forward Savannah McGowan’s 18. (Milla Mirkovic/ The Crest) 
St. Thomas made one of just seven three-pointers. (Milla Mirkovic/The Crest)
Junior forward Savannah McGowan’s career high couldn’t stop St. Thomas women’s basketball’s 67-61 loss to Army Saturday afternoon at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena.
The Tommies (0-2) led the Black Knights (2-0) by 12 points midway through the third quarter but couldn’t outshoot the steady comeback by Army. McGowan finished with 18 points on 7-8 shooting.
“We don’t have a lot of experience. Savannah did not have a lot of experience, but I’m asking her to be in a big role and to be very consistent, and they’ve done a great job of accepting the challenges,” coach Ruth Sinn said.
Graduate guard Jada Hood made UST’s only three-pointer of the afternoon, on just seven team attempts. The Tommies had averaged more than six made per game over the last three seasons.
Sinn said the change came from having strong post-scorers this season and taking advantage of the opportunities that Army gave them.
“We took what they gave us and we capitalized on it. So you’ll see the shooting coming back. We’ve got a lot of good shooters,” Sinn said.
Hood played all but 53 seconds of Saturday’s game, scoring five points and dishing seven assists.
“I’m extremely grateful having a coach who trusts me and trusts what I can do, along with my teammates too,” Hood said.
Sophomore forward Alyssa Sand dropped 14 points with 16 attempts, blocking three shots along the way. Sand is stepping into an expanded role with the team after three frontcourt players graduated last season.
“The graduating class, they were like really big role models to me. So I think learning off of them my first year was probably huge,” Sand said.
St. Thomas’ roster saw some turnover between seasons. Sinn welcomed four true first-years and two transfers.
Senior guard Faith Feuerbach is the most tenured player on the team but only played 16 minutes before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got to clean up the foul situation, because that did hurt us that we didn’t have her,” Sinn said. “She is a player for us that we rely to on the offensive end, but her impact on the defensive end is big as well.”
St. Thomas shot just below 70% from the free throw line, despite going 2-7 in the third quarter. However, Army shot just 50%, and got to the line nearly half as much as UST.
The Black Knights edged UST out on rebounds 33-29.
“We won it on the free throw line. The boards, we’ve got to do a little bit better,” Sinn said.
Playing Army for the homeopener was intentional because Lee Anderson, of the arena’s namesake, attended the U.S. Military Academy.
Appeasing donors aside, the game proved as a perfect early-season test for St. Thomas.
“They’re disciplined, they’re hardworking, they play with energy, and they can shoot the ball really well. I give a lot of credit to them,” Sinn said. “That was kind of the difference. They started shooting the ball in the second half when we had the lead. We were hoping to finish it out, but we left too many people open.”
Hood echoed her coach’s statement and said she loves basketball and the challenges it presents.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to continue to play with my teammates, and I’m really excited for us to continue to rise to the occasion,” Hood said.
UST has nearly a week to recover before Eastern Michigan comes to Anderson Arena Friday, Nov. 14 for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.
