College Basketball: St. Thomas Men and Gopher Women both win

(St. Paul, MN) — The St. Thomas men’s basketball team notched a big win last night at home, beating South Dakota State 73-72 in St. Paul. Tommies guard Drake Dobbs of Eden Prairie sank a pair of free throws with 18-seconds left to give St. Thomas the lead. S-D-S-U’s Matthew Mors hit a three-point shot that would have given the visiting Jackrabbits the win, but the shot came just after the buzzer sounded. The Tommies were led by freshman Nolan Minessale, who scored 17 points. St. Thomas has won three straight games to get to 13-5 overall and 3-0 in the Summit League. The Jacks are now 10-7 overall and 1-1 in the conference. The Tommies next host South Dakota on Saturday night at 7 P-M at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul. Meanwhile, the St. Thomas women visit South Dakota tonight at 7 P-M.

(Minneapolis, MN) — The Golden Gopher women’s basketball improved to 16-1 on the season with a 76-50 win over Rutgers in Minneapolis last night. Minnesota junior point guard Amaya Battle of Hopkins led the way with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Freshman McKenna Johnson of Wilmot, Wisconsin came off the bench to score 15 points and center Sophie Hart of Farmington contributed a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. The Gophers were playing without freshman Tori McKinney of Minnetonka as she is in concussion protocol. Minnesota held a 41-23 lead at halftime. Scarlet Knights star Destiny Adams led all scorers with 28. The Gophers are 4-1 now in the Big Ten and have won six straight games overall. Rutgers dipped to 8-8 overall and 0-5 in the conference. The Gophers are off until a game on Tuesday at seventh-ranked Maryland.