Women’s Basketball Roars Back to Take Down St. Thomas, 67-61

Saturday, November 8

St. Paul, Minn.

3 p.m.

Army West Point

2-0,0-0Patriot

St. Thomas

0-2,0-0Summit League

Army West Point

St. Thomas (MN)

Women’s Basketball Roars Back to Take Down St. Thomas, 67-61

November 08, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Army West Point women's basketball team staged a double-digit comeback in the second half to beat St. Thomas, 67-61, to pick up a massive road win in the opening of the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Army (2-0) used a 17-0 run that spanned from the end of the third quarter and into the fourth to wipe out St. Thomas' (0-2) 10-point third quarter lead. The Black Knights defense put on the clamps in the final quarter, holding the Tommies to 30.8 percent shooting en route to a 19-10 quarter that gave Head Coach Katie Kuester her first win over a Division I opponent.

Saturday marked the first time since the 2015-16 season that Army opened its season 2-0.

Kya Smith put together a dominant performance to help spur the win, recording her 10^th career double-double after scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Both marks were game highs for the junior forward. Reese Ericson (12) and Taylor Wilson (11) also had double-digit scoring for Army.

The two teams came out strong in the first quarter, trading buckets for most of the opening 10 minutes. Smith buried a pair of free-throws right before the horn to give Army a 19-17 lead after one. It was Army's strongest offensive quarter, shooting 53.3 percent from the field.

St. Thomas had its best stretch of play during the second quarter, shooting 55.6 percent from the field and going 8-10 from the free-throw line. On the other side, Army was 5-14 shooting for a 35.7 percent clip. The Tommies outscored the Black Knights 18-11 going into halftime to lead 35-30 at the break.

At half, Army was sitting at 44.8 percent shooting while going just 2-9 from distance. Smith led Army with 11 first-half points. St. Thomas was a bit more efficient, shooting 50 percent from the field. The difference in the opening half was the Tommies going 14-17 from the free-throw line, while Army went 2-6.

Holding the momentum going into the break, the Tommies came out strong in the third quarter and pushed their lead to 12 with 2:44 left to play before the fourth quarter. With its backs against the wall and the game looking to be on the ropes, Army exploded on a 17-0 run that lasted 4:48 and spanned the final 2:44 of the third quarter and the first 1:45 of the fourth quarter. The run was started by a Reganne Reardon three-pointer and capped off by a Wilson three that gave Army a 56-51 lead with 8:15 left to play. Wilson followed with another three to make it 59-53, but the Black Knights went on a scoreless streak of 5:23 and St. Thomas had it tied up at 59-59 with 1:20 left to go.

Smith finally broke the scoreless streak with four straight points to give Army a 63-59 lead with less than a minute to play. Ericson iced the game for Army with 18 seconds left when she recorded and impressive steal and took it straight to the basket to give Army a 67-61 lead.

Army outscored St. Thomas 19-10 in the final frame while shooting 50 percent from the field and 3-3 from distance. The defense stepped up big time in the frame, holding the Tommies to 4-13 shooting. Not only was the defense dominant in the fourth but it was disciplined, committing just one foul. The Black Knights outscored the Tommies 37-26 in the final frame.

The Numbers
Army finished the night leading in second-chance points (16-7), fast break points (7-2) and bench points (13-10). The Black Knights also won the rebounding battle 33-29. Army had 17 assists to 15 turnovers, while St. Thomas had 12 assists and 14 turnovers. Brooke Wilson and Camryn Tade each had four assists to lead the Black Knights.

Quotable – Head Coach Katie Kuester
"We're relentless. I told those girls in there that I'd chose them any day. It's the truth. Down 10, on the road, against a really good St. Thomas team. You could just see our huddles get tighter. We got more connected. Our will was instilled on them, on both ends of the floor. I am just so proud of them. Never count Army out.

"Super disciplined. I know my dad is watching that game going, 'Why did you keep them in with three fouls?' But that's a trust factor. You have to be able to play with fouls and in foul trouble, and they showed they can."

Up Next
Army is back in action in Christl Arena on Thursday, Nov. 13 against Siena. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

Game 2 Notables
• Saturday's win over St. Thomas was the first win against a Division I opponent for head coach Katie Kuester, who moves to 2-0 in her career.
• Kya Smith led all players with 20 points and 11 rebounds en route to her first double-double of the season and the 10th of her career.
• Kya Smith (20), Reese Ericson (12) and Taylor Wilson (11) all scored in double figures for the Black Knights. All three players also reached double-digits in the season opener against Pace. It's just the second time in Wilson's career she has scored in double figures in back-to-back games.
• Kya Smith's 11 rebounds led all players, and she was the only player with double figure rebounds.
• Army finished the night leading in second-chance points (16-7), fast break points (7-2) and bench points (13-10). The Black Knights also won the rebounding 33-29.
• Army had 17 assists to 15 turnovers, while St. Thomas had 12 assists and 14 turnovers. Brooke Wilson and Camryn Tade each had four assists to lead the Black Knights.
• Taylor Wilson was a game-high plus-13.