Saint Mary’s C Tomlinson breaks NCAA career and season record for blocked shots

St. Mary’s C Tomlinson sets blocked shots mark

MORAGA, Calif. — Louella Tomlinson broke both the NCAA Division I career and single-season records for blocked shots, swatting five for Saint Mary’s in a 88-75 loss to No. 22 Gonzaga on Thursday night.

Tomlinson moved her career total to 483, pushing her past Sandora Irvin of TCU and Michigan State’s Alyssa DeHaan, who tied Irvin’s record earlier Thursday night.

Tomlinson’s final block of the night erased Brittany Pittman’s single-seasson record of 164, which she set last year for Morehead State.

“I never thought I’d get this far,” Tomlinson said, “but I’d rather have a great winning record and a great season than the records.”

The Gaels are 17-8 and 8-2 in the West Coast Conference.

The 6-foot-4 Australian played only 23 minutes against Gonzaga because of foul trouble.

With another year to play, Tomlinson should be able to move far ahead DeHaan in career blocks if she can stay healthy.

“It’s about having a great feel,” Tomlinson said. “You have to have good timing — but it’s partly genetics.”

The 6-foot-9 DeHaan had one block in the Spartans’ 50-45 win over Michigan to match the mark of 480 set by Irvin from 2001-05.

LaKisha Phifer blocked 533 shots for Division II Saint Paul’s College in Virginia during the late 1990s to set the NCAA all-divisions record.