The top-ranked Thomas More College women’s basketball team defeated No. 8-ranked Washington University-St. Louis, 103-90, Friday in an NCAA Division III Women’s Sectional Semifinal “Sweet 16” tournament game at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills.
With the win, the Saints improve to 30-0 and advance to their second-straight Sectional Final “Elite 8.” Thomas More will play No. 2-ranked University of St. Thomas Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center. Gates will open at 5 p.m.
The winner of the game will advance to the Final Four next weekend at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With the loss, the Bears end the season at 25-3.
Junior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County) scored the Saints’ first 18 points as she propelled the Saints to an 18-11 advantage before freshman forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Springs, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) made two free-throws with 13:10 to play in the first half to extend the lead to 20-11.
WashU answered with an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 24-22 with 9:40 to play in the game when Jordan Thompson made two free-throws.
Thomas More used a 26-18 run to build a 50-40 lead when senior guard Sydni Wainscott (Erlanger, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a three-pointer with 1:11 to play in the half. The Bears closed the half on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 51-11 at halftime when Maddy Scheppers made two free-throws with 31-seconds to play in the half.
WashU opened the second half on a 9-1 run to take a 53-52 on an Alyssa Johanson jumper with 17:05 to play in the game. Thomas More answered with a 29-17 run to take an 81-70 with 6:43 to play in the game when Wainscott made two free-throws. The Bears responded with an 11-5 run capped by a Jordan Thompson three-pointer to cut the lead to 86-81 with 2:49 to play in the game.
That would be as close as WashU would come as Thomas More closed out the game on a 17-9 rally for the final margin.
Thomas More out-scored the Bears 42-26 in the paint and 25-12 off turnovers.
Moss led all scorers with 37 points, while Wainscott added 22 points, freshman guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) added 11 points and junior guard Olivia Huber (Woodlawn, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) finished with 10 points. Moss led the team on the boards with nine rebounds, while Wainscott led the team with eight assists.
From TMC Athletics