Senior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County (Ky.)) became the all-time leading scorer in Thomas More College women’s basketball history Saturday as she scored 19 points to lead the top-ranked Saints defeated Grove City College, 95-37, in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) game at the Connor Convocation Center.
With the win, the Saints remain undefeated at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the PAC. With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 2-6 overall and 0-3 in the PAC.
Grove City took an early 2-0 lead and then Thomas More went on a 12-0 run to take a 12-2 lead with 6:21 to play in the first quarter when senior forward Alexa Santamaria (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) made a lay-up. Grove City answered with a 15-8 run to cut the lead to 20-17 at the end of the first quarter when Laura Buchanan made a lay-up with 21-seconds to play in the quarter.
Thomas More out-scored Grove City 27-0 in the second quarter to build a 47-17 lead at halftime.
The Saints out-scored Grove City 24-11 in the third quarter and 24-9 in the fourth quarter as they cruised to the 95 37 victory.
Thomas More forced Grove City to commit 34 turnovers as the Saints out-scored the Wolverines 50-7 off turnovers, 40-14 in the paint and 33-0 on fast break points.
Moss set the all-time scoring record with her 19th point in the game off a lay-up with 6:24 to play in the third quarter as she increased her total to 1,708 points in 66 games wearing the Royal Blue and White. She broke the previous mark of 1,706, which was held by Amy Burk (1995-99).
Two other Saints finished in double-figure scoring as senior guard Olivia Huber (Woodlawn, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) had 12 points and sophomore guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) had 10 points. Santamaria led the team on the boards with six rebounds, while Moss and Owings led the team in assists with six each and sophomore forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Springs, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) led the team in steals with five and blocks with three.
Thomas More returns to action on Wednesday (December 16) when it hosts in-state rival Centre College at 7 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center.
Moss reinstated by NCAA
Thomas More senior Sydney Moss was declared eligible to play Saturday by the NCAA. Here is the statement issued by the school:
“The NCAA has reinstated Thomas More College student-athlete Sydney Moss. Moss will return to play on Saturday, December 12th, when the Saints host Grove City at 2 p.m. As previously stated, Thomas More College used an abundance of caution in withholding Moss from play during a NCAA compliance question within our women’s basketball program. The College cannot comment further on the matter at this time, but we look forward to publicly discussing the matter when appropriate.”
Saints’ Horne puts up double double in win
Freshman guard Brandon Horne (Louisville, Ky./Male) recorded a double-double Saturday to lead the Thomas More College men’s basketball team to a 74-60 win over Grove City College in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) game at the Connor Convocation Center.
With the win, the Saints improve to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the PAC. With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the PAC.
Thomas More jumped out to a 27-17 lead with 3:54 to play in the first half when freshman guard Ryan Callahan (Morehead, Ky./Rowan County) made a three-pointer. Grove City closed out the half on a 7-5 run to cut the lead to 32-24 at halftime when Andrew Beckman made a jumper with 36-seconds to play in the half.
Thomas More opened the second half on a 5-0 run to increase the lead to 37-24 when junior forward/center Simon Clifford (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) made a jumper. Grove City answered with an 11-5 run capped by a Cory Huff three-pointer to cut the lead to 42-35 with 13:08 to play in the game. The Saints responded with a 21-13 run to extend the lead to 63-48 when Horne made a lay-up with 5:14 to play in the second half. Grove City closed out the team on a 12-11 run, but it wasn’t enough as Thomas More won the game 74-60.
Horne had 14 points and 11 rebounds for his double-double. He was joined in double-figures scoring by Clifford and Callahan with 14 points each and sophomore guard Daniel Williams (Louisville, Ky./Jeffersonville) with 12 points. Sophomore guard Corey Howard (Gahanna, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) led the team in assists with five, while Williams led the team in steals with four.
Thomas More returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Cincinnati, Ohio to play across-the-river rival Mount. St. Joseph University in the Bridge Shootout. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Harrington Center.
From TMC Athletics