The No. 1-ranked Thomas More College women’s basketball team clinched the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) regular season title out-right Wednesday as it defeated Chatham University, 90-42, in a PAC game at the Athletic & Fitness Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 24-0 overall and 17-0 in the PAC. Thomas More can post its third-straight and fifth overall undefeated regular season with a win over Saint Vincent College on Saturday. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 10-14 overall and 6-11 in the PAC.
Trailing 6-4 with 6:24 to play in the first quarter, the Saints closed out the quarter on an 18-6 run to lead 22-12 after one quarter. Thomas More would then out-score Chatham 23-8 in the second quarter to lead 45-20 at halftime, 23-16 in the third quarter to lead 68-36 and 22-6 in the fourth quarter for the final score of 90-42.
The Saints shot 56.3 percent (36-of-64) from the field. Defensively, the Saints forced 24 Cougar turnovers and turned them into a 31-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
Senior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County (Ky.) led four Saints in double-figure scoring with 25 points. She was joined in double-figure scoring by freshman guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) with 15 points, junior forward Kirsten Paul (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Christian) with 12 points and junior forward Kaylee Bush (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) with 10 points.
Paul led the team on the boards with seven rebounds, while Bush, senior forward Samantha Cady (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony Village) and freshman forward Shelby Rupp (Milian, Ind./Batesville) each added five rebounds. Freshman guard Michaela Ware (Newport, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) led the team in assists with six, while Temple, sophomore guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) and senior guard Olivia Huber (Woodlawn, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) each added five assists. Owings led the team in steals with four.
The Saints close out the regular season on Saturday when they host Saint Vincent College at 12 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills. Thomas More will honor its five seniors prior to the game with Senior Day activities scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m.
Stockwell guns Thomas More men to win
Freshman forward Junior Stockwell (Florence, Ky./Boone County) scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Thomas More College men’s basketball team to a 58-43 win over Chatham University Wednesday.
With the win, the Saints improve to 15-9 overall and 12-5 in the PAC, while the Cougars fall to 4-20 overall and 4-13 in the PAC.
Thomas More jumped out to an early 11-0 lead with 15:41 to play in the first half when freshman guard Ryne Callahan (Morehead, Ky./Rowan County) made a three-pointer. Chatham answered with a 13-5 run to cut the lead to 16-13 when Nasir Alexander made a jumper with 8:26 to play in the opening half. Stockwell capped a 9-3 run for the Saints with a jumper to extend the lead to 25-16 with 4:15 to play in the half. The Cougars used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 25-20 with 27-seconds to play in the opening half when Anthony Bomar made a jumper. Stockwell made the score 27-20 at halftime when he had a tip-in with two-seconds to play in the first half.
The Saints opened the second half on a 6-0 to increase the lead to 33-20 with 16:54 to play in the game when junior guard Sawyer Pauly (Crescent Springs, Ky./Covington Catholic) made a tip-in. Chatham cut the lead to 33-24 with 15:03 to play in the second half when Alexander capped a 4-0 run with two free-throws. That would be as close as Chatham would come as the Saints closed out the game on a 25-19 run and led by as many as 22 points as they cruised to the 58-43 victory.
Stockwell was joined in double-figure scoring by Callahan with 11 points, while Pauly just missed double-figures with nine points. Pauly led the team on the board with a game-high 15 rebounds. Freshman guard Brandon Horne (Louisville, Ky./Male) and Pauly led the team in assists with four each.
The Saints close out the regular season on Saturday when they host Saint Vincent College at 2 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center. Thomas More will honor senior guard Louis Walker III (Cincinnati, Ohio/North College Hill) prior to the game as he will be playing his final regular season home game at the Connor Convocation Center.
From TMC Athletics