By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
They did it again!
The Thomas More College women’s basketball team won the NCAA Division III national championship and finished with a perfect 33-0 record for the second consecutive year by beating Tufts University, 63-51, in the title game on Monday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Saints needed a strong finish to become the first women’s team to win consecutive Division III national titles since Washington University of St. Louis won five in a row from 1998 to 2001.
After Tufts tied the score, 49-49, early in the fourth quarter, the Saints ran off 10 straight points to secure the victory before a crowd of 6,403 that included a large contingent of Thomas More fans.
Sophomore guard Abby Owings scored three of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Saints. The team’s other double-figure scorers were senior guard Sydney Moss with 14 points, sophomore forward Nikki Kiernan with 13 and freshman guard Madison Temple with 10.
Moss was named Most Outstanding Player on the final four teams in the national tournament and Owings joined her on the all-tournament team.
The Saints shot just 35.6 percent (21 of 59) from the field in the championship game and did not come close to matching their 92.2 points-per-game average. But they held Tufts to nine points in the second and fourth quarters and just two points during the final 6:28 of the game.
“It was a great defensive effort,” Thomas More coach Jeff Hans said in a post-game interview. “We were able to get stops when we needed to and then we were able to get out in transition a little bit and get some easy baskets.”
Thomas More finished with a 48-37 rebounding advantage and scored 20 second-chance points after getting offensive rebounds under its own basket. The team leaders were Kiernan, Moss and Temple with nine rebounds each.
Tufts took a 17-11 lead in the first quarter by making eight of its first 15 field goal attempts. But Thomas More used a 10-5 run in the final minutes of the second quarter to open up a 32-26 halftime lead. Owings made a 3-point shot and scored on two drives to the basket to get seven of the 10 points during that surge.
“She is a great point guard,” Temple said of Owings. “She brings so much energy to our team and obviously she was able to knock down big shots.”
The Saints extended their lead to 42-32 on a basket by senior forward Alexa Santamaria early in the third quarter. But Tufts mounted a comeback and tied the score, 49-49, when guard Lauren Dillon made two free throws with 6:28 left in the final period.
With the game on the line and their fans chanting, “Let’s Go Saints,” the Thomas More players responded by scoring 10 straight points and closing out the game with a 14-2 run.
“I think we all just had that look in our eyes (saying), ‘Okay, it’s time to buckle down and get stops on defense and make plays on offense for each other,’ and obviously we did that,” Moss said in the post-game press conference.
Moss got the game-winning run started with a fast-break layup off a steal. After Santamaria got a stick-back basket off an offensive rebound and Temple swished a 3-point shot, the Saints made seven of 10 free throws to complete their 14-2 run.
“I don’t know if (the game) was entirely well played by either one of us,” coach Hans said in the press conference. “But to be on this stage and to be able to come out with a hard-fought victory over a very good and well-coached team, I’m just so proud of our players and the resilience that they showed when the game got tied.”
Thomas More won the championship game despite a shaky shooting performance by Moss, who was named Division III Player of the Year for the third consecutive season. She was 4-of-14 from the field overall and made just one basket in the second half.
“My team was making plays and I realized that,” Moss said. “I wasn’t hitting shots and so I tried to find them if (Tufts) came over and double-teamed me or if I had missed a shot the possession before. I tried to get (my teammates) open looks and they were knocking them down. Obviously, it’s not just about me. It’s about the team and obviously we did what we had to do to win.”
There were five seniors on the Thomas More roster this season, but Santamaria and Olivia Huber were the ones chosen to cut down the nets after the game.
“Liv (Huber) and I have been here all four years,” Santamaria said. “We were here when we had just nine players on the team our freshman year. Then Syd (Moss) came in and Sam (Cady) transferred and Kiley (Bartels) transferred. We have just been through so much these four years, but it’s a family.”
TUFTS 17 9 16 9 — 51
THOMAS MORE 11 21 15 16 — 63
TUFTS (28-4): Michela North 5-0-10, Maura Folliard 4-0-9; Michelle Wu 4-0-8, Lauren Dillon 2-2-6, Josie Lee 2-2-6, Katy Hicks 2-0-5, Melissa Baptista 2-0-4, Emma Roberson 1-0-3. Totals 22-4-51.
THOMAS MORE (33-0): Abby Owings 5-6-17;, Sydney Moss 4-7-14, Nikki Kiernan 5-3-13, Madison Temple 3-3-10, Samantha Cady 2-0-4, Alexa Santamaria 2-0-4, Olivia Huber 0-1-1. Totals 21-17-63.
3-point goals: Tufts — Emma Roberson, Katy Hicks, Maura Folliard. Thomas More — Abby Owings 2, Sydney Moss, Madison Temple.
Is the name of the area right?
How many wins did Wash U have?
I meant “arena”
Thanks for the coverage!