By Don Owen
NKyTribune sports editor
At some point between an early Saturday shootaround and an NAIA Tournament game that same evening, Zoie Barth’s quest for a national championship ring nearly ended.
An automobile accident sent the Thomas More star to the hospital last Saturday. Just hours before the Saints were to square off against Olivet Nazarene for a trip to the round of 16 at the NAIA nationals. Barth was transported to the hospital for tests.
“I was driving on the highway going home from shootaround, and the car in front of me slammed on their brakes, so I tried to slam on my brakes,” Barth said, noting her vehicle hit both the car in front and then the guardrail before spinning around and facing the opposite direction of the highway.
While at the hospital, tests revealed the Highlands High School graduate suffered only a minor injury in the rib area and she received medical clearance to play. “Just bruised ribs,” Barth said.
Several hours later, Barth scored 24 points, dished out seven assists, grabbed six rebounds and collected two steals as Thomas More cruised to a 98-82 win over Olivet Nazarene.
Thomas More head coach Jeff Hans, who hours earlier doubted that Barth would even play, wasn’t surprised by her performance.
“That’s Zoie. That’s our leader,” Hans said.
Thomas More earned the trip to the round of 16 in the NAIA nationals at Sioux City, Iowa, where the Saints will meet Mount Vernon Nazarene at 1 p.m. Thursday. Thomas More (26-1) is the No. 1 seed, while Mount Vernon Nazarene (17-11) is the No. 16 seed.
Barth, who earned MVP honors at the Mid-South Conference Tournament after leading Thomas More to the championship, averages 13.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. The sophomore guard also dishes out 3.3 assists per game and leads the Saints with 61 steals.
Thomas More is seeking its fourth national championship in seven years. The Saints won back-to-back NCAA Division III national championships in 2015 and 2016. Thomas More added a third national crown in 2019 before transitioning to the NAIA last season.
Did Barth ever envision Thomas More challenging for an NAIA national championship just two years after leaving the non-scholarship NCAA Division III level?
“I was talking with (Jeff Hans) the other day about how I finally got a ring (Mid-South Conference championship) this year,” Barth said. “In high school, I feel like I was ring-chasing the whole four years and even in middle school before that.
“Playing in the 9th Region is really, really tough. We never won a regional championship. I think we’re just really hungry for a championship. I don’t know if I would say I expected it (challenging for an NAIA title) in my second year here at Thomas More, but I knew we had that same (hunger) to win a championship.”
Mount Vernon Nazarene advanced to the NAIA finals with wins against LSU-Shreveport (73-58) and top-seeded Wayland Baptist (77-74). Maggie Coe scored 23 points to lead Mount Vernon Nazarene to the upset over previously unbeaten Wayland Baptist (13-1).
Taylor Gregory added 15 points and 14 rebounds for Mount Vernon Nazarene in that victory. Rylee Pireu leads the Cougars in scoring at 15.3 points per game and has made a team-high 67 shots from 3-point range. Gregory averages 15.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest.
Mount Vernon Nazarene was the only No. 3 seed to advance out of its pod last week. The Cougars advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in program history.
The Thomas More/Mount Vernon Nazarene winner will advance to Saturday’s national quarterfinals at 1 p.m. against the Sterling (Kan.)/Dakota State (S.D.) survivor.
Don Owen is sports editor of the Northern Kentucky Tribune. Contact him at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport.