By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Thomas More University is the only campus bookstore in the state of Kentucky that will be selling basketball national championship t-shirts this month.
On Tuesday, the TMU women’s team defeated Dordt Univerisity of Iowa, 77-65, in the championship game of the NAIA national tournament that began two weeks ago with a field of 64 teams from all across the country.
With mostly players who graduated from local high schools on the roster, the Saints won five of their six NAIA playoff games by double-digit margins to finish with a 32-4 record.
Coach Jeff Hans had 10 players score in Tuesday’s successful season finale at Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
Forward Alexah Chrisman was the team leader with 16 points, followed by guards Zoie Barth and Taylor Clos with 12 and 11 points. They all played on last year’s NAIA national runner-up team and were determined to take the title this time.
“I just feel so blessed to be able to play with this group of girls,” Barth said in a post-game interview. “We played every day with a mission and a goal, to get back here, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Thomas More became the first team to make back-to-back appearances in the NAIA women’s championship game since Marian (Ind.) did it in 2016 and 2017.
This is the third national championship the Saints have won under Hans, who has a 293-27 record in 11 seasons. His teams won NCAA Division III championships in 2016 and 2019.
In Tuesday’s title game, Thomas More scored 11 straight points to open up a 21-8 lead going into the second quarter and expanded the margin to 25 points, 40-15, by halftime.
At the break, the Saints were shooting 46 percent (15 of 32) from the field compared to Dordt’s 24 percent (6 of 25) and they had a 23-10 rebounding advantage. Ten players scored for TMU in the first 20 minutes. Barth was the leader at that point with seven points.
The Saints led by as much as 31 points in the third quarter when Chrisman had five points, three rebounds and two blocks. The lead slipped to 25 points, 64-39, early in the fourth quarter and Dordt outscored TMU, 25-13, in the last seven minutes to shave another 12 points off the final margin.
The final field goal shooting percentages were 45 percent (29 of 64) for Thomas More and 39 percent for Dordt (26 of 66). Both teams made seven 3-point goals, but the Saints had a 12-6 advantage in free throws and won the battle on the boards by a 40-26 margin.
Chrisman, who was 7 of 8 from the field and snagged seven rebounds, was named the tournament’s most valuable player and Clos joined her on the all-tournament team. Barth had five rebounds and a game-high four assists for the Saints.
Thomas More teams will be eligible to compete for NAIA championships for one more academic year before the university begins the transfer process to NCAA Division II.
THOMAS MORE 21 19 19 18 — 77
DORDT 8 7 15 35 — 65
THOMAS MORE (32-4): Chrisman 7-8 2-5 16, Barth 4-8 2-2 12, Clos 4-10 2-2 11, Jones 3-3 2-2 9, Smith 2-6 3-3 7, Brenner 2-5 1-1 6, Hurst 3-8 0-0 6, Simon 2-6 0-0 5, Schwarber 1-4 0-0 3, Secrist 1-6 0-0 2. Totals: 29-64 12-15 77.
DORDT (29-9): Gustafson 10-19 3-5 23, Heimensen 4-11 2-4 14, Veerbeck 6-13 1-2 14, Schoonhoven 4-9, 0-0 8, Nielson 1-1 0-0 3, Beckman 1-9 0-0 3, Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Chmielewski 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 26-66 6-11 65.
3-point goals: TM — Barth 2, Clos, Jones, Brenner, Simon, Schwarber. D — Heimensen 4, Veerbeek , Nielson, Beckman.