Senior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County (Ky.)) recorded her fourth double-double of the season Saturday as she lead the top-ranked Thomas More College women’s basketball team to an 88-57 win over Washington & Jefferson College in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) game at the Henry Memorial Center in Washington, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints remain undefeated at 22-0 overall and 16-0 in the PAC. Thomas More also clinched at least a share of its 11th-straight PAC regular-season title and the No. 1-seed in the upcoming PAC Championship Tournament. The Presidents’ fall to 19-4 overall and 14-2 in the PAC and have clinched the No. 2-seed in the PAC Championship Tournament.
Thomas More, the defending NCAA Division III champions, haven’t lost a game in over two seasons.
Thomas More jumped out to an early 14-3 lead when Moss made a lay-up with 6:23 to play in the first quarter. W&J answered with a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 14-7 with 5:25 to play in the quarter when Beka Bellhy made a lay-up. The Saints closed out the half on a 15-2 run to take a 29-9 lead after one quarter when freshman guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) made a three-pointer with 2:02 to play in the opening quarter.
The Saints opened the second quarter on a 12-4 run to extend the lead to 41-13 with 6:44 to play in the quarter when senior guard Kiley Bartels (Southgate, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) made a jumper. The Presidents cut the lead to 41-19 when Alyssa Riley capped a 6-0 run with two free-throws with 5:27 to play in the second quarter. Thomas More closed out the second quarter on a 9-4 run to take a 50-23 lead at halftime when sophomore forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Springs, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) made a lay-up with 1:23 to play in the quarter.
Thomas More opened the third quarter on a 15-6 run capped by a Moss lay-up with 4:05 to play in the quarter to increase the lead to 65-29. W&J used an 11-5 run to cut the lead to 70-40 when Danielle Parker made a three-pointer with 1:42 to play in third quarter. Senior guard Olivia Huber (Woodlawn, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) made two free-throws with 22-seconds to play in the third quarter to cap a 4-2 run and give the Saints a 74-42 lead after three quarters.
Thomas More had a 40-20 advantage in points in the paint and 17-12 off turnovers and 9-4 in fast break points.
Moss recorded her double-double with a game-high 25 point and 11 rebounds. She was close to a triple-double as she dished out a game-high eight assists. Moss was joined in double-figure scoring by Temple with 16 points, Kiernan with 13 points and sophomore guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) with 11 points.
Thomas More returns to action on Tuesday (February 16) when it travels to Portsmouth, Ohio to play Shawnee State University, ranked No. 7 in the NAIA Division I poll. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. at the Frank & Janis Waller Gymnasium.
Balanced attack keys Thomas More men to win
Five Saints reached double-figure scoring Saturday as the Thomas More College men’s basketball team defeated Washington & Jefferson College, 96-63, in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) game.
With the win, the Saints improve to 14-9 overall and 10-5 in the PAC, while the Presidents fall to 1-22 overall and 1-15 in the PAC.
Thomas More took an early 4-0 lead when junior forward/center Simon Clifford (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) made a lay-up with 17:52 to play in the first half. W&J answered with a 14-4 run to tie the game at 14-14 with 12:29 to play in the opening half when Joel Garcia made a three-pointer. The Saints closed out the half on a 29-13 run to take a 43-27 lead at halftime when freshman guard Damion King (Winchester, Ky./George Rogers Clark) made a three-pointer with 17-seconds to play in the first half.
The Presidents opened the second half on an 8-4 run to cut the lead to 47-35 on a Brian Lindquist three-point play with 16:59 to play in the second half. That would be as close as W&J would come as the Saints closed out the game on a 49-28 run for the 96-63 victory.
Thomas More had a 24-2 advantage in points off turnovers, 14-0 in second chance points and 10-0 in fast break points.
Freshman Ryne Callahan (Morehead, Ky./Rowan County) led the Saints in scoring with 19 points. He was joined in double-figures by Clifford with 16 points, sophomore guard Michael Griffin (Crestwood, Ky./South Oldham) with 15 points, junior guard Sawyer Pauly (Crescent Springs, Ky./Covington Catholic) with 12 points and King with 11 points.
The Saints were led on the boards by freshman guard Brandon Horne (Louisville, Ky./Male) with 12 rebounds and Pauly with nine rebounds. King led the team in assists with nine, while Clifford led the team in steals with four.
Thomas More returns to action on Wednesday (February 17) when it travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to play Chatham University. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. at the Athletic & Fitness Center.
From TMC Athletics