(WASHINGTON, Pa.) – Senior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County (Ky.)) recorded her fourth double-double of the season today (Saturday, February 13, 2016) 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 and the No. 1-seed in the upcoming PAC Championship Tournament. With the loss, 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 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.
The Presidents out-scored the Saints 15-14 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as Thomas More cruised to the 88-57 victory.
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, who is 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.