(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – Junior forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Springs, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) and senior forward Kirsten Paul (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Christian) each recorded a double-double today (Saturday, January 14, 2017) to lead the No. 4/5-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team to a 93-70 victory of Washington & Jefferson College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game inside the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints remain undefeated at 15-0 overall and 8-0 in the PAC. With the loss, he Presidents fall to 9-6 overall and 6-2 in the PAC.
Thomas More raced out to a 22-10 lead when first-year forward Emily Schultz (Melbourne, Ky./Bishop Brossart) made a lay-up with 1:22 to play in the first quarter. The Presidents put together a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 22-14 with 52-seconds to play in the opening quarter when Amirah Moore made two free-throws. Junior guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a three-pointer with 14-seconds to play in the quarter to give Thomas More a 25-14 lead after the first quarter. The Saints opened the second quarter on a 20-8 run to extend the lead to 45-22 when Paul made a lay-up with 34-second to play in the quarter. W&J cut the lead to 46-25 at halftime.
W&J used a 26-17 run to cut the Saints' lead to 63-51 with 1:45 to play in the third quarter when Mia Woytovich made a lay-up. First-year guard Kylie Kramer (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) made a jumper at the 1:24 mark of the third quarter to extend the Thomas More's lead to 65-51 after three quarters. Thomas More out-scored the Presidents 28-19 in the fourth quarter to lead by as many as 26 points and cruise to the 93-70 victory.
The Saints out-scored W&J 60-36 in the paint, 21-10 off turnovers and 12-4 on second chance points.
Kiernan led all scorers with a career-high 29 points to go with 11 rebounds, while Paul scored 12 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds for their double-doubles. Joining them in double-figure scoring was Owings with 24 points and sophomore guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) with 12 points. Owings led the team in assists with eight and steals with five.
Thomas More hits the road on Wednesday (January 18) when it travels to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to play Saint Vincent College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Robert S. Carey Center.