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| Sydney Moss went from the SEC
to the PAC and is trying to take TMC to the F4. Thomas More athletics photo |
By Brian Lester
D3sports.com
Sydney Moss is having a remarkable season, one of those seasons that turns a few heads, drops a few jaws and simply leaves those witnessing it in a state of awe.
Moss, a sophomore guard/forward and star player for top-ranked Thomas More, is 32 points away from tying the record for most points in a season by an NCAA Division III player. She already holds the record for most points in a game at 63, which she scored 106-88 win over Waynesburg in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament game two weeks ago.
But it shouldn’t surprise anyone Moss is having this type of season. She is a high-level player who began her career at Division I Florida, and it was last March, after the Gators were eliminated from the Women’s NIT, that made up her mind she was going to take her game to an even higher level.
It certainly doesn’t hurt her cause that she has athletic talent in her DNA. Her father is NFL wide receiver Randy Moss, although the younger Moss doesn’t bring it up or talk about it as she is determined to make a name for herself.
“I started playing really well in the tournament and it gave me extra confidence,” said Moss, who was an All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team selection and averaged 19.6 points per outing in the NIT. “I wanted to be an even better shooter, though, so I worked on that in the offseason. That hard work has carried over into this season.”
Indeed it has. Moss is averaging 28.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and has helped lead the Saints to the Sweet 16, where they will battle Texas-Tyler in a showdown on Friday in the state of Washington. Moss is much more than a scorer, though. She has drilled 51 3-pointers, dished out 106 assists and tallied 85 steals.
Her numbers would likely be equally impressive if she was still at Florida. After all, she did finish her freshman campaign with the Gators averaging 11.8 points per outing, the second-best average on the team. Moss also averaged 6.8 rebounds per game and came up with 52 steals.
Moss enjoyed the opportunity she had to play Division I basketball, but ultimately she needed a change.
“I didn’t think Florida was a good fit for me,” Moss said. “Basketball wasn’t as fun as it is here. I knew if I went Division I, I would have to sit out. I wanted to be able play this year.”
In some ways, Thomas More was the logical choice. Moss is from Kentucky and played high school basketball at Boone County, where she scored 2,997 points, grabbed 1,602 points, tallied 323 steals, dished out 315 assists and blocked 136 shots during a stellar career.
She cleaned house on several honors as a high school senior in 2012 as she was named the Gatorade Kentucky Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Associated Press Player of the Year and Miss Basketball in Kentucky.
“I knew of the school and I knew a lot of the players here because I played against them in high school or in AAU ball. It was a little tough at first to adjust but things have gone very well for me,” Moss said. “I’m having a great season, our team is still in the tournament and I’m doing really well in school. I’m getting the best grades of my life.”
Basketball is also fun again.
“My teammates welcomed me with open arms,” Moss said. “Our chemistry is probably the best in the country. We all hang out after practice, whether it’s at someone’s house or going to a movie. We have fun together and it shows on the court.”
Thomas More coach Jeff Hans said the transition for Moss was fairly easy and the most interesting thing about her is that she doesn’t act as if she is the star.
“Sydney is very humble,” Hans said. “She cares more about the team than she does about her own stats. I see her get more excited about getting an assist than I do when she scores. She plays with a lot of confidence.”
Hans isn’t just saying that either. Moss will tell you that despite what she has accomplished this year, and despite the fact that she has already scored 859 points this season, putting her on the doorstep of history, she is only focused on helping the Saints win.
“When I was in high school, my grandpa would always let me know how close I was to this record or that record, so I paid a little attention to those at the time,” Moss said. “But I don’t really think about records here. I’m focused on the game. The team is what matters most.”
The Saints are on a roll and they still have work to do to win a title. They are coming off a 120-86 win over John Carroll in the second round of the tourney and are 30-0 on the season. They face off against first-year tourney team and 17th-ranked Texas-Tyler on Friday.
Seventh-ranked Whitman takes on No. 20 Christopher Newport in the other Sweet 16 battle, with the winners playing on Saturday for the right to go to the Final Four in Stevens Point, Wis.
In their latest victory, the Saints illustrated whey they are indeed a team.
Moss led the way with 37 points and 10 rebounds against John Carroll. She also dished out seven assists. The double-double was her 15th of the season.
But the other five starters also scored in double figures. Jenny Burgoyne scored 21, Sydni Wainscott finished with 18 points and Devin Beasley added 15 points. Katie Kitchen scored 14.
“I don’t think teams have really put too much extra attention on me. I’ve been face-guarded most of the time. Teams really just can’t focus on me because we have so many other players who can step up. It makes us tough to defend.”
The Saints are averaging 96.3 points per game and allowing 55.5. Hans said this team has consistently improved and has been focused since day one.
“We have been very focused and engaged in what we need to do to be successful,” Hans said. “We are always getting better and we have done a great job of executing our sets. We are also playing with a lot of confidence as a team.”
Moss said having postseason experience at Florida has paid off nicely this season. The competition she faced during a year in the SEC has also paid off.
“Players are so quick at that level and I had to learn how to be a good defender,” Moss said. “I always felt like I was always a couple of steps behind, but I’ve improved a lot on defense. The experience of being in a tournament at Florida has carried over to this year. It gave me a lot of confidence and I know what it takes to be successful in the postseason.”
Thomas More is closing in on a perfect national championship season, but the Saints are only focused on the next step of this tournament journey at the moment.
“We don’t think about being unbeaten,” Moss said. “We said when the regular season ended, we were 0-0 again. We’re focused on the next game only, but we hope we can keep winning and win a championship. It’s our ultimate goal.”