(GREENVILLE, Pa.) - The third-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team remained undefeated today (Saturday, January 15, 2010) as it defeated Thiel College, 77-65, in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game Beeghly Gymnasium in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 15-0 overall and 7-0 in the PAC. With the loss, the Tomcats fall to 3-12 overall and 2-5 in the PAC.
Thomas More raced out to a 21-8 lead when 12:29 to play in the first half when freshman guard Katie Kitchen (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) converted a three-point play. Thiel answered with a 13-7 run to cut the lead to 28-21 when Ashley Davis made a lay-up with 5:19 to play in the half. The Saints responded with a 3-0 run capped by a lay-up by senior center Nicole Dickman (Park Hills, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) to extend the lead to 31-21 with 4:28 to play in the half. The Tomcats closed out the half on a 9-5 run to cut the lead to 36-30 at halftime when Davis made a three-pointer with 29-seconds to play in the half.
Thomas More opened the second half on a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 42-36 when Kitchen made a lay-up with 17:13 to play in the game. Thiel answered with a 6-0 run of its own to cut the lead to 42-36 with 15:10 to play in the game when Jasmin Jones made a jumper. The Saints responded with a 18-11 run to extend the lead to 60-47 with 8:23 to play when Dickman made a lay-up. The Tomcats came right back with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 60-52 when Jones converted a three-point play with 6:58 to play in the game. That would be as close as Thiel would come as the Saints closed out the game on a 17-13 run for the 77-65 win.
Three Saints finished in double-figure scoring as sophomore guard Chelsea Tolliver (Morning View, Ky./Simon Kenton) had 15 points, Dickman had 14 and Kitchen had 12. Sophomore forward/center Katie Kees (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) led the team on the boards with nine rebounds, while sophomore guard Allison Long (Hebron, Ky./Conner) led the team in assists with five.
The Saints return to action on Wednesday (January 19) when they travel to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to play Saint Vincent College at 5:30 p.m.