(WASHINGTON, Pa.) - The No. 1-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Washington & Jefferson College, 61-48, today (Saturday, February 5, 2011) at the Henry Memorial Center in Washington, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 21-0 overall and 12-0 in the PAC. With the loss, the Presidents fall to 8-13 overall and 5-7 in the PAC.
Thomas More jumped out to an early 14-7 lead when freshman guard Katie Kitchen (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) made a three-pointer with 15:19 to play in the first half. W&J answered with a 17-5 run to take a 24-19 lead with 8:25 to play in the opening half when Ashley Kirkpatrick converted a conventional three-point play. The Saints responded with a 5-0 run capped by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Chelsea Tolliver (Morning View, Ky./Simon Kenton) to tie the game at 24-24 with 5:17 to play in the half. The Presidents closed out the half on a 9-1 run to take a 33-25 halftime lead when Vanessa Rivera made a lay-up with two-seconds to play in the half.
W&J's Jamie McKitrick made a jumper with 18:26 to play in the second half to give the Presidents' their biggest lead of the game at 35-25. Thomas More responded with a 16-4 run to take a 41-39 lead with 11:48 to play in the game when sophomore guard Allison Long (Hebron, Ky./Conner) made a lay-up. The Presidents' then put together a 5-2 run to take a 44-43 lead when Rivera made a lay-up with 9:40 to play in the game. The Saints came right back with an 18-2 run capped by a jumper by sophomore guard Jill Brunsman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) to take their biggest lead of the game at 61-45 with 1:30 to play in the game. W&J scored the final three points of the game, but it wasn't enough as Thomas More went on to the 61-48 victory.
Thomas More had two players reached double-figure scoring as Tolliver had a team-high 13 points and senior center Nicole Dickman (Park Hills, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) finished with 10 points. Sophomore forward/center Katie Kees (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) led the team on the boards with six rebounds, while Long led the team in assists with five and Dickman led the team in blocks with four.
Thomas More returns to action on Wednesday (February 9) when it hosts Waynesburg University at 5:30 p.m. inside the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky