(SPRINGFIELD, Ohio) - The 11th-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team defeated Wittenberg University, 71-51, today (Saturday, December 15, 2012) in a non-conference game at the Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield, Ohio.

With the win, the Saints improve to 9-1 overall and with the loss, the Tigers fall to 3-5 overall.

Thomas More jumped out to an early 10-0 lead when sophomore forward Jenny Burgoyne (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) made a jumper with 17:46 to play in the first half.  Wittenberg answered with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 10-8 with 14:55 to play in the opening half when Karen Daniel-Hamberg made a jumper.  The Saints closed out the half on a 34-17 run to take a 44-25 lead at intermission when senior guard Allison Long (Hebron, Ky./Conner) made a three-pointer with four-seconds to play in the half.

Wittenberg opened the second half on a 10-6 run capped by a Sarah Skidmore jumper with 12:20 to play in the game to cut the Saints' lead to 50-35.  Thomas More responded with a 19-8 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 69-43 with 2:56 to play in the game when Long made a three-pointer.  The Tigers closed out the game on an 8-2 run, but it wasn't enough as Thomas More went onto the 71-51 victory.

Three Saints finished in double-figure scoring as Burgoyne and Long each had 17 points and junior guard Katie Kitchen (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) finished with 13 points.  Junior forward Moriah Corey (Louisville, Ky./Butler) led the team on the boards with seven rebounds, while junior guard Devin Beasley (Burlington, Ky./Conner) and freshman guard Sydni Wainscott (Erlanger, Ky./Simon Kenton) led the team in assists with four each.

Thomas More returns to action on Tuesday (December 18) when it hosts Bluffton University at 6 p.m. in a non-conference game at the Connor Convocation Center.