(WILMINGTON, Ohio) – Sophomore guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone Couny (Ky.) and junior forward Jenny Burgoyne (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) each recorded a double-double tonight (Friday, November 15, 2013) lead the eighth-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team to an 85-76 win over Wittenberg University on the first day of the Damon's Grill/Hampton Inn Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Wilmington College at Hermann Court in Wilmington, Ohio.

With the win, the Saint improve to 1-0 and with the loss, the Tigers fall to 0-1.

After Thomas More opened the game with lay-up by Moss at the 19:50 mark of the opening half, the Tigers went on a 9-1 run capped by a lay-up by Enri Small to take a 9-3 lead with 17:09 to play in the first half. The Saints answered with a 7-0 to take a 10-9 lead with 15:24 to play in the half when sophomore forward Alexa Santamaria (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) made one-of-two free-throws. Wittenberg came right back to a build a 25-15 lead when Taylore Bundy made two free-throws with 9:18 to play in the opening half to cap a 16-5 run. Junior guard Syndi Wainscott (Erlanger, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a three-pointer with 7:21 to play in the opening half to cap a Saints' 12-2 run to tie the game at 27-27. The Tigers answered with an 11-2 run to take a 38-29 lead on a lay-up by Small with 3:46 to play in the half. Thomas More tied the game at 39-39 with 1:16 to play in the first half when junior guard Stephanie Krusling (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) made a three-pointer to cap Thomas More's 10-1 run. Wittenberg took a 43-39 halftime lead when it closed the half on a 4-0 run capped by a Small lay-up with 16-seconds to play in the half.

Thomas More opened the second half on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 43-43 with 19:17 to play in the game when Burgoyne made a lay-up. Wittenberg answered with a 5-0 run capped by a Katelyn Haralamos three-pointer to take a 48-43 lead with 18:12 to play in the second half. Senior guard Katie Kitchen (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) made two free-throws with 16:42 to play in the game to cap a 6-0 run and the Saints led 49-48. The Tigers used a 5-0 run to take a 53-49 with 13:23 to play when Heather Schroeder made a lay-up. Burgoyne the made a lay-up with 11:55 to play in the game to cap a 5-1 run and Thomas More tied the game at 54-54 with 11:55 to play in the game. Wittenberg responded with a 6-2 run to take a 60-56 lead with 10:12 to play when Haralamos made a jumper. Undaunted the Saints used a 23-7 run capped by a Burgoyne lay-up with 2:47 to play in the game to build a 79-67 lead. Wittenberg closed out the game on a 9-6 run, but it wasn't enough as Thomas More won the game 85-76.

Moss finished with a team-high 19 points and 12 rebounds and Burgoyne finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds to record their double-doubles. Senior guard Devin Beasley (Burlington, Ky./Conner) and Kitchen also finished in double-digit points with 18 and 14 points respectively. Beasley led the team in assists with five, while Moss added three and Wainscott led the team in steals with three.

Thomas More returns to Hermann Court tomorrow as it plays host Wilmington in the championship game of the tournament at 3 p.m.