(DANVILLE, Ky.) – The third-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team defeated Centre College, 77-44, today (Saturday, November 22, 2014) on the second day of the Hampton Inn Classic hosted by Centre at Alumni Gymnasium in Danville, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints improve to 2-0 and with the loss, the Colonels fall to 1-2.
Thomas More raced out to a 36-15 lead with 5:14 to play in the first half when junior forward Sam Cady (St. Anthony, Minn./St. Anthony Village) converted an old fashion three-point play. Centre answered with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 38-24 on a Paige Kellam lay-up with 2:29 to play in the half. The Saints closed out the half on a 5-0 to extend the lead to 43-24 at halftime when senior guard Sydni Wainscott (Erlanger, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a lay-up with 16-seconds to play in the opening half.
The Saints opened the second half on a 15-7 run to increase the lead to 58-31 when sophomore guard Hannah Devine (Carrollton, Ky./Carroll County) made two free-throws with 10:36 to play in the game. Centre responded with a 5-0 lead to cut the lead to 58-36 with 9:23 to play in the second half when Bonnie Rhule made a three-pointer. That would be as close as the Colonels would come as Thomas More led by as many as 35 points and closed out the game on a 19-8 run for the 77-44 win.
Junior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County (Ky.)) led all scorers with 18 points and she was joined in double-figures by junior forward Alexa Santamaria (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), who had 14. Wainscott and senior guard Stephanie Krusling (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) just missed double-figures scoring with nine points each. Cady led the team on the boards with a game-high-tying eight rebounds, while Wainscott led the team in assists with four.
Thomas More returns to action next Friday and Saturday (November 28 and 29) when it hosts the 13th Annual Julie Costello Memorial Classic presented by Barleycorn's at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The Saints will play Shawnee State University at 7 p.m. on Friday and La Roche College at 4 p.m. on Saturday.