(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The top-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team defeated No. 8-ranked Washington University-St. Louis, 103-90, tonight (Friday, March 13, 2015) in a Sectional Semifinal "Sweet 16" game of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Tournament at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints improve to 30-0 and advance to their second-straight Sectional Final "Elite 8." Thomas More will play No. 2-ranked University of St. Thomas tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center. Gates will open at 5 p.m. The winner of the game will advance to the Final Four next weekend at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With the loss, the Bears end the season at 25-3.
Junior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County) scored the Saints' first 18 points as she propelled the Saints to an 18-11 before freshman forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Springs, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) made two free-throws with 13:10 to play in the first half to extend the lead to 20-11. WashU answered with an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 24-22 with 9:40 to play in the game when Jordan Thompson made two free-throws. Thomas More used a 26-18 run to build a 50-40 lead when senior guard Sydni Wainscott (Erlanger, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a three-pointer with 1:11 to play in the half. The Bears closed the half on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to 51-11 at halftime when Maddy Scheppers made two free-throws with 31-seconds to play in the half.
WashU opened the second half on a 9-1 run to take a 53-52 on an Alyssa Johanson jumper with 17:05 to play in the game. Thomas More answered with a 29-17 run to take an 81-70 with 6:43 to play in the game when Wainscott made two free-throws. The Bears responded with an 11-5 lead capped by a Jordan Thompson three-pointer to cut the lead to 86-81 with 2:49 to play in the game. That would be as close as WashU would come as Thomas More closed out the game on a 17-9 run to win the game 103-90.
Thomas More out-scored the Bears 42-26 in the paint and 25-12 off turnovers.
Moss led all scorers with 37 points, while Wainscott added 22 points, freshman guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) added 11 points and junior guard Olivia Huber (Woodlawn, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) finished with 10 points. Moss led the team on the boards with nine rebounds, while Wainscott led the team with eight assists.