(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The top-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team scored the first 11 points and never trailed as it defeated in-state rival Centre College, 75-37, tonight (Wednesday, December 16, 2015) in a non-conference game at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints remain undefeated at 7-0 and with the loss, the Colonels fall to 1-7.
Thomas More scored 11 unanswered points to open the game as it built a 21-5 lead after one quarter.
Centre opened the second half on an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 25-16 with 4:31 to play in the second quarter when Caroline Andreassen made a jumper. The Saints closed out the second quarter on a 15-2 run capped by a three-pointer by senior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County (Ky.)) with 39-seconds to play in the quarter to extend the lead to 40-18 at halftime.
The Saints out-scored Centre 17-8 in the third quarter and 18-11 in the fourth quarter as they went onto the 75-37 victory.
Thomas More had a 32-14 advantage in points in the paint, 21-11 in points off turnovers and 14-0 on fast break points.
Moss and sophomore guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) led the team in scoring with 16 points each. Sophomore forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Springs, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) joined them in double-figures with 11 points to go with a game-high 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, while freshman guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) finished with 10 points. Owings led the team in assists with five, while Kiernan led the team in blocks with five and steals with five.
Thomas More returns to action on Saturday (December 19) when it travels to Grand Rapids, Michigan to play 11th-ranked Calvin College at 1 p.m. inside Van Noord Arena.