(PORTSMOUTH, Ohio)  – The NCAA Division III No. 1-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team defeated NAIA Division I No. 9-ranked Shawnee State University, 87-63, tonight (Tuesday, February 16, 2016) in a non-conference game at the Frank & Janis Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth, Ohio.

With the win, the Saints improve to 23-0 and with the loss, the Bears fall to 23-5.

Thomas More jumped out to a 15-4 lead when senior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County (Ky.)) made a three-pointer with 3:41 to play in the first quarter.  The Bears answered with a 5-1 run to cut the lead to 16-9 with 1:12 to play in the opening quarter when Lydia Poe made a lay-up.  The Saints closed out the first quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 22-9 lead after one quarter when Moss made a lay-up at the buzzer.

Shawnee State opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 24-16 on an Ali Zieverink three-point play with 7:18 to play in the quarter.   Thomas More responded with a 16-7 run capped by a lay-up by senior guard Olivia Huber (Woodlawn, Ky./Newport Central Catholic)'s lay-up to extend the lead to 40-23 with 59-seconds to play in the second quarter.  The Bears' Zieverink converted a three-point play with 33-seconds to play in the second quarter to cut the Saints' lead to 40-26 at halftime.

The Saints opened the third quarter on an 8-4 run to extend the lead to 48-30 with 7:44 to play in the quarter when sophomore guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a jumper.  Shawnee State used a 17-12 run to cut the lead to 60-47 after three-quarters when Madison Ridout made one-of-two free-throws after the buzzer.

Thomas More out-scored Shawnee State 27-16 in the fourth quarter to cruise to the 87-63 victory.

Moss led all scorers with 30 points.  She was joined in double-figure scoring by Owings with 24 points and freshman guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) with 11 points.  Moss led the team on the boards with seven rebounds, while Owings led the team in assists with nine.  Temple and Huber led the team in steals with three each.

Thomas More remains on the road and will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania tomorrow (Wednesday, February 17) to play Chatham University at 5:30 p.m. at the Athletic & Fitness Center.