(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The top-ranked and top-seeded Thomas More College women's basketball won its 10th-straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship as it defeated second-seeded Washington & Jefferson College, 93-74, today (Saturday, February 27, 2016) in the championship game of the PAC Championship Tournament at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints improve to 27-0 and earn the PAC automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The NCAA Division III Championship bracket will be announced on Monday (February 29) on the NCAA Championship website (www.ncaa.com) at 2:30 p.m. With the loss, the Presidents fall to 22-5 and must wait until Monday to see if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Saints jumped out to an early 6-2 lead when senior guard/forward Sydney Moss (St. Albans, W.Va./Boone County (Ky.)) made a three-pointer with 8:50 to play in the first quarter. W&J answered with an 11-2 run capped by a Rachel Bellhy jumper to build a 13-8 lead with 5:03 to play in the opening quarter. Thomas More closed out the quarter on a 9-4 run to tie the game at 17-17 when Moss made one-of-two free-throws with four-seconds to play in the first quarter.
The Presidents opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 23-17 lead with 8:24 to play in the quarter when Alyssa Riley made a jumper. Undaunted, Thomas More closed out the second quarter on a 30-6 run to build a 47-29 halftime lead when senior guard Olivia Huber (Woodlawn, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) made a three-pointer with two-seconds to play in the quarter.
W&J opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run capped by a Rachel Bellhy jumper to cut the lead to 47-35 with 7:25 to play in the third quarter. The Saints closed out the quarter on a 25-11 run to extend the lead to 72-46 after three quarters when Moss made a jumper with 21-seconds to play in the quarter.
The Presidents out-scored the Saints 28-21 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as Thomas More won the game 93-74.
Thomas More had a 40-18 advantage in points in the paint, 26-8 in points off turnovers and 21-4 in second chance points.
Moss recorded a double-double with a game-high 37 points and 13 rebounds and freshman guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) joined them in double-figures with 18 points and led the team in assists with five.