CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (Feb. 15) – Thomas More used a strong defensive effort to down the Saint Vincent women's basketball team 77-40 in Presidents' Athletic Conference action at the Connor Convocation Center in Kentucky.
 
The 77 points was the lowest single-game scoring output for Thomas More in PAC play but they limited SVC to just 22.5 percent shooting in the contest. The Bearcats also struggled from behind the three-point line, converting just 1-of-20 three-pointers.
 
Freshman Kayla Slovenec opened the scoring, hitting a jumper at the 8:34 mark of the first quarter. After Thomas More countered with a layup, Slovenec and junior Babette Sanmartin converted baskets in the lane to give SVC an early 6-2 edge.
 
After starting 1-for-8 from the field, Thomas More would use back-to-back scores to tie the game at 6-6. Jasmine Weems would tack on a layup to help SVC retake a two-point advantage. From that point, the host Saints closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run to hold a 15-10 lead after 10 minutes of play. The lone SVC basket during that stretch came from Katie Ryan off an assist from Maria Morgan.
 
Thomas More opened the second quarter with six straight points to stretch its lead to 21-10. Slovenec stopped the run by splitting a pair of free throws to close the deficit back to 10 points (21-11). The Saints would add four straight points before Paige Montrose and Weems would both hit foul line jumpers, cutting the deficit back to 10 points once again, at 25-15 with 4:46 left in the half.
 
The Saints would close the half on a 15-5 run over the final 4:30. The lone field goal makes for Saint Vincent during that time came from Montrose and Sanmartin.
 
Slovenec and Sanmartin led the Bearcats at the break with five points each. Weems and Montrose each chipped in four points and four rebounds. Madison Temple powered Thomas More in the first half with 15 points and five rebounds, as the Saints shot 51.4 percent from the field.
 
Thomas More outscored the Bearcats by a 22-10 margin in the third quarter to take a 62-32 lead into the fourth. Ellis tallied five points in the quarter to lead the Bearcats.
 
Saint Vincent was then outscored 15-10 in the fourth to cap the final score at 77-40.
 
Sanmartin led the Bearcats with 9 points and 7 rebounds. Montrose added in 7 points and 8 rebounds. Bri Van Volkenburg matched Montrose on the glass, also adding 8 rebounds.
 
Temple led the way for Thomas More with an extremely efficient offensive effort. The sophomore tallied 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting, including a perfect 4-for-4 output behind the three-point line.
 
The loss drops Saint Vincent to 15-9 overall and 12-5 in the PAC. #2/#4 ranked Thomas More stays unbeaten, moving to 24-0 overall and 17-0 in the conference.
 
The Bearcats close the regular season with a road contest at Westminster College on Saturday, Feb. 18. Start time is slated for a 1 p.m. in New Wilmington.