(GROVE CITY, Pa.) – The Thomas More College women's basketball team out-scored Grove City College, 47-24, in the second and third quarters today (Tuesday, November 21, 2017) as it defeated the Wolverines 85-53, in its Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener at Grove City College Arena in Grove City, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the PAC. With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the PAC.
Thomas More jumped out to an 8-4 lead with 5:37 to play in the opening quarter when senior guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a lay-up. Grove City used a 6-2 run to tie the game at 10-10 when Kate Balcom made a lay-up with 3:26 to play in the first quarter. First-year guard Briana McNutt (Maysville, Ky./Mason County) made a three-pointer with 11 seconds to play in the first quarter to give the Saints a 16-12 lead after the first quarter.
Grove City opened the second quarter on a 6-0 capped by a three-pointer by Lexie Arkwright to give the Wolverines an 18-16 lead with 7:45 to play in the quarter. The Saints then used a 20-5 run to build a 32-23 lead at halftime when sophomore forward Emily Schultz (Melbourne, Ky./Bishop Brossart) made a lay-up with 12 seconds to play in the second quarter.
The Saints out-scored Grove City 27-13 in the third quarter to extend the lead to 63-36 after three quarters. Thomas More led by as many as 37 points in the fourth quarter as it cruised to the 85-53 victory.
Thomas More had a 44-12 advantage in the point, 28-9 off turnovers and 20-9 on fast break points. The Saints' bench out-scored the Wolverines' bench 32-13.
Junior guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) led the team in scoring with 14 points. Joining her in double-figure scoring was Owings with 13 points, sophomore guard Taylor Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) and Schultz with 11 points each and senior forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) with 10 points. First-year Hayden White (Milford, Ohio/Milford) led the team on the boards with a game-high 14 rebounds. Temple led the team in assists with five and blocks with five, while Jolly and McNutt led the team in steals with three each.
The Saints return to action on Saturday and Sunday (November 25 and 26) when they host the 16th Annual Julie Costello Memorial Classic presented by Barleycorn's and sponsored by the Holiday Inn Cincinnati Airport.. The Saints will play Heidelberg University at 4 p.m. on Saturday and traditional rival Wilmington College at 4 p.m. on Sunday inside the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.