(WASHINGTON, Pa.) – The fifth-ranked Thomas More College women's basketball team won its 103rd straight game against a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opponent today (Saturday, January 13, 2018) as it defeated Washington & Jefferson College, 73-57, inside the Henry Memorial Center in Washington, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 14-1 overall as they won their 13th straight game and remain undefeated in the PAC at 8-0. Thomas More has won 90 straight PAC regular season game dating back to the 2011-12 season and have also won 13 straight PAC Championship Tournament games during that span. With the loss, the Presidents fall to 13-2 overall and 7-1 in the PAC.
Thomas More took an early 5-0 lead when senior forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) made one-of-two free-throws with 6:08 to play in the opening quarter. W&J responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 7-7 with 3:31 to play in the first quarter when Mia Woytovich made a three-pointer. Junior guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) made one-of-two free-throws with seven-seconds to play in the first quarter to cap a 6-0 run for the Saints and give them a 13-7 lead after one quarter.
The Saints opened the second quarter on a 19-11 run to build a 32-19 lead when junior guard Kelly Clapper (Newark, Ohio/Newark Central Catholic) made a lay-up with 1:59 to play in the quarter. W&J closed the lead to 34-26 with 15-seconds to play in the second quarter and then senior guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Thomas More a 37-29 lead at halftime.
Junior forward Shelby Rupp (Milan, Ind./Batesville) made a lay-up with 5:33 to play in the third quarter to cap the Saints' 12-1 run to open the second half to extend the lead to 49-30. The Presidents' answered with a 14-5 run to cut the lead to 54-44 when Lauren Gilbert made a three-pointer with 1:03 to play in the third quarter. Clapper made a three-pointer for Thomas More with 39-seconds to play in the quarter and give the Saints a 57-44 lead after three quarters.
Thomas More opened the fourth quarter on a 4-2 run to take extend the lead to 61-46 with 7:19 to play in the game when Kiernan made a lay-up. W&J answered with a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 65-55 on a Woytovich three-point play with 2:48 to play I the game. That would be as close as the Presidents would come as Thomas More closed out the game on an 8-2 run for a 73-57 victory.
The Saints had a 36-12 advantage in points in the paint and their bench out-scored the Presidents' bench 25-4.
Temple just missed a triple-double as she scored 18 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out eight assists, while also recording three steals. Sophomore forward Emily Schultz (Melbourne, Ky./Bishop Brossart) registered a double-double as she had 10 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, while also blocking a game-high five shots. Owings finished with a team-high 19 points and had seven assists, while Rupp scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds to go with two blocked shots.
Thomas More returns to action on Wednesday (January 17) when it opens a two-game homestand as it hosts Saint Vincent College at 5:30 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.