(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The fourth-ranked and top-seeded Thomas More College women's basketball team advanced to the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament Championship Game tonight (Friday, February 23, 2018) as it defeated fourth-seeded Grove City College, 90-45, in a semifinal game at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints improve to 25-1 and will play second-seeded Washington & Jefferson College at 4 p.m. tomorrow in the championship game at the Connor Convocation Center. With the loss, the Wolverines fall to 18-9.
At the 3:39 mark of the third quarter, senior guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a three-pointer and her 15th point of the game to increase her career scoring total to 1,707 and become the all-time leading scorer in Thomas More women's basketball history. She broke the previous mark of 1,706, which was set by Amy Burke (1995-1999).
Thomas More never trailed in the game as it led 26-10 after one quarter, 46-20 at halftime and 70-37 after three quarter before posting the 90-45 victory. The Saints shot 53.8 percent (35-of-65) from the field, while holding the Wolverines to 28.3 percent (15-of-53) shooting.
The Saints had a 38-14 advantage in the paint, 27-5 off turnovers and 19-9 on second chance points. Thomas More's bench out-scored the Wolverines' 35-8.
Five Saints finished in double-figure scoring, led by Owings' 15. Joining her in double-figures was senior forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) with 14, junior guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) and sophomore forward Emily Schultz (Melbourne, Ky./Bishop Brossart) with 12 points each and first-year Hayden White (Milford, Ohio/Milford) with 10 points. Schultz led the team on the boards with a game-high eight rebounds. Temple led the team in assists with six, while Owings dished out five. First-year guard Tori Gilman (Milford, Ohio/Milford) led the team in steals with five, while Schultz led the team with three blocks.