(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The No. 4-ranked and top-seeded Thomas More College women's basketball team won the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament today (Saturday, February 24, 2018) as it defeated third-seeded Washington & Jefferson College, 93-51, in the championship game at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints improve to 26-1 and earn the PAC automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The title is the Saints' 11th-straight and have won it all but one year during their membership in the PAC. Thomas More has won 115 straight games against PAC opponents. The NCAA Division III Championship bracket will be announced on Monday (February 26) on the NCAA Championship website (www.ncaa.com) at 2:30 p.m. With the loss, the Presidents fall to 22-5.
Thomas More shot 58.8 percent from the field and 72.7 from behind the three-point arc to build a 30-7 lead after one quarter. The Saints extended the lead to 40-11 with 7:02 to play in the second quarter when senior guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) made a three-pointer. W&J closed out the half on a 16-6 run to cut the lead to 46-27 at halftime.
W&J opened the third quarter on a 12-7 run to cut the lead to 53-39 with 5:16 to play in the quarter when Lauren Gilbert made a three-pointer. That would be as close as the Presidents would come as the Saints closed out the game on a 40-12 run to cruise to 93-51 victory.
Thomas More had a 24-16 advantage in points in the paint, 32-4 off turnovers and the Saints' bench out-scored the Presidents' 22-14.
Junior guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) led the Saints as she posted a double-double with a game-high 32 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Joining her in double-figures was Owings with 17 and sophomore guard Taylor Jolly (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) with 15 points. Senior forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) pulled down nine rebounds, while sophomore forward Emily Schultz (Melbourne, Ky./Bishop Brossart) had six rebounds. Temple led the team in assists with six and blocks with three, while Jolly led the team in steals with three.