The fifth-ranked Thomas More College women’s basketball team used a big third quarter today (Saturday, January 27, 2018) to pull away for an 85-49 Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) victory over Chatham University at the Athletic & Fitness Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 18-1 overall and 12-0 in the PAC. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 4-15 overall and 2-10 in the PAC.
Thomas More jumped out to a 7-3 lead with 7:22 to play in the first quarter when senior forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) made a jumper. Chatham answered with a 6-0 run to take a 9-7 lead when Megan Pierce made a three-pointer with 4:47 to play in the opening quarter. The Saints closed the quarter on a 13-4 run to build a 20-13 lead after one quarter when junior guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) made a jumper with 23-seconds to play in the quarter.
The Cougars opened the second quarter on an 8-4 run capped by an Ashley McClain three-pointer to cut the Saints’ lead to 24-21 with 7:13 to play in the second quarter. Thomas More used a 16-11 run to close out the first half to take a 40-32 lead at halftime when first-year guard Briana McNutt (Maysville, Ky./Mason County) made a jumper at the buzzer.
The Saints used a 25-6 third quarter to extend the lead to 65-38 and then had a 20-11 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter to post the 85-49 victory.
Thomas More was led in scoring by senior guard Abby Owings (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton), who scored a game-high 27 points and recorded five steals. Temple just missed a double-double as she scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds to go with seven assists. Kiernan finished the game with 12 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Emily Schultz (Melbourne, Ky./Bishop Brossart) pulled down nine rebounds and blocked two shots.
Thomas More returns home on Wednesday (January 31) to host Bethany College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
Cory Blackson
Director of Athletic Communications and Compliance
Thomas More College
