The No. 1 ranked Thomas More University women’s basketball team defeated the Georgetown (Ky.) Tigers on Thursday evening (January 19th) by a score of 79 to 51. The Saints move to an overall record of 20-0 and a Mid South Conference record of 14-0.
The game started off with a bang as Senior Emily Simon (Hilliard, Ohio / Hilliard Davidson) got the Saints started with a basket to give them an early lead. Junior Rachel Martin (Cincinnati, Ohio / Summit Country Day) knocked down a three pointer to put the Saints back out in front 5 to 2. Emily Simon then followed that up with a three pointer of her own off an assist from Senior Zoie Barth (Fort Thomas, Ky. / Highlands). Zoie Barth then hits a three pointer off an assist from Emily Simon to give the Saints an 11 to 2 lead at the first media timeout. A pair of free throws from Emily Simon, and a layup from junior Alex Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio / Mercy McAuley) put the Saints up by 10.
The first quarter ended with the Saints leading 27 to 10. The second quarter saw Emily Simon opened with a layup for Thomas More. Layups from both Zoie Barth and Rachel Martin made the score 33 to 14 with 6 minutes to go in the opening half. Emily Simon ends the 3-minute Saint drought with a layup. Free throws from Zoie Barth and Alex Smith push the score to 40 to 21 Saints. A last-second steal and basket from junior Maggie Jones (Piner, Ky. / Simon Kenton) made the halftime score 42 to 21 Thomas More. Emily Simon and Zoie Barth led the Saints with 11 points each. Simon also recorded 5 rebounds.
In the second half, Rachel Martin got the Saints rolling with a layup off an assist from Emily Simon. Zoie Barth knocks down back-to-back three pointers to push the Thomas More lead to 26 mid-way thru the third quarter. A pair of Emily Simon free throws and a layup from junior Kelly Brenner (Cincinnati, Ohio / Roger Bacon) (Barth assist) make the score 55 to 27 Saints. Kelly Brenner makes a layup to push the lead to 30. A three pointer from junior Mattison Vickers (Covington, Ky. / Simon Kenton) off an assist from Alex Smith made the score 62 to 33. The score after the third quarter was 62 to 34 Thomas More.
The fourth quarter saw Alex Smith got the Saints going with a layup to push the lead back to 30. A jumper by Courtney Hurst off a Vickers assist made it 66 to 36. Mattison Vickers finds Kelly Brenner for a layup with 6:48 to go. A three pointer from first year Natalie Noel (Salem, Ind. / Salem) off an assist from junior Sammi Whiteman (Covington, Ohio / Covington) made the score 73 to 39. Natalie Noel and Sammi Whiteman each knocked down a shot to make it 77 to 43. Junior Hailie Morgan (Cincinnati, Ohio / Seton) makes a layup with 2 minutes to go.
The final score was Thomas More 79, Georgetown 51. Thomas More made 9 threes, and shot 27 for 56 from the field. Zoie Barth led the Saints with 19 points. Also had 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Emily Simon recorded 14 points to go with her team-high 9 rebounds. Rachel Martin recorded 9 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist. Alex Smith had 9 points, 2 assists, and a rebound. Kelly Brenner had 9 points and 4 rebounds.
The #1 ranked Saints are back in action on Saturday January 21 vs Cumberlands
