The #1 Thomas More University women’s basketball team continued their winning ways with a hard-fought 65-60 victory over Cumberland (Tenn.) on Thursday evening (January 12th). The Saints were led by senior Courtney Hurst, who had a game-high 22 points, including five made three-pointers. With the win, the Saints improve to 18-0 overall and 12-0 in conference play.
The game started off with a bang for the Saints, as senior Courtney Hurst drained a three-pointer off an assist from senior Zoie Barth to give Thomas More an early 3-0 lead. The Saints continued to assert themselves, with first-year player Rylee Turner converting a layup and free throw to push the lead to 6-0. Hurst added another jump shot to make the score 8-2 in favor of the Saints.
With 5 minutes to go in the first quarter, Rylee Turner converted a pair of free throws to give the Saints a 10-6 lead. Hurst drained her second three-pointer of the game off another Zoie Barth assist to give Thomas More a three-point lead. Junior Maggie Jones added a layup and free throw to give the Saints a six-point lead. A Maggie Jones three-pointer off an assist from junior Kelly Brenner pushed the lead to 2 and the score was tied 19-19 to end the first quarter.
The second quarter saw the Phoenix take control of the game, with a three-pointer from junior Alex Smith to tie the game. With 7:06 to go in the half, junior Rachel Martin found Rylee Turner for a layup. Hurst ended the Phoenix run with a layup off an assist from Kelly Brenner to make the score 34 to 27 in favor of Cumberland. A three-pointer from Hurst off another Zoie Barth assist made the score 41 to 30 Cumberland at the end of the first half. Hurst led the Saints with 13 first-half points and Turner had 7 first-half points, Maggie Jones had 6 first-half points.
The Saints came out strong in the second half with Rylee Turner getting them on the board with a layup off an assist from Courtney Hurst. Hurst hit another three-pointer, this time off an assist from Rylee Turner to make the score 46 to 35 Cumberland. Another jumper for Hurst, followed by a jumper by Rylee Turner made the score 50 to 39 Cumberland. Maggie Jones made a layup and was followed by a made layup plus a free throw from the foul from Zoie Barth to cut the lead down to 6. At the end of the third quarter, Thomas More trailed 53 to 46.
The Saints continued to fight in the fourth quarter with Zoie Barth getting them started with a pair of free throws, followed by a Rachel Martin jumper to make it a three-point game. With 5:30 to go in the game, Kelly Brenner made a layup to tie the game at 53. Senior Emily Simon made a layup to tie the game at 55 with 4:48 to go. Hurst followed with her 5th three-pointer of the game to give the Saints a 3-point lead. Emily Simon, Zoie Barth, and Courtney Hurst all made free throws down the stretch to give Thomas More the 65-60 win.
