(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The No. 2/4-ranked and top-seeded Thomas More College women's basketball team defeated fourth-seeded Waynesburg University, 71-43, tonight (Friday, February 24, 2017) in the semifinals of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament at the Connor Convocation Center in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints improve to 26-0 and advance to play No. 3-seeded Saint Vincent College tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the championship game of the PAC Tournament. With the loss, the Yellow Jackets fall to 16-11.
Thomas More led 6-3 with 4:22 to play in the first quarter and then out-scored Waynesburg, 34-8 over the next 14 minutes to build a 40-11 lead at halftime. Waynesburg out-scored Thomas More 14-11 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 51-25 at halftime. The Saints used a 20-18 advantage in the fourth quarter for the final score of 71-43.
The Saints out-scored the Yellow Jackets 40-24 in the paint, 11-5 off turnovers, 23-12 on second chance points and 10-2 on fast break points.
Sophomore guard Madison Temple (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) led the Saints with 16 points. She was joined in double-figures by junior forward Nikki Kiernan (Cold Springs, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) with 14 points and first-year forward Emily Schultz (Melbourne, Ky./Bishop Brossart) with 10 points. Kiernan and sophomore forward Shelby Rupp (Milan, Ind./Batesville) with eight rebounds each. Temple led the team in assists with five.
