(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The Thomas More University women's basketball team fended off a tough University of Pikeville squad Thursday night in the Connor Convocation Center, 62-57. The Bears tied the game at 47-47 early in the fourth quarter, but the Saints held the Bears in check after that to come away with the victory.
- The Saints jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the first quarter, with the help of four points from senior Emily Simon (Hilliard, Ohio / Hilliard Davidson HS) and junior Rachel Martin (Cincinnati, Ohio / Summit Country Day HS).
- Neither team would score for nearly four minutes to end the first quarter, but a Bears bucket sent it to the second with a 16-9 Saints lead.
- Thomas More extended their lead to 11 at 31-20 with 2:40 to play in the half after a three from senior Courtney Hurst (Burlington, Ky. / Conner HS).
- However, UPIKE didn't allow another Saints point for the remainder of the half and used a 5-0 run to go into the break trailing 31-25.
- Hurst led the Saints with eight points in the second quarter.
- The Bears would continue to cut into the lead in the third quarter. After falling back behind by 11, a 9-0 flurry cut the lead to just two at 36-34.
- Thomas More would end the quarter on a 9-6 run to head into the final period up five at 45-40. Down the stretch, junior Alex Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio / Mercy McAuley HS) had four points.
- As mentioned, the Bears would tie it at 47-47 with 7:39 remaining in the game after starting the quarter on a 7-2 run fueled by a Sammi Sites three to tie the game.
- The Saints would right the ship, however, using a 6-0 rally to go back up 53-47 with 4:43 to play. Martin, Smith, and Simon provided the spark during this stretch.
- UPIKE didn't go down without a fight though, using a 10-6 flurry to cut it to two at 59-57 with 12 seconds remaining.
- The three-ball kept the Bears in the game, as they knocked down a pair during this rally and eight in the game.
- The Saints knocked down their free throws in the final seconds to come away with the 62-57 win.
- Hurst led the team with 16 points, while senior Zoie Barth (Fort Thomas, Ky. / Highlands HS) had 13 and Martin had a season-high 10 in the victory.
- Simon tied a season-high with 12 rebounds while Barth led with four assists.
- The Saints shot 44.4% from the field, their eighth game this season shooting over 40%.
Thomas More is now 11-0 this season and 6-0 in the Mid-South Conference. They return to action on Saturday in Portsmouth, Ohio against the Shawnee State University Bears at 1:00 p.m. They beat Shawnee State a pair of times last season.
