#1 Seed Women's Basketball Advance to the Fab Four of the NAIA National Championship for the Third Straight Season

(SIOUX CITY, Iowa)-No. 1 seed Thomas More University's women's basketball team defeated No. 3 Montana Western 66-62 on Wednesday evening (March 15) to advance to the Fab Four of the 2023 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship. The Saints overall record improves to 30-3.

• Senior Courtney Hurst (Burlington, Ky./Conner) drained a 3-point basket to start the Saints 11-0 run with 9:13 on the clock. 
• With 3:07 to play in the first quarter, junior Alex Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mercy McAuley) hit a 3-point shot to extend the Saints lead to seven (16-9).
• Junior Kelly Brenner (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) made the final basket of the first quarter by knocking in a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left (19-12).
• The Saints would lead 19-14 at the end of the first quarter.
• Kelly Brenner would hit another three to start the scoring off for the Saints in the second quarter with 8:04 to play in the first half (22-18).
• Alex Smith would make back to back 3-point shots to close out the scoring for the Saints in the first half (28-22).
• The Saints would lead 28-24 going into the locker room at the half.
• Alex Smith led the Saints with 11 points in the first half and had one rebound and one assists.
• Kelly Brenner followed with six points and three rebounds.
• Senior Emily Simon (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) recorded five points, three rebounds, and one assist.
• Senior Zoie Barth (Ft. Thomas, Ky./Highlands) had a team high of seven rebounds and four assists in the first half and put up three points.
• The Saints were 34.5% (10-29) from the field and 38.1% (8-21) from the 3-point line in the first half. 

• Junior Rachel Martin (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) laid in a basket to kick things off in the second half for the Saints, with 9:43 on the clock (30-24).
• Emily Simon made a layup and one with 6:23 to play in the third quarter to help the Saints regain the lead (33-32).
• Emily Simon knocked in two free throws for the Saints final points of the third quarter with 53 seconds on the clock (45-49).
• The Saints would lead 45-42 going into the fourth quarter.
• Alex Smith made a 3-point basket to start the scoring for the Saints in the final quarter of the game with 8:31 on the clock (48-45).
• With 6:18 to play in the game, Emily Simon would make two free throws to help the Saints regain the lead (52-51).
• Zoie Barth knocked in two free throws with four second to play for the Saints final basket of the game (66-59).
• The Saints would go on and defeat Montana Western 66-62 to advance to the Fab Four for the third straight year.
• Alex Smith led the Saints in the second half with 13 points and four rebounds.
• Emily Simon recorded three assists for a team high and had eight points and one rebound.
• Zoie Barth also tallied three assists in the second half to lead the team and had eight points and three rebounds.
• The Saints were 39.3% (11-28) from the field, 30% (3-10) from the 3-point line, and 81.3% (13-16) from the free throw line in the second half.

• Alex Smith led the Saints with 24 points and had five rebounds and one assist.
• Emily Simon followed with 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
• Kelly Brenner tallied nine points and three rebounds.
• Zoie Barth recorded a double double with 11 points and led the team with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
• The Saints were 36.8% (21-57) from the field, 35.3% (11-31) from the 3-point line, and 81.3% (13-16) from the free throw line.

The Saints return to action on Friday (March 17) at 7:00 pm ET against #1 seed Central Methodist in the 2023 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Semifinals in Sioux City, Iowa.