Saints Fall in G-MAC Semifinals to #1 Ashland

Box Score (ASHLAND, OH)- Thomas More University women's basketball drops to #1 Ashland in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Semifinals on Friday (March, 8th) by a score of 67 to 56. Thomas More concludes their first season in NCAA Division II and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with an overall record of 18-11.

• Senior Maggie Jones (Piner, KY / Simon Kenton) got the Saints on the scoreboard with a layup off an assist from senior Rachel Martin (Cincinnati, OH / Summit Country Day) (2-2).
• Sophomore Rylee Turner (Newport, KY / Newport Central Catholic) makes a layup and connects on two free throws to put the Saints in front by four with 5:06 to go in the quarter (6-2).
• Maggie Jones knocks down a three pointer to make it 9 to 2 in favor of the Saints.
• First year Rylee Leonard (Sardinia, OH / Eastern Brown) makes a driving layup with 1:24 to go in the quarter to make the score 12 to 5.
• Rachel Martin caps off the opening quarter with a layup to make it 14 to 8.
• Maggie Jones knocks down a three pointer to end an Ashland run (18-24).
• Thomas More trails by a score of 27 to 18 at halftime.
• Maggie Jones led the Saints with 8 points in the opening half. 

• Rachel Martin finds senior Kelly Brenner (Cincinnati, OH / Roger Bacon) for a three pointer to cut into the halftime lead early in the third quarter (21-29).
• With 5:49 left in the third, Rylee Leonard makes a driving layup and gets fouled. She converts the three point play to make it 34 to 26.
• Rylee Turner answers an Ashland run with a layup off an assist from Kelly Brenner (28-40).
• With 2:28 left in the quarter, Rylee Leonard drains a three pointer to cut the Ashland lead to 11.
• First year Morgan Hunt (Hollansburg, OH / Tri-Village Local Schools) makes a jumper to cut the lead down to single digits.
• With 1:26 to go in the third, senior Mattison Vickers (Covington, KY / Simon Kenton) completes the old fashion three point play to make the score 42 to 35.
• First year Desiree Tandy (Danville, KY / Danville) banks in a jumper with 30 seconds to go to send us to the fourth quarter with the score at 45 to 38.
• Mattison Vickers opens the final quarter with a three pointer off a Rylee Turner assist to make it a 4 point game.
• On the next trip down the court Rylee Turner cuts it to a two put game with a layup to make the score 45 to 43.
• With 3:05 to go, Rylee Turner makes a pair of free throws to make it a 56 to 47 game.
• Turner comes down on the next trip and makes a layup to make it a seven point game with 2:38 to go.
• Senior Alex Smith (Cincinnati, OH / Mercy McAuley) makes a three pointer with 38 seconds to go. (54-66)
• Tandy scores a layup with 23 seconds to go as the final score is Ashland 67, Thomas More 56.
• Thomas More shot 18-52 (34.6%) from the field and 6-21 (28.6%) from beyond the three point line for the game.

• Rylee Turner led the Saints with 16 points, to go with 6 rebounds, 4 steals and an assist.
• Maggie Jones tallied 8 points and 4 rebounds in the game.
• Rylee Leonard added 8 points off the bench for the Saints.

The Saints will return to the court next November for their second season in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.