(CRESTVIEW HILLS, KY) – The Thomas More University women's basketball team defeated Lake Erie on Thursday (Feb. 19) evening by a score of 57-37. Prior to the game, the Saints honored the three members of their senior class,
Natalie Noel (Salem, Ind. / Salem),
Rylee Turner (Newport, Ky. / Newport Central Catholic), and
Sereniti Webb (Covington, Ky. / Simon Kenton / Midway).
- In what was a low scoring first half, Sereniti Webb scored the first points with an assist from Natalie Noel almost a minute into the game.
- Junior Izzy Rotert (Harrison, OH / Mercy McAuley) and Sereniti Webb hit free throws before Natalie Noel hit a three-pointer to give Thomas More an 8-4 lead at the first timeout with 4:47 remaining in the opening quarter.
- The game turned into a defensive battle as junior Desiree Tandy (Danville, Ky. / Danville) had a block and 2 steals and the Saints combined for three more defensive rebounds.
- Rylee Turner hit a layup with thirty-nine second before Lake Erie had a good hook shot on the next possession, ending the first quarter with Thomas More up 10-6.
- The defensive battle continued into the second quarter with the Saints pulling down four defensive rebounds before the first points came off the hands of the Storm at the 8:05 mark. Junior Morgan Hunt (Hollansburg, Ohio / Tri-Village) had the first points for Thomas More in the period at the 6:58 mark with a pair of good free throws.
- Sereniti Webb passed the ball to Izzy Rotert who hit a three-point shot to put Thomas More up 14-8 with less than five minutes to play.
- Rylee Turner and Kendall Strong hit on back-to-back possessions for the Saints with a layup and a three-pointer, respectively, pushing the lead out to nine with 3:30 to play in the half.
- Morgan Hunt hit a free throw before the Storm had an old-fashioned three point play.
- Sophomore Amara Jackson (Huntington, W.V. / Huntington) pushed the lead to 22-16 on a buzzer beater layup.
- The Saints had seven different players score during the first half and as a team shot 24.1% (7-29) from the floor, 2-9 (22.2%) from beyond the arc and 6-14 (42.9%) from the free throw line. Both Rylee Turner and Sereniti Webb had a team-high four points in the first half.
- Rylee Turner started the scoring for the Saints in the second half with a driving layup at the 8:16 mark.
- While Lake Erie got back within a possession, Natalie Noel hit a three-pointer to start a 13-0 run for the Saints that stretched over five minutes of play. Rylee Turner and Izzy Rotert ended the run with back-to-back three pointers to push the lead to 37-22.
- Sophomore Kendall Sterling (Seymour, Ind. / Seymour) hit a three pointer on a fast break before Jackson hit an and-one opportunity as time expired in the third quarter to put Thomas More up by 18 (43-25) with 10 minutes left in the game.
- Desiree Tandy hit a driving layup to give the Saints their first 20-point lead at the 8:29 mark before Jackson hit a fast break three-pointer to extend the lead. That was the start of an 11-0 run for the Saints who had their largest lead of the night at 55-26 with under four and a half minutes to play.
- Izzy Rotert and freshman Zene Thompson (Burlington, Ky. / Cooper) each hit a free throw for the final Saints points of the game, and Lake Erie closed the gap partially before the game ended with Thomas More up 57-37.
- Izzy Rotert had a double-double in the second half alone with 10 points and 11 rebounds after shooting 4-5 from the floor with one from beyond the arc and a single free throw. She had nine defensive rebounds, two steals, and two blocks to lead the Saints offense.
- As a team, the Saints picked up the offense shooting 13-24 (54%) from the floor and 5-10 (50%) from three-point range.
- Izzy Rotert led all scorers with 13 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds after a solid second half. She also grabbed 2 steals and 2 blocks to help the Saints defensively.
- Rylee Turner had 10 points after shooting 4-9 from the field including 1-4 from behind the arc. She also pulled down a total of nine rebounds with 8 on the defensive end of the floor. She added to her performance with two steals and three assists.
- Sereniti Webb had 11 rebounds with seven coming on the opposite side of the floor.
- Thomas More had nine different athletes score as the team went 20-53 (37.7%) from the floor including 7-19 (36.8%) from three-point range.
- The Saints out scored Lake Erie 13-0 on fast breaks and 26-14 from inside the paint.
The Saints will be on the road for the remainder of the regular season. Their first stop will be at Tiffin on Saturday (Feb. 21) with tip off scheduled for 1:00 PM.
