(OWENSBORO, KY) – The Thomas More University women's basketball team fell to Kentucky Wesleyan in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 28) in overtime by a score of 78-75. The Saints are 22-6 and 14-6 heading into the Great Midwest Tournament next week.
- Junior Izzy Rotert (Harrison, OH / Mercy McAuley) scored the first points just 15 seconds into the game.
- The teams went back and forth for the entire first quarter. Sophomore Amara Jackson (Huntington, WV / Huntington) had six points going 2-2 from the field and 2-3 from the charity stripe to lead the team in the quarter. Senior Sereniti Webb (Covington, KY / Simon Kenton / Midway) had five points, three of which were free throws.
- Senior Rylee Turner (Newport, KY / Newport Central Catholic) pulled down four rebounds and grabbed a steal.
- Thomas More finished the first quarter with a three-point advantage.
- Amara Jackson gave the saints a six-point lead with under three minutes to play in the first half, their largest lead of the game.
- However, Kentucky Wesleyan quickly retook the lead with an 8-0 run. The teams ended the first half tied at 29 after junior Desiree Tandy (Danville, KY / Danville) made a free throw.
- Amara Jackson had 11 of the 29 points for the Saints after going 2-4 from the field and 7-9 (77.8%) at the charity stripe. She also had a team-high 6 rebounds in the half, all on the defensive end of the court.
- As a team, Thomas More shot 9-24 (37.5%) from the floor and 11-14 (78.6%) from the free throw line.
- Sereniti Webb scored the first points of the second half with a layup on the Saints first possession.
- While the first half of the third quarter saw the teams stay within a possession of each other, a 7-0 run from the Panthers put them up 7-0 with 3:42 to play.
- Izzy Rotert, redshirt junior Natalie Noel (Salem, IN / Salem), and Amara Jackson combined to get the Saints within a point as the quarter ended.
- Rotert scored 10 of Thomas More's 17 points shooting 4-8 from the field and sinking two free throws. She also pulled down three of the team's nine rebounds.
- The Saints quickly took a 50-47 lead in the fourth quarter with two trips to the charity stripe and both Rylee Turner and Sereniti Webb both sinking a pair.
- With two minutes left in regulation, Kentucky Wesleyan had a 65-60 lead. Rotert scored six unanswered points to flip the scoreboard, her free throw (and tenth point of the quarter) with one second remaining on the clock tied the game at 69 and sent the teams to overtime.
- During the five minutes of overtime, Rylee Turner had four points and Izzy Rotert added 2 points but the Saints were edged out by the Panthers.
- Including overtime, Izzy Rotert scored 22 points in the second half, shooting 8-14 (57.1%) from the floor and 6-8 from the free throw line. She pulled down four rebounds. Kendall Sterling had three rebounds and Natalie Noel had 2 steals and 2 assists.
- Izzy Rotert had 24 total points, 22 of which were scored after halftime, after shooting 9-15 from the floor (all inside the arc). She also sank 6-8 free throws.
- Amara Jackson had 15 points, nine of which came from the charity stripe. She also had a team-high 8 rebounds, all on the defensive end of the court. She added three assists and a steal.
- Sereniti Webb was the other Saint to hit double-digit points shooting 4-9 from the field and 5-5 from the charity stripe.
- Rylee Turner had three steals and seven rebounds to help defensive efforts.
- As a team, the Saints shot 23-54 (42.6%) from the floor and 29-36 (80.6%) from the charity stripe. They pulled down a total of 40 rebounds compared to the Panthers 30.
The Saints have earned the #3 seed in the Great Midwest Tournament and will host #6 Findlay on Tuesday evening for the Quarterfinals. Tip off is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
